Sports

TO THE POINT

It was always said that Paul Pierce, despite earning his basketball notoriety playing forward, possessed the skills to play point guard.

Now the Inglewood High senior is proving it.

The 6-foot-7 Pierce, a preseason All-American and one of the nation’s top college recruits, has moved to point guard this season to help fill the void created by the graduation of Sam Turks, the Sentinels’ floor leader the past two seasons.

Don’t be surprised if the move becomes permanent.

Inglewood Coach Pat Roy said college coaches have told him that Pierce’s future could be at point guard. And Pierce likes his new position.

“He loves it,” Roy said. “He does a great job of seeing the floor and distributing the ball. It’s an asset for us. He attracts all the defenders, which leaves other players open for shots.”

With Pierce running the show, Inglewood (8-2) is off to an impressive start. The Sentinels placed third last week in the Las Vegas Prep Classic, which featured 50 teams from across the country, and they beat Long Beach Poly, 56-53, Tuesday to reach tonight’s semifinals of the Artesia tournament.

Even with the added responsibilities of ballhandling, Pierce entered the week averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds a game, in addition to leading the team in assists.

“It doesn’t matter where he’s at (on defense),” Roy said. “When a shot is taken, he’s right back on the board. That has contributed to our success; we can rebound with most good teams.”

Pierce, the only returning starter from last season’s 30-4 team, is joined in the starting lineup by junior guard Jan Thomas, a transfer from Westchester who has emerged as Inglewood’s No. 2 scoring threat, junior forwards Deandre Tanner and Reggie Price, and 6-5 senior center Kevin Elliott. Antoine Young, a senior forward who came out late because of football, and senior guards Carlo Calhoun and Ray Dunning are the top reserves.

But it all begins and ends with Pierce.

“He has stepped up his game to another level,” Roy said. “It’s a major adjustment to go from (power forward or center) to point guard. That’s tough to do. He’s still learning the position, but as time goes on he’s just going to get better and better.”

NATIONAL EXPOSURE

Roy is beginning to wonder what Inglewood has to do to break into the national rankings.

The Sentinels went 5-1 in the Las Vegas tournament, including victories over nationally ranked Westchester and Compton Dominguez. But when the latest rankings were published Tuesday, Inglewood was nowhere to be found.

“I thought we were going to be in the (USA Today) top 25,” Roy said. “If we can win (the Artesia) tournament, I definitely think they will slide us up in there somewhere.”

Westchester, which lost to Inglewood, 66-57, at Las Vegas after beating the Sentinels in double overtime Dec. 9, is ranked 21st by USA Today. Dominguez, which squandered a 23-2 lead in a 61-54 loss to Inglewood at Las Vegas, is ranked 13th in a poll conducted by a national panel of sportswriters and 14th by USA Today.

Inglewood’s only loss at Las Vegas was to Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., which shut down Pierce en route to a 77-55 semifinal victory. Oak Hill, ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today and boasting two preseason All-Americans in 6-7 forward Ray Mercer and 6-9 center Melvin Whitaker, beat Mater Dei in the final.

The tournament ended on an upbeat note for Inglewood, which defeated Dunbar of Washington, D.C., 80-76, in the third-place game. Pierce led the Sentinels with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Inglewood begins defense of its Bay League title at home Wednesday night at 7:30 against Santa Monica.

PILOT POLITICS

Ed Paculba, beaten down by continued criticism from the Banning High booster club, resigned last week after three seasons as the Pilots’ football coach.

With that, the stage is set for the boosters to finally get their man. Former Banning Coach Chris Ferragamo has been earmarked by the boosters to take over the program, although he isn’t sure he wants the job.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Ferragamo said Wednesday. “I’d like to come back and do some coaching, but the situation would have to be just right.”

Other possible candidates include Ken Stumpf, Banning’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons and a former head coach at Washington High, and Ed Barreras, coach of the Pilot sophomore team.

But it’s no secret that Ferragamo, a longtime science teacher at Banning, is the favorite with people in the Wilmington community who long for the “good old days.” Ferragamo, who turned 54 Tuesday, guided Banning to eight City Section titles from 1969-86, including an unprecedented six in row from 1976-81, finishing with a 157-36-4 record.

Ferragamo’s name surfaced after the 1993 season when the boosters circulated a petition calling for Paculba’s removal. But Banning Principal Bea Lamothe stuck by her coach and Paculba decided to stick it out.

Banning had its best playoff performance under Paculba in 1994, finishing 6-5-1 after losing to eventual City Section 4-A Division champion Sylmar in overtime in the quarterfinals. But for the boosters, that wasn’t much better than the Pilots’ first-round exits in their first two seasons under Paculba.

Paculba could not be reached for comment. His teams were 18-15-1, but only 1-3 in the playoffs.

PREP NOTEBOOK

* Mira Costa tailback Michael Fikes, who helped the Mustangs reach the Southern Section Division VII final for the second consecutive season, has been named Division VII player of the year by a panel of sportswriters. Fikes, The Times’ South Bay back of the year, led the area with 2,610 total yards and 22 touchdowns. . . . Carson’s Joseph (J.R.) Redmond was named to Cal-Hi Sports’ All-State first team as a defensive back. Four area players were named to the second-team defense: Banning lineman John Toavalu, Leuzinger linebacker Aaron Williams and defensive backs Ademole Turner of Serra and Kelvin Hunter of Hawthorne.

* The Peninsula girls’ basketball team began play Wednesday in the Lady Tiger Holiday Classic in Pickerington, Ohio, an eight-team tournament that includes four teams ranked in the nation’s top 15 by USA Today: No. 1 Oregon City, Ore.; No. 2 Pickerington, No. 4 Christ the King of New York City, and No. 15 Harrison Central of Gulfport, Miss. Peninsula opened against Christ the King, which it beat in 1991-92 on the way to a 33-0 record and the mythical national title.

* Former Torrance standout Jessica Reifer, a junior midfielder for the University of Hartford, has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of American All-America first team. Reifer, the North Atlantic Conference player of the year, set school records for goals (22) and points (51) in a season in leading Hartford to a 16-4-1 record and the NCAA quarterfinals.

* Seniors Lori Garber of Mira Costa and Cindy Weglarz of Bishop Montgomery have been named to the All-State girls’ volleyball third team by Cal-Hi Sports.

* The championship game of the second annual Sea Hawk Classic boys’ basketball tournament will be played at 7:30 tonight at Redondo. In the semifinals Wednesday, South Torrance met Hawthorne and San Pedro played defending champion Redondo.

COUNTDOWN

Only 31 days until the Super Bowl, which means South Bay runners don’t have much time to prepare for the 17th annual Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10-K run Jan. 29. The top 10 men’s and women’s finishers will each receive prize money, with the winners getting $1,000 apiece.