Coach Shows He Can Win Off the Field

Should a football coach who turned a perennial loser into a championship team be rewarded with a $12,000 raise?

That is a question many people in the Colton Joint Unified School District are asking since Bloomington Coach Don Markham recently won a grievance to have his salary boosted from $37,306 to $49,129.

Markham, 55, and his team made headlines last season for going 14-0, winning the Southern Section Division VIII title and scoring a national-record 880 points. Bloomington, without Markham, was 1-9 in 1993.

From 1973-83, Markham coached at nearby Colton High, which is in the same district as Bloomington. But when he was hired at Bloomington last April, he was credited with only the maximum five years of experience, which is district policy for new teachers.

Less than a week after the season ended, however, Markham filed a grievance asking that he receive full credit for the 11 years he previously taught in the district. That amounted to a nearly $12,000 difference in salary.

Markham threatened to leave if he did not win his case, applying for the vacant coaching position at Rialto High.

On the advice of its legal counsel, the district’s board of education granted Markham’s request last week.

“Our attorneys said Mr. Markham is in a position to get credit for previous years of service,” said Don Alvarez, school board president. “This was an unusual case in that teachers don’t return to the district very often after they’ve left, so perhaps we need to review our policy.

“Mr. Markham’s notoriety certainly helped bring light to this issue.”

Markham has not withdrawn his application from Rialto but said he has no plans to leave Bloomington.

“The football program made more money this season than it ever has before, and I think that needs to be taken into account,” he said. “The district knows I win wherever I go.”

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Why did Inglewood’s Paul Pierce, the Southland’s top basketball prospect, shun UCLA for Kansas last week?

The 6-foot-7 guard was thought to be leaning toward the Bruins in a heated recruiting battle that also included California and Nevada Las Vegas, among others. But Pierce ended months of speculation Friday, when he announced that he plans to sign with Kansas during the spring signing period in April.

Before a crowd of about 100 friends, relatives and reporters, Pierce and his mother, Lorraine Hosey, praised UCLA’s program but said they were more impressed with Kansas.

“I like the feeling on Kansas’ campus and the way the student body supports the team,” said Pierce, who reached his decision after taking a final visit to UCLA on Jan. 21. “I also think I need to get away from all the distractions at home.”

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Most football players lucky enough to receive scholarships will sign letters of intent Wednesday, but The Times’ player of the year, Daylon McCutcheon of La Puente Bishop Amat, won’t announce his decision until Saturday.

The 5-10, 175-pound running back/defensive back said he is trying to decide between USC, Colorado and Washington.

“I just haven’t got that feeling yet that one of those three is the right one,” said McCutcheon, who rushed for 2,450 yards and 28 touchdowns last season. “Each of the schools has assured me (that I can) take as long as I need and that they’ll have a scholarship for me when I decide. I hope to know by Saturday, but if I still need more time, I’ll take it.”

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Michael Granville of Bell Gardens and Bryan Howard of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, among the nation’s top prep runners, will compete in open events at the 36th Sunkist Invitational on Feb. 11 at the Sports Arena.

Although it is rare for high school athletes to compete in open events, Granville and Howard have good enough qualifying times.

Granville, a junior, will run the 500 meters against a field that includes Danny Harris, the 1984 Olympic silver medalist in the 400-meter hurdles.

Howard, a senior, will run the 50 meters in a field that includes Mike Marsh, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 200, and Jon Drummond, rated No. 3 in the world in the 100 last year.

Prep notes

Two successful veteran football coaches stepped down last week. Jim Barnett, who was 81-30-2 with three Southern Section championships in 10 seasons at Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills, resigned because of the school’s jump from Division VIII to Division I last year. “I don’t think Trabuco Hills was designed to be a Division I school,” he said. At Thousand Oaks, Bob Richards reportedly asked to be reassigned as an assistant to spend more time with his family. He was 82-47-7 in 12 seasons with one Southern Section title.

The Pomona boys’ basketball team had to forfeit 10 games last week for using an ineligible player who was not a resident of the school’s attendance area. All were nonleague games, and Pomona’s record is now 4-16. . . . In one of the season’s biggest girls’ basketball showdowns, Ventura Buena upset previously undefeated and top-ranked Santa Ana Mater Dei, 55-48, in a nonleague game Saturday night. Before a sellout crowd of 1,500 at Buena, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak against Mater Dei to five, including last season’s Southern Section Division I-A championship game.

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 25-1 1 2. Dominguez SS II-A 21-1 2 3. Inglewood SS II-A 18-3 3 4. Tustin SS II-A 19-1 4 5. Cres. Valley SS II-AA 21-1 5 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 18-3 6 7. Fairfax City 4-A 17-4 9 8. Westchester City 4-A 19-6 8 9. JW North SS II-AA 16-3 12 10. Artesia SS III-AA 18-3 11 11. Fremont City 4-A 21-3 15 12. Harvard-Westlake SS III-A 20-2 10 13. Nogales SS I-A 19-3 18 14. Ayala SS I-AA 19-3 7 15. Santa Margarita SS II-A 20-1 NR 16. Sonora SS III-AA 19-2 17 17. Simi Valley SS I-AA 16-4 14 18. Westlake SS I-AA 15-3 16 19. Glendora SS I-A 19-3 NR 20. Pasadena SS II-AA 17-6 19

*GIRLS

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