The Surprises, and the Disappointments

A midseason look at boys’ basketball in the Southland:

THE SURPRISES

Chino Hills Ayala--Very few people have even heard of the 5-year old school, let alone its basketball team. But the Bulldogs turned some heads last month when they beat Fremont and Washington in the San Bernardino tournament. Tom Gregory, who used to coach at Anaheim Savanna, is 42-12 the last two seasons. Although the team had only one returning starter and its top reserve is sidelined because of a knee injury, Ayala is 18-2 and the leader in the Sierra League.

Santa Paula--Oxnard Santa Clara has been untouchable in the Frontier League, with an 88-game winning streak, but that record is in jeopardy because of upstart Santa Paula, which is 15-2. Last week, in the first of two games between the teams this season, Santa Clara escaped with a 63-62 double-overtime victory. More than 100 fans were turned away at Santa Clara. “This was probably about the toughest (in the streak),” Santa Clara veteran Coach Lou Cvijanovich said.

Washington--Few things are more difficult than trying to unseat traditional City Section powers Crenshaw, Manual Arts and Fremont. Washington has slowly built its program in recent years, and the improvements are most noticeable this season. The Generals defeated Crenshaw in a tournament game last month, ending the Cougars’ winning streak at 27 games.

Honorable mention--Westlake, Hamilton and Rowland.

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS

Fontana--The Steelers went to the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs last season as the top-seeded team with a 25-0 record. Fontana was upset by Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinals but figured to be back on top this season with a lineup that includes 6-foot-6 junior forward Corey Benjamin, who may be the area’s most-recruited player next season. The team’s only notable victory this season, however, has been over Riverside North, and the Steelers have lost to Rialto Eisenhower and Redlands.

Long Beach Wilson--With a front line averaging 6-7, Wilson figured to have the size and depth to prevail in the competitive Moore League. The Bruins, who finished 22-8 last season, have failed to find the right chemistry and lack a consistent outside shooter. At 1-3 in league play and 8-10 overall, Wilson has gone from preseason contender to fighting to make the playoffs.

Manual Arts--After losing in the first round of the City Section Division 4-A playoffs the last two seasons, Manual Arts figured to turn things around this season with one of the area’s most talented lineups. The starting five includes Travis Reed, a 6-7 junior center who transferred from Crenshaw. But the Toilers have had one disappointing showing after another and are 7-9.

Other disappointments--North Hollywood, Pasadena Muir and Loyola.

THE TOP PLAYERS

Schea Cotton, Santa Ana Mater Dei--Although the sophomore is sitting out a few weeks because of a hamstring injury, he has been the key player for the top-ranked Monarchs. The 6-5 forward is averaging 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Brock Jacobsen, Crescenta Valley--The Falcons are proving that their trip to the Southern Section Division I-AA final last season was no fluke. Jacobsen, a 6-4 guard, has been instrumental from the outside and is averaging 28 points.

Paul Pierce, Inglewood--The state’s most recruited senior has played well against tough competition. In the prestigious 64-team Las Vegas Holiday Classic last month, the 6-7 forward-guard averaged 23 points and the Sentinels finished third.

Tommy Prince, Compton Dominguez--Although Pierce is stealing some of the recruiting thunder from Prince, the 6-5 guard-forward has been the leader of the No. 2-ranked Dons. He was a key Saturday when Dominguez defeated No. 8 Westchester.

Shomario Richard, La Puente Nogales--The 6-1 guard is averaging 27 points for the 17-3 Nobles. He scored 45 and had 11 assists against Diamond Bar last week.

Honorable Mention--Chad Bickley, Santa Maria Valley Christian; Rico Harris, Temple City and Jason Collins, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake.

NOTABLE COACHES

Jim Harris, Huntington Beach Ocean View and Carol Strausburg, Fountain Valley--These veteran coaches each reached the 300-victory plateau last week. Harris is 300-139 in 17 seasons, and Strausburg 301-162 in 18.

Gary McKnight, Mater Dei--One of the Southland’s winningest coaches, he has always been known as a yeller but he seems to have gone off the deep end this season. He taunted Ocean View players for cheap shots after a recent game. He taunted a fan who was critical of his team in Las Vegas last month and he did it again during a tournament in San Diego. He even yelled at UCLA Coach Jim Harrick for not recruiting his son Clay, a starting guard for Mater Dei.

Rich Prospero, Santa Ana Valley--Four years ago, Prospero took over a program that had experienced little success. He capitalized on the transfer of talented junior Olujimi Mann and built the Falcons into a playoff contender. Earlier this month, Prospero shocked the Orange County community by stepping down in the middle of the season.

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Times’ Basketball Polls

The Times’ top 20 high school basketball polls, with teams from the City and Southern Sections. BOYS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Mater Dei SS I-A 23-1 1 2. Dominguez SS II-A 19-1 2 3. Inglewood SS II-A 16-3 3 4. Tustin SS II-A 18-1 4 5. Cres. Valley SS II-AA 19-1 5 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 15-3 7 7. Ayala SS I-AA 18-2 6 8. Westchester City 4-A 17-5 8 9. Fairfax City 4-A 14-4 9 10. Harvard-Westlake SS III-A 19-1 10 11. Artesia SS III-AA 16-3 11 12. JW North SS II-AA 14-3 12 13. Washington City 4-A 15-3 14 14. Simi Valley SS I-AA 15-3 NR 15. Fremont City 4-A 18-3 NR 16. Westlake SS I-AA 14-2 16 17. Sonora SS III-AA 18-2 18 18. Nogales SS I-A 17-3 20 19. Pasadena SS II-AA 14-5 NR 20. Rowland SS I-A 16-4 13

GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Mater Dei SS I-A 15-0 1 2. Woodbridge SS II-AA 19-1 2 3. Newbury Park SS III-AA 18-1 4 4. Brea-Olinda SS II-A 17-2 3 5. Alemany SS II-AA 13-3 6 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 16-0 5 7. Buena SS I-A 10-2 7 8. JW North SS II-AA 17-0 8 9. Peninsula SS I-AA 14-4 9 10. LB Poly SS I-AA 16-3 10 11. Diamond Bar SS I-AA 17-2 11 12. Fountain Valley SS I-A 16-5 13 13. Rialto SS I-A 16-1 17 14. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 14-4 14 15. Marina SS II-AA 15-4 12 16. Lynwood SS I-AA 12-5 16 17. Glendora SS I-A 17-3 18 18. Muir SS II-A 16-2 NR 19. Gahr SS II-AA 13-6 20 20. Simi Valley SS I-AA 17-3 NR