THE SKINNY ON KERON

Keron Wilkerson insists he has tried to gain weight.

After playing last season at 147 pounds, the North Hollywood High forward dutifully followed his coach’s prescribed off-season weight-gain program.

He ate lots of pasta.

For the first time, he lifted lots of weights.

Neither attempt worked.

Basketball kept getting in the way.

“I’d play basketball, play for hours, and just burn it off,” Wilkerson said. “I’d eat a lot and get full, but I couldn’t stop playing. I love basketball too much.”

Wilkerson, a senior, gained five pounds--but he also grew two inches to 6 feet 4. So much for trying to bulk up.

“I wouldn’t mind giving him a few of my pounds,” said Jonathan Hicks, North Hollywood’s 6-3, 260-pound center.

Wilkerson’s hopes for filling out will have to wait another year. He wouldn’t want his diet to adversely affect his game.

Already established as a scorer--he averaged 20.1 points a game as a junior--Wilkerson has become more prolific, averaging 25.1 points and shooting 34.8% beyond the three-point line.

“He pretty much relied on the three-pointer last year,” North Hollywood Coach Rob Bloom said. “But he has a lot more moves now.”

The Huskies are also better after a brief letdown. A traditional powerhouse in the Valley Pac-8 Conference, North Hollywood won eight consecutive league titles from 1987-1994. Dana Jones, Arthur Lee and Damon Ollie, who went on to star at Pepperdine, Stanford and Montana State, respectively, led those teams.

The reminders of success are constant. Championship banners cover half the gym.

But the Huskies lost their hold on the East Valley League title to Grant in 1995 and to Monroe in 1996. Longtime coach Steve Miller stepped down following the 1996 season and the program seemed to be slipping.

Even with the arrival of Wilkerson, who transferred from Culver City, and point guard DeJon Lee, who came from Alemany, North Hollywood finished 10-13 last season, 4-6 in conference play. It was the Huskies’ first losing conference record in more than a decade.

But the core of the team returned. After a sputtering start, North Hollywood is 15-7, 5-1, and tied for first with Grant. A victory over the Lancers and high-scoring guard Gilbert Arenas today would go a long way toward putting another banner on North Hollywood’s gymnasium wall.

“We didn’t have the chemistry or passion last year,” Wilkerson said. “I was new playing with these guys. We just needed a year together. I’m better because they’re better.”

His confidence shows. Last year, Wilkerson was content drifting along the three-point line, looking for open shots. Now, he’s more aggressive driving to the basket and he’s not afraid to dunk.

“The weights helped my legs a lot,” he said. “I’m much stronger.”

Quiet by nature, Wilkerson also is expressing himself more as a team leader.

“In team meetings last year he would just sit in the back and not say anything,” DeJon Lee said. “Now, he tells us what he thinks we need to do. Last year we were the transfers. Now we’re more together.”

Wilkerson’s dedication extends to the early morning hours. He rises before dawn to catch the bus for school. After moving back to Los Angeles almost a year ago, Wilkerson could have gone to a school closer to home. He chose to stay at North Hollywood.

“I feel close to the team, we all get along well,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave.”

Wilkerson might be too frail right now to play at the Division I level, but Bloom says there has been some interest from schools.

His mother, Clara Wilkerson, predicts he will eventually gain weight.

“His father is 6-2 and he didn’t gain weight until he was 18 or 19,” she said. “He just needs to be patient. He’ll fill out eventually.”