Goal Oriented : Sonora Senior Berokoff Sets High Standard for Himself

In his moderately kempt bedroom, next to the closet containing eight shoe boxes of letters from college basketball coaches, Jeffrey Berokoff has a wooden desk. Inside the top drawer, tucked into the back corner, is a piece of notebook paper on which he’s outlined his goals for the upcoming high school season.

“I want my scoring average to be in the mid-20s,” he says, quoting the hand-written list. “I’m going to shoot 80% from the free-throw line and make at least 50% of my three-point shots.”

Berokoff, a 6-3 1/2 senior guard at Sonora, does not include making the all-county team on his list. He has learned, he said, that you can’t depend on others to see things the way you do. You just go out and do your thing and let the chips fall where they may.

“Basically, you set your own goals and [have to] personally feel that you have accomplished them,” he said.

An all-out, hard-nosed, in-your-face, give-me-the-ball-and-I’ll-shoot-it kind of guy, Berokoff changed his mind last week when he signed to play at San Diego State, after previously announcing he wouldn’t make his college choice until the spring.

Last summer, he earned national attention by making the all-tournament team at the prestigious Spiece Run and Slam Classic at Purdue. But Berokoff said he signed with the Aztecs, who have struggled in past seasons, because he liked that he would be playing in the new campus arena and would have the opportunity to help rebuild the program.

If Berokoff succeeds in leading the county in scoring, which many think he is capable of doing, he will likely be remembered for the tenacious manner in which he does it.

“He has a way of antagonizing an opponent,” Sonora Coach Mike Murphy said. “You won’t talk to too many players about Jeffrey who say they like him.”

Berokoff exudes confidence and, he admits, this has led to his reputation as a cocky player.

“Off the court I’m a fun-loving, gregarious guy,” he said. “But on the court you’ve got to be serious. You have to take that nature and [opponents] have to be afraid of you.”

Those who known him say Berokoff is one of the most intense players on the floor.

“He’s a warrior,” said Mark Mayemura, an assistant with the traveling team for which Berokoff plays.

Mayemura remembered the time last summer when Berokoff broke a finger on his shooting hand and continued to play. “This guy is tough. He’s very well-rounded and plays very heady. He’s very disciplined and can shoot the lights out, but he is just as effective defensively shutting down an opposing player.”

How intense is Berokoff? He once tried to fly over a jetty at Newport Beach on a bodyboard during a big swell. He missed, taking most of the skin off his leg.

But he never missed a summer basketball game.

At the end of a tight high school game last season, Murphy said Berokoff flopped to the floor untouched. The act convinced referees he had taken a charge. Sonora won the game.

Murphy says he’s been amazed at how hard Berokoff concentrates on creating good situations for the team.

“He can fake a foul or a charge. He has funny ways of getting the attention of referees,” Murphy said. “He can make a referee think he has been fouled or that the other guy hit him. If I was a player he was doing this to, I would be mad, and they usually get pretty ticked off, but [his tactics] seem to work.”

Berokoff defends his methods, which he admits have played a large part in his not-so-kind reputation.

“Aw, gee whiz,” Berokoff said. “Guys get afraid of someone like me who plays aggressively, when you dive for a loose ball or tug on their jersey, step on their shoes or are rubbing some sweat on them. Some guys don’t really like that and it gets them all out of whack.”

Those who know him admire Berokoff for his hustle. They see him as a hard-working overachiever. At school he’s the class cut-up. He was voted Homecoming King and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“As a person he is a great guy,” said former teammate Ben Jones, who now plays at UC Irvine. “He’s a little different off the court than most people might think. He has a real great sense of humor and there’s never a dull moment with him around.”

Berokoff had a sensational sophomore season. He was among the county leaders in scoring, averaging 17.4 points. He was the go-to guy for the Raiders, who finished 21-7 and won another in a long line of Freeway League titles. But to Murphy and Berokoff’s way of thinking, the effort was mostly overshadowed and he was only a second-team all-county selection.

Last season, his scoring average dropped below double figures. He took a back seat to Jones, a first-team all-county pick, as the Raiders swept to another league title and a 26-4 record.

“Last year was tough on Jeffrey,” Murphy said. “He had such a great sophomore year and a lot of people think he just disappeared. Nothing could be further from the truth. He didn’t score like he did as a sophomore and he didn’t shoot the ball as well as he did as a sophomore, but we had three guys playing alongside him that were great seniors.”

Said Berokoff: “I was happy that we were winning, but I felt like I got lost in the crowd. I had to sacrifice myself the most of any player because I was the underclassman.”

Berokoff was further disheartened early last summer, his brother Mark said, when Auburn, which had showed interest in recruiting him, suddenly stopped.

“He had a great home visit with Coach Cliff Ellis and was ready to take his visit,” said Mark Berokoff, a former Sonora assistant who is now coach at Heritage Christian. “Jeffrey had his bags packed and his ticket in his hand when they called and said they had a transfer [player] come in and they weren’t interested anymore.”

Mark, 23, and Jeffrey, 17, prefer to call each other best friends. Both agree Jeffrey has shaped his worldview by bitter lessons such as the Auburn rejection. But Mark said his brother may be coming around.

“I think he has toned his act down quite a bit, although some people think he is cocky,” Mark said. “He is just very confident in his game, but he may have shown it in immature ways in the last few years.”

Jones says Berokoff’s outgoing personality works in his favor.

“He never second-guesses himself,” Jones said. “He’s never tentative when he plays. Some coaches may say bad things about him because they would rather see a modest personality on the floor as opposed to a confident and intense individual out there.”

Mayemura compares Berokoff to a very good wide receiver in football.

“He finds the lanes and runs them hard. Any area where you need brains, he overachieves,” he said.

There will be tough competition for the county’s top-scorer honors this season. University’s Eric Palmer led the county as a junior last season, averaging 24 points. Guard Duc Nyugen of Bolsa Grande averaged 20.5. There’s also Whittier Christian guard Jon Stoa (20) and Brea Olinda guard Chris McMillian (17.1).

Berokoff welcomes the challenge. But he’s not about to measure his final high school season by whether or not he leads the county in scoring. Instead, he’ll judge himself by whether he meets the personal goals he set for himself on that slip of paper inside the desk drawer in his room.