Otis Tones It Down, Loses the Chip

Winning has mellowed Compton Dominguez High boys’ basketball Coach Russell Otis.

After his team defeated top-seeded Tustin in the Southern Section Division II-A final last year, Otis told a crowded room of reporters that his team played the entire game with “a chip on its shoulder.”

He proceeded to rip section officials over what he considered unfair bracketing since Dominguez was seeded second.

After a loss to Mountain View St. Francis in the State Division II final the next week, Otis chided a reporter who questioned some play calling.

As he prepares his team for a return visit to the state finals this week, Otis said he is calm and quiet.

“If something needs to be said, there is a right time to say it,” Otis said. “I realize now that I didn’t vent my frustrations at the right place or time because that brought attention to me and not my players. The players deserved the press.

“I’m usually more quiet and reserved. A lot of times people don’t even know I’m the coach because I don’t stick out. That’s the way it should be.”

Otis’ demeanor is helped by the fact that the Dons are 33-2 and have won 30 games in a row. They are the top-rated team in the Southland according to The Times and in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. But they have never won a state title.

“It’s easy to say we’re just happy to be in the finals,” Otis said. “But we’re like most people. We want the title and we would love to finish No. 1 in the ratings. It’s hard to ignore that stuff.”

TITLE GAME MOTTO: REMEMBER LAST YEAR

Dominguez went into last year’s final with a 32-2 record and lofty rating but was upset by Mountain View St. Francis, which was 26-8.

The Dons’ opponent this weekend, Walnut Creek Northgate, won the State Division III title last year and plays a ball-control style similar to the one used by St. Francis.

“Dominguez has established a level of excellence over the years, so we’re definitely aware of them,” said Northgate Coach Frank Allocco Sr., whose team had to move up a division because of a slight increase in enrollment at the beginning of the school year. “But we’re not afraid of them. In fact, we feel good about our chances.”

Allocco, who played football and basketball at Notre Dame in the mid-1970s, will coach his son, Frank Allocco Jr., in his final high school game. Frank Jr., a 5-foot-10 guard, went over the 2,000-point mark last week in a regional game against Sacramento Rio Americano.

THE CRENSHAW ERA: 6-0 AND COUNTING

Crenshaw boys’ basketball Coach Willie West is 6-0 in State Division I championship games, a statistic Concord De La Salle Coach Louis Reynaud is familiar with.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in California who knows anything about high school basketball that doesn’t know about Crenshaw,” said Reynaud, whose team will try to break West’s perfect record Saturday night. “I’ve seen their last four state title victories, and they’re always impressive.”

De La Salle (26-5) is an unexpected finalist. The Spartans finished second in their league and lost to Oakland Bishop O’Dowd in the North Coast Section championship game. They received a break when O’Dowd and top-seeded San Francisco Balboa lost their Northern Regional openers.

Reynaud’s ace is 6-foot junior guard Brandon Payton, brother of Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics. Brandon, who attended Alameda St. Joseph last year, scored the winning basket in De La Salle’s 48-47 victory over Carmichael Jesuit in the regional final Saturday. He is averaging 15 points per game.

“Crenshaw is coming together at the right time, but obviously they can be beat because they’ve lost five times this season,” said Reynaud.

LONELY AT THE TOP

Crenshaw and Santa Ana Mater Dei have the most successful boys’ basketball programs in the Southland, but their fan support seems to be on the decline.

When the schools met in the State Southern Regional final in 1994, an estimated 14,000 watched at the Pond of Anaheim. And that game was televised live on Channel 9. In last Saturday’s regional final at the Pond without television coverage, Crenshaw defeated Mater Dei, 78-67, before 9,347.

The teams didn’t fare much better in their sectional finals. Mater Dei’s 57-47 victory over Glendora attracted 11,354 at the Pond, many of whom came to see Glendora and the preceding game between Long Beach Jordan and Victor Valley. And Crenshaw’s come-from-behind, 82-81, victory over Fremont was witnessed by a paid crowd of only 4,687 at the Sports Arena.

Section officials admit new blood might bolster interest and attendance, but for now, that’s out of their hands.

A RETURN TO THE CAPITAL

This is only the second time since the state basketball tournament was resurrected in 1981 that the finals are at Sacramento’s Arco Arena.

The first tournament at Arco Arena in 1992 was a big success, primarily because of the presence of Jason Kidd. He was a senior at Alameda St. Joseph that year, and played Mater Dei for the Division I title. He finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead St. Joseph to a 59-37 victory before a record crowd of 15,788.

Without a high-profile player like Kidd and only three Sacramento area schools in the finals, CIF officials don’t expect to break any attendance records.

The finals, which have traditionally been played at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, move to the Pond next year. No decision has been made on a ’98 site.

ANTE UP

For many of the coaches who won Southern Regional championship games last Saturday, the celebration was short-lived.

Each returned to school Monday with the economic reality of funding a trip to Sacramento. The CIF contributes about $1,000 in travel expenses for each Southland school and another $250 in meal per diems. It also supplies one night of lodging.

Since most schools will bring between 15 and 20 players and coaches, not to mention cheerleaders and band members, the reimbursement is minimal. Most coaches said the trip would cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Air fares, the main expense, also tend to be higher when reservations are made less than a week in advance.

“I’m taking extra money out of our athletic budget and asking for help from the booster club,” said Eleanor Dykstra, the girls’ athletic director and basketball coach at Cerritos Valley Christian. “I don’t like doing that because its going to short-change other programs at some point.

“I think the CIF needs to figure out a way to make this tournament more cost effective for the participating schools.”

At a meeting before the regional finals last week, Dominguez’s Otis said CIF officials explained to him and other coaches that qualifying for the finals was going to be expensive.

“I think a lot of us were thinking about our games and not about finances,” he said. “It all made sense on Monday, though.”

A WIN IS A WIN, BUT A FORFEIT?

The 17-17 record listed next to the Torrance Bishop Montgomery girls’ basketball team isn’t a misprint. The Knights, who will play in the Division III final, had to forfeit 11 games last month because school administrators didn’t file proper paperwork on two transfer students.

The transfers, junior Nicole Prado and sophomore Janae Zahn, are reserves who have had limited playing time. Athletic Director Cyndi Mitchell said she filled out the open enrollment forms required by the CIF but discovered later that they hadn’t been properly processed.

Bishop Montgomery was finishing up its league schedule and preparing for the playoffs when the error was discovered. The matter was cleared up and the players were reinstated. The team responded by winning its last four regular-season games and qualified for the playoffs as the league’s third and final entry. The Knights have won their eight playoff games by an average of 32 points.

“I took a lot of heat over this matter,” said Mitchell, who’s in her eighth year as the girls’ athletic director.

“It wasn’t anything that was manipulating where we tried to cover up for some kids who shouldn’t have been here. Rather, it was a clerical error.”

Said second-year Coach Yvette Angel: “I nipped the controversy right away. I told the kids they had to stay focused. I also made sure Nicole and Janae understood none of this was their fault and not to feel responsible.

“I was very stressed out for a while because I wouldn’t have known what to tell the girls if we wouldn’t have made the playoffs. I have eight seniors.”

ODDS AND ENDS

Havard-Westlake’s Jason and Jarron Collins aren’t the only twins in the finals. Seniors Elisha and Antoinette Polk are starting guards for Sacramento El Camino, which will play Irvine Woodbridge for the Division II title. Woodbridge and El Camino have met in the last two state finals, with each school winning once. . . .

Jason Collins, who’s 6-11, and Jarron, who’s 6-10, give Harvard-Westlake a major height advantage against its opponent, Sacramento Grant. Grant’s tallest starter is 6-3 forward Doriels Brown. . . .

Most of the teams in the tournament have players who transferred in from another area school last summer. Cerritos Valley Christian’s leading scorer is senior guard Kiyoko Miller, who played at Brea Olinda for three years.

Crenshaw senior forward Derrick Anderson, who’s the second-leading scorer on the team, played at Venice last season. Dominguez senior guard Rickie Sanders and senior forward Frank Cressey, transferred from Millikan and Morningside, respectively.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

At Arco Arena, Sacramento

BOYS

DIVISION I

* Crenshaw (28-5) vs.

Concord De La Salle (25-5), Saturday, 8 p.m.

DIVISION II

* Dominguez (33-2) vs.

Walnut Creek Northgate (31-3), Friday, 8 p.m.

DIVISION III

* Harvard-Westlake (29-2) vs.

Sacramento Grant (31-2), Saturday, 4:15 p.m.

DIVISION IV

* Fresno Washington Union (28-1) vs.

Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman (27-7), Fri., 4:15 p.m.

DIVISION V

* Montclair Prep (29-3) vs.

Oakland St. Elizabeth (30-4) Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

GIRLS

DIVISION I

* Mater Dei (28-3) vs.

San Jose Archbishop Mitty (26-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.

DIVISION II

* Woodbridge (31-2) vs.

Sacramento El Camino (33-1), Friday, 6:15 p.m.

DIVISION III

* Bishop Montgomery (17-17) vs.

Grass Valley Bear River (34-1), Saturday, 2:30 p.m.

DIVISION IV

* Cerritos Valley Christian (31-0) vs.

Moraga Campolindo (33-1), Friday, 2:30 p.m.

DIVISION V

* Mission Prep (25-2) vs.

Atherton Sacred Heart (27-8), Saturday, 11 a.m.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Times’ Basketball Polls

Games through March 12

BOYS

*--*

No. School Sec. Div. Rec. LW 1. Dominguez SS II 33-2 1 2. Crenshaw City 4-A 28-5 4 3. Mater Dei SS I 34-2 2 4. LB Jordan SS I 30-4 3 5. Fremont City 4-A 27-5 5 6. Harvard-Westlake SS III 29-2 6 7. Inglewood SS II 29-5 7 8. Victor Valley SS I 27-4 8 9. Artesia SS II 24-6 9 10. Palisades City 4-A 24-3 10 11. Tustin SS II 25-4 12 12. Westchester City 4-A 23-7 13 13. Crossroads SS IV 27-9 11 14. Bishop Montgomery SS III 25-5 14 15. Santa Margarita SS II 24-7 15 16. JW North SS II 23-8 16 17. Peninsula SS I 21-9 17 18. Fontana SS I 20-8 18 19. Muir SS III 23-11 19 20. San Dimas SS III 27-2 20

*--*

*

GIRLS

*--*

No. School Sec. Div. Rec. LW 1. Woodbridge SS II 31-2 1 2. Mater Dei SS I 28-3 3 3. Buena SS I 30-2 2 4. Peninsula SS I 30-2 4 5. Brea Olinda SS II 29-4 5 6. Cerritos Valley Chr. SS IV 31-0 6 7. Palmdale SS I 28-5 9 8. Lynwood SS II 25-3 8 9. Santa Ynez SS IV 31-1 7 10. Simi Valley SS I 27-3 10 11. Perris SS II 23-3 11 12. Bishop Montgomery SS III 17-17* 15 13. Crescenta Valley SS I 28-2 13 14. Laguna Hills SS II 24-3 14 15. Morningside SS III 27-4 12 16. Fountain Valley SS I 25-5 15 17. Washington City 4-A 23-5 12 18. Chino SS I 23-5 16 19. LB Jordan SS I 23-5 19 20. Ocean View SS II 23-9 20

*--*

*11 losses by forfeit