Area Standouts Form High School Dream Team : Prep basketball: Corey Benjamin and Schea Cotton lead Team L.A. to 74-58 rout of Dallas One-on-One in finals of 12th annual Slam-N-Jam tournament.

They have dreamed about it for years.

They discussed it with a giddy sense of anticipation at the recent Nike All-Star basketball camp at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

Finally, in the 12th annual Slam-N-Jam Invitational Tournament at Cal State Long Beach, Corey Benjamin and Schea Cotton would get the opportunity to play together.

“Schea and I started on the first Slam-N-Jam team in the fifth grade,” said Benjamin, a 6-foot-6 senior from Fontana High. “When we found out we would be playing on the same team, we most definitely felt we’d win [the tournament].”

Team L.A. did just that, led by Benjamin and Cotton.

The star-studded squad, coached by former Fremont assistant coach Keith Young, easily disposed of Dallas One-on-One, 74-58, in Thursday’s championship game.

“It was great playing with Corey,” said Cotton, a 6-5 junior from St. John Bosco. “We talked about it a lot at camp. Cal hadn’t won the tournament in three years so we wanted to bring the trophy home.”

Team L.A. was composed of eight Fremont players, including 5-9 point guard Dony Wilcher, rated one of the top playmakers in the state.

Wilcher had perhaps the most difficult job of all.

“A lot of people didn’t think there would be enough balls to go around on this team, but everybody was willing to sacrifice,” Wilcher said. “It wasn’t hard because I’m used to playing with [talented] players. It makes my job easier because I can go to anybody.”

It has to be a point guard’s dream to run the fast break with Benjamin and Cotton filling the lanes.

“When you have two big threats it poses a lot of problems for the other team,” Benjamin said. “[Dallas] talked a lot to try and get us out of our game but we had too much firepower.”

Benjamin, who scored 18 points in the championship game, has been on top of his game all summer.

The versatile swingman, who has played guard, forward and center at Fontana, was selected the top underclassman at last year’s Nike Camp and was named the most valuable player this year.

“The competition all seems the same to me right now because I’m in a zone,” Benjamin said.

Dallas didn’t offer much of a challenge to Cotton either, who scored a game-high 24 points.

“The hardest part about playing with this team is playing as a team,” said Cotton, who led Mater Dei to the State Division I championship last season. “I got double-teammed a lot so my biggest concern was finding the open man.”

Cotton also talked about being hounded by autograph-seekers--young and old, players and spectators.

“It’s not as much a distraction as it was in the beginning,” Cotton said. “It gets easier as you go on.”

Fremont, the preseason favorite to win the City Section 4-A Division title, was well-represented in the championship by its players.

Wilcher had six points and three assists, and 6-3 senior Jermel Jones had six points and two rebounds.

6-4 junior guard Leon Jones scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.

“It’s good experience for us,” Wilcher said. “It definitely helps us prepare for the upcoming season.”

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The Pathfinders are coming off a 27-3 season in which they lost to Fairfax by two points in the City 4-A semifinals.

Young, who may or may not be with Fremont next season, still feels the Pathfinders are one player away.

“They’re still missing that one 6-5 guy that can rebound and dominate in the post,” Young said. “But I like how the team is developing. I always thought if my guys played in these tournaments they’d get the exposure and experience they need.”

Kenyon Martin, a 6-8 senior from Bryan Adams in Texas, led Dallas with 16 points.

Benjamin, Cotton and Wilcher were selected to the 25-member All-Tournament Team, along with Travis Reed, a 6-7 junior from Manual Arts.

Former Loyola star Ryan Moose Bailey, who played with the Washington D.C.-City Line team, was named to the All-Academic Team.