GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Cooper’s Summer Vacation Was No Day at the Beach : Simi Valley Forward’s Hard Work Might Lead to Scholarship

For most students, the happiest day of the school year is the last one. The beach, movies and amusement parks all beckon.

The routine moves from the three R’s of academia to the three R’s of summertime--rest, relaxation and recreation.

Tawnee Cooper was working from a different playbook last June. Running, rebounding and rope-jumping occupied her summer days.

“It takes a lot of dedication to get where you want to go,” explained Cooper, the newest forward on the girls’ basketball team at Simi Valley High. The junior transfer from Royal has her sights set on college.

Four years ago, her father and stepmother gained custody of then-12-year-old Tawnee, but had no money saved for her college education. Thus, she toils for a scholarship, one many area coaches believe she is destined to earn.

“I think she has a lot to offer,” Buena Coach Joe Vaughan said. “She’s a definite Division I player.”

Said North Hollywood Coach Rich Allen: “She’s sensational. The things she does well, you just can’t coach.”

Cooper gained attention last season when she led Ventura County in scoring, averaging 19.6 points while leading Royal to a 14-9 record--its first winning mark in seven seasons.

She received even more attention when she announced last school year that she would transfer to rival Simi Valley the following September.

In the Simi Valley area, that kind of bombshell is like J.J. Stokes announcing his transfer from UCLA to USC.

And Cooper still had two months left in the school year at Royal.

“Those months were hard,” she said. “It was very different. Some people came up to me and called me a traitor.”

Cooper escaped the stress by continuing to train under the watchful eye of her father, Julius.

The two-hour daily workouts would start with a two-mile run followed by endless jump shots.

“When my dad saw me getting tired shooting, he’d have me do sit-ups,” she said. “Then I’d get up and work on rebounding and sprinting up and down the street.”

Don’t feel sorry for Cooper.

“I love basketball,” she said. “It’s my life.”

Cooper’s stepmother, Jeanne, also has played a part in the 16-year-old’s drive down the lane toward college.

“During the school year, I’m the one who says, ‘You’re going nowhere with that basketball until you get your school work done,’ ” Jeanne Cooper said. “I play the typical mom role.”

The result is a 3.4 grade-point average. And don’t look for a glut of shop classes on Cooper’s schedule.

“She’s definitely following the college prep program so she will have the qualifications to go to any college she wants,” her stepmother said.

These investments in Cooper’s future should pay dividends for Simi Valley this season.

Before the transfer, the Pioneers were expected to improve on last season’s fourth-place finish in the Marmonte League. Three starters returned from a 15-12 team and Coach Dave Murphy was confident Simi Valley would contend for the title.

“Without Tawnee, we thought we had a pretty darn good team,” he said.

And with her?

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” Coach Nori Parvin of Newbury Park said. “She was the one missing piece.”

And Murphy knew right where to put her, once he got over the giddiness of landing one of the best players in the area.

“I was pretty happy, let’s be honest here,” Murphy said.

The 5-foot-9 Cooper, who probably will play guard in college, will play forward for the talented but somewhat small Pioneers.

“She’s definitely a go-to scorer,” said former Royal coach Paula Getty-Shearer, now at Louisville. “She can hit the outside shot, but she is also real strong down low.”

Cooper already has impressed one team in the area. She scored 20 points in a preseason scrimmage against an Alemany team that begins the season ranked second in the state.

“She’s a huge factor for them,” Alemany Coach Melissa Hearlihy said.

When a transfer takes over a starting job, it can lead to bitterness among teammates, especially those losing playing time.

“That could have been a problem,” Murphy said. “But with this particular team, they see what she can do for us.”

That makes acclimation to new surroundings somewhat easier.

“I think the adjustment has gone just fine,” Cooper said. “The team has welcomed me with open arms.”

And those arms may be a perfect match for the considerable helping hand Cooper should lend the Pioneers this season.

“In situations like this, some kids fit and some kids don’t fit,” Murphy said. “Tawnee fits.”

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL CAPSULES: C12