Center of Attention : Basketball: With veteran teammates gone, Alemany will be counting even more on Funicello.

Carly Funicello is an even bigger girl now, so handling pressure likely won’t be a problem.

Having grown an inch since last season, Funicello, who has signed with UCLA, stands 6 feet 4 as she begins her senior year. As the center for Alemany High, perennially one of the region’s best teams, she is prepared for double- and triple-team coverage whenever she handles the ball.

Opponents may be forced to resort to such tactics to stop Funicello, perhaps the region’s top post player.

“They’re really going to pack it in a lot harder,” Alemany Coach Melissa Hearlihy said. “I think she needs to step up and be a leader all around. It’s kind of her team now.”

All of which is not lost on Funicello, who was selected Valley player of the year by The Times last season. She’s used to drawing a crowd--on and off the court.

Trial by fire came as the Indians inched their way through the Division II-A playoffs and into the State tournament.

With each game, Funicello increasingly became the focus of defensive schemes. Still, she managed to capitalize on her size and ability to average 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds--both team highs--as Alemany won a second consecutive Mission League championship.

The Indians reached the section final, losing to Woodbridge, 53-45, before advancing to the semifinals of the Southern California regional.

She also was on the receiving end of a flood of attention.

Funicello’s phone rang ceaselessly almost every night, with college coaches, reporters and assorted well-wishers pestering her about her future.

“It got really [busy] toward the end,” Funicello said. “Probably about two weeks before the signing period, everyone was calling me, asking where I was going, why I was going there.

“But it really wasn’t that bad. Actually, I kind of liked it.”

Funicello also likes the Indians’ chances of three-peating as league champions and advancing far into the playoffs.

Alemany, with two other starters returning, remains formidable. However, Funicello will have more responsibility. No longer will she have teammates Samantha Rigley and Kelly McKay--both graduated--to help shoulder the load.

Have the Indians lost much?

“No, we gained a lot,” Funicello said. “I’m ready. We don’t have to worry.”

Especially Funicello. Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered to Westwood, maybe she can relax a bit more this season.

But one thing should remain constant.

“I think she’s going to be really good,” Hearlihy said. “It’s going to be really exciting.”

Other players to watch:

Simi Valley’s Tawnee Cooper, a 5-9 senior forward and who was selected Ventura County player of the year by The Times, signed with UC Santa Barbara after averaging 21.5 points and 10.7 rebounds and leading the Pioneers to the Division I-AA quarterfinals.

“It’s a great accomplishment, something that’s been a goal of mine since eighth grade,” Cooper said. “And it finally happened.”

Cooper’s perimeter shooting improved over the summer, which she spent playing for two all-star teams.

“She’s handled the ball more and she feels much better,” Coach Dave Murphy said. “And she’s a definite leader.”

Jaclyn Johnson of Bell-Jeff, a 6-2 junior guard who transferred from Quartz Hill, might be the best all-around athlete.

“She can dribble and she can get up and grab the rim,” Coach Jim Couch said. “All I could do was smile when I heard she was coming here.”

Johnson averaged 23 points last season and was an All-Southern Section selection for the second consecutive year. She joins seven returning players--including her cousin, sophomore forward Stacey Cobb.

Bell-Jeff, which advanced to the Division IV-A quarterfinals last season, will play with a more up-tempo style, Couch said. Johnson should fit in nicely.

Nicole Greathouse of Buena, a 6-2 junior center, was an All-Southern Section selection on one of the premier teams in Ventura County, if not Southern California. Greathouse averaged 12.6 points and 9.3 rebounds last season.

Greathouse, Coach Joe Vaughan said, is difficult to outrebound.

“She’s just one strong son-of-a-gun,” Vaughan said. “She’s very physical with her size, and she can shoot.”

Greathouse, also an exceptional softball pitcher, should be among the region’s most-recruited players next season.

Senior center Kristi Rose of Palmdale is one of the region’s most-underrated players, according to her coach, George Corisis. That’s hard to believe, considering Rose has signed with Utah.

Rose averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds in her third season as a starter. She rebounded from a broken foot suffered during her freshman year.

Rose also has “the best hook shot in the country,” Corisis said.

Michelle Greco and Amirah Leonard form a potent tandem for Crescenta Valley.

Greco (5-10), a sophomore forward, was Pacific League most valuable player and state freshman player of the year, averaging 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Leonard, a senior guard and All-Southern Section selection, averaged 21 points and led the state with 103 three-point baskets.

Junior forward Nicole Black (5-9) might be the best of five players who have transferred to Oxnard. Black played three varsity seasons at Hueneme.

Senior guard Anicia Rimm (5-5), who averaged 18 points after transferring from South Carolina, is the best of three returning players for Oxnard. The pair will lead the way for the Yellowjackets, who figure to be among the region’s most-improved teams after going 8-16 and finishing last in the Channel League.

Colleges already are taking notice of Paraclete’s Kim Whisler, a 6-3 junior center who impressed observers with her strength and rebounding in summer leagues.

“She’s just fantastic inside,” Coach Susan Hervey said.