GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ‘94-’95: SOUTH COAST LEAGUE : Garrett Needs to Put Tragedy Behind Her : Basketball: Capistrano Valley senior, whose father died in April of 1993, will be key if Cougars are to succeed.

Winson (Shorty) Garrett stood 6 feet 6 and resembled a small mountain when he died 19 months ago.

That’s a pretty big hole to fill in someone’s heart. Capistrano Valley’s Jennifer Garrett knows.

She was expected to be one of the county’s premier players last season but instead suffered through a disappointing year, one in which she never could escape the tug of her father’s memory.

“He taught me most of what I know,” she said.

She would break down in class, crying. She couldn’t get to sleep at night. She still can’t. She goes to bed at 10, falls to sleep at 2 or 3 a.m., wakes up at 6. It has been that way for the last 19 months. This month, she finally went to a counselor to try to remedy the problem.

She is tired and that causes concentration lapses, which affect her grades and her play. She is a 17-year-old without a father.

She goes into her senior basketball season trying to secure a scholarship in a family situation that could really use one--and tries to secure a decent night’s sleep at the same time.

“She was Daddy’s Little Girl,” said Cathy Garrett, Jennifer’s mother. “It seemed to affect Jennifer more than the other two kids. Jeremy (a 6-9 sophomore forward at Irvine Valley College) tried to take on the father role. With Josh (a 6-4 freshman center at Capistrano Valley), the only effect was that he started clinging to me--the fear of losing another parent. Wherever I was, he was always there; he was 12 at the time.”

Shorty Garrett died of congestive heart failure because of a blood clot; he was 38. Jennifer still has not opened up in a conversation with her mother about her feelings. But Jennifer says she is trying to get past the heartbreak and past the frustration of being one of Orange County’s most disappointing players during her inner turmoil. She had a solid year but not the great year everyone expected.

“I thought I could do a lot better last year,” she said. “It was hard on me to play--I was used to seeing him there; I knew I could get support from him. My coach (Pete Belanto) handled it pretty good and helped me out--he encouraged me more and would tell me what I did wrong instead of pulling me out of the game.

“My head wasn’t in it last year.”

Belanto said that after Shorty Garrett died, Jennifer crawled into a shell and became more reserved, in attitude and personality. And he changed his coaching style to accommodate her.

“In my mind, she was very disappointing (as a player), but in my mind, it was also understandable,” Belanto said. “I didn’t push her. I don’t think I yelled at her one time until the second round of playoffs. I told her, ‘It’s time to start playing. I’ve babied you. It’s time to play.’ ”

Garrett, a 6-3 center, averaged 14.8 points and 9.6 rebounds. Her season was compounded by playing out of position. The Cougars’ point guard moved to Idaho and Garrett got the job out of necessity.

Belanto said Garrett’s use as a guard hurt her statistically and also hurt her development as a post player. But he doesn’t think it hurt the recruiting process--she is being considered by Pepperdine, Northern Arizona, Idaho State, Cal State Fullerton and Northridge.

“It might have helped because it gave more diversification to her game,” Belanto said. “It showed she could handle the basketball too. Everyone knew she could play. . . . (Playing her out of position) was best for the team, but not for Jennifer.

“She can shoot from 16-18 feet, she can drive. She has great quickness. She’s going to be a great player. Her greatest asset is that she hasn’t even tapped her ability. Some college is going to get a real diamond in the rough.”

1993-94: IN REVIEW

Standings

League Overall School W L W L Mater Dei 10 0 24 5 San Clemente 8 2 21 6 Dana Hills 6 4 17 8 Capistrano Valley 4 6 14 14 Mission Viejo 2 8 8 13 El Toro 0 10 4 17

Highlights

Mater Dei did little wrong when it came to winning the South Coast League title. Led by the play of talented sophomore point guard Melody Peterson, a transfer from Monrovia, the Monarchs spent the entire season ranked among the county’s top four teams. But it wasn’t Peterson who was the league’s most valuable player. That honor went to teammate Leticia Oseguera, who averaged 18.4 points and 8.5 rebounds. Coupled with Peterson, who averaged 15.1 points and 5.2 rebounds, the Monarchs reached the Division I-A title game before falling to Ventura Buena, 50-41, in Ventura. San Clemente, which was eliminated in the semifinals by Buena, got an outstanding season from Michelle Macintyre, who broke all of Triton Coach Mary Mulligan’s scoring records, averaging 17.4 points and 4.8 assists. An indicator of the league’s strength could be found in Capistrano Valley, which finished 12-13 during the regular season but reached the quarterfinals behind the play of Susan Scott (22.0 points) before losing to Buena. And though Dana Hills exited the playoffs in the first round, it had one of the county’s most dangerous shooters in Karun Grossman, who averaged 23.5 points.