She’s Making a Splash in Basketball

When Koko Lahanas of Cal State Fullerton was a high school senior, colleges were as interested in recruiting her for swimming as they were for basketball.

Her older brother, Niko, was an All-American swimmer at California, and she ranked among the top eight 100-meter freestyle specialists in the nation in the 13-14 age group.

Her brother not only got her interested in swimming but also in basketball. “We played a lot of street ball together when we were growing up, mainly one on one,” she said.

When she attended Concord Carondelet High, she was torn between the sports. She played basketball as a freshman, but then concentrated on swimming in her sophomore and junior years.

Lahanas, whose first name is Catherine although she goes by the nickname her father gave her as a child, was chosen the swim team’s most inspirational athlete after her junior season. She was elected captain for the third consecutive year. Still, she said, she realized how much she was missing basketball.

“Swimming can be a lonely sport,” Lahanas said. “You’re by yourself most of the time, and I was starting to get tired of that. I found basketball to be a lot more fun. It’s a lot more social, and is more of a team sport. I liked that.”

She returned to basketball with, well, a splash. Lahanas was chosen the team’s most valuable player after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds her senior season.

“That year some colleges talked to me about swimming scholarships and some talked to me about playing basketball,” Lahanas said. “At that point, I really wasn’t sure what I should do, and that’s why I went to a community college.

“I just knew that I couldn’t continue to do both sports, and that I would eventually have to make a decision between the two of them for Division I. And I knew it was going to be a tough decision.”

Lahanas decided to attend Diablo Valley College near her hometown. She was on the swim team there, but because the school had no women’s basketball program, she was allowed to play for nearby Los Medanos College.

*

She again had immediate success at Los Medanos, and twice was selected the team’s MVP. She also ranked fourth in the state in scoring with an average of 24 points and 12th in rebounding with an average of 13.

Fullerton Coach Deborah Ayres, who coached in the same conference at Solano College from 1990-92, offered Lahanas a scholarship in 1993.

Lahanas said she has been happy at Fullerton, but there were a lot of times last season when she struggled on the court.

“It took her a year to adjust to Division I basketball,” Ayres said. “This past fall she lost a little weight and got into real good physical condition. Her speed improved in the process.”

Lahanas gives Ayres considerable credit for her development. “I like playing for her because she cares about you as a person as well as a player,” Lahanas said.

Her role also has changed this year. Before the season, Ayres said improving the scoring inside would be critical for the Titans.

Lahanas has responded well. She had 32 points and 18 rebounds as a reserve in a victory over Loyola Marymount, then had 31 in the loss to Stanford. She also had her Fullerton career-high 38 points Monday night in the Titans’ loss to Northern Arizona.

*

It was unfortunate for Fullerton, however, that the team’s top outside shooting threat, Autumn Hollyfield, had arthroscopic knee surgery recently. Hollyfield will be out at least four more weeks, and that has added even more to the burden on Lahanas.

At 6 feet, Lahanas is shorter than many post players on teams the Titans face. Stanford’s front line, for example, is 6-5, 6-3 and 6-2. The Titans weren’t able to deal with that kind of height.

“I just hope we can keep improving as a team, and I think we’ll do that,” Lahanas said. “I think we have more cohesiveness as a team this year. Everyone knows each other’s play that much better.”

Regardless of how this season actually winds up, Lahanas says she will have no regrets about choosing basketball over swimming.

“I’m happy with the decision I made,” she said.

And even though she has not been swimming competitively, she’s stayed involved with the sport in the summer as the coach of an age-group team back home. An English major, she said she eventually wants to be a teacher.

Titan Notes

In Saturday’s victory at Nevada Las Vegas, Coach Bob Hawking was particularly pleased with the Titans’ defense against Kebu Stewart, Big West player of the year last season. He was held to 14 points. “He’s quite a player,” Hawking said. . . . The Titans had lost three consecutive opening conference games before beating the Rebels. . . . Forward Andy Hinkle, who was at UC Davis, has joined the basketball team as a walk-on.