In Every Game, McMillian Takes Steps Toward Goal

Senior point guard Chris McMillian views his basketball career as a work in progress.

First, he made the decision to expand his horizons in the summer of 1997 and play on a traveling team. The exposure he received earned him a scholarship offer from Wyoming, and he committed to the Cowboys during the early-signing period in November.

Then, he helped lead Brea Olinda to a 22-4 regular-season record, good for a No. 6 ranking in the final county poll and second place in the Orange League.

Now, the Wildcats host Cerritos Gahr (17-10) at 7:30 tonight in the first round of the Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.

McMillian wasn’t happy with that second-place finish. Who would be, after winning the league title three years in a row? But he put up some big numbers this season--he’s fourth in the county in scoring at 24.2 points per game--and sees the playoffs as the last opportunity for high school glory.

“Our goal is a [Southern Section] championship,” said the 5-foot-10 McMillian. “I know that not too many times a team loses the league title and then wins the championship, but that’s what we’re shooting for.”

McMillian was a Times Orange County second-team selection last year but believed he needed more exposure to college recruiters last summer, so he played for the Inland Empire Basketball Program. His team finished 9-3 while playing in several national tournaments, and he was selected among the top 20 players at the West Coast All-Star camp in July.

“Chris just played exceptionally well against the best competition in the country,” Inland Empire Coach Keith Howard said. “Chris is savvy and has the ability to get the ball to the open man and the ability to create offense off the dribble. He can penetrate and is expected to hit open jump shots in the 15- to 25-foot range.”

McMillian, according to Brea Olinda Coach Gene Lloyd, continued to mature as a court leader during the high school season.

“He’s had a tremendous year,” Lloyd said. “He’s among the offensive leaders in the county in just about every category. Defensively, he continues to improve and I expect him to improve throughout his college career.”

Lloyd and McMillian don’t hide their frustration that the Wildcats, favored to win their fourth consecutive league title, finished behind No. 7 Magnolia, losing twice to the Sentinels.

“If we had gotten everybody together at the same time, our record would have been better,” Lloyd said.

McMillian said the losses to Magnolia still stun him.

“The first game, and I’ll tell it the way it is, we played flat,” McMillian said of the 79-70 loss. “We were coming off an upset loss [to Sonora] and were playing too relaxed. Most of the guys hadn’t lost a league game since they came here as freshmen, and we thought we would walk right through the league. But Magnolia was playing well and we didn’t give them the respect they deserved.

“The second time Magnolia played the game of its life,” McMillian said of the Sentinels’ 88-81 victory. “We played well, but they had guys that stepped it up too. My hat is off to them. They deserved to win. They were the better team. But it hurts. It’s my senior year. My name won’t go on a championship banner in the gym. There won’t be another championship patch on my letterman’s jacket.”

But there may be a silver lining, McMillian said.

“After we lost the second time, we had a talk and told Coach we have to play pressure man-to-man defense earlier in the game,” he said. “Too many guys were heading out before getting the rebound. They were more concerned about scoring. That was a mental breakdown on our part.”

Brea pressured the length of the court from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer in its last three games, and the rejuvenated Wildcats came away with easy victories over Valencia, Savanna and Western.

“Not too many teams can handle full-court pressure for a full 32 minutes,” McMillian said.

Offensively, Lloyd points to a Wildcat play called “UCLA” that is designed to put the ball in McMillian’s hands. McMillian has four options once he gets the ball at the top of the key: He can shoot, drive for a lay-in, drive and pull up for a short jumper or draw out the opposing defense and pass to an open teammate.

In its 78-77 loss to third-ranked Sonora, Lloyd called the play repeatedly in the fourth quarter and McMillian responded with a team-high 30 points, including 11 in the final four minutes to get the Wildcats back into the game.

“He’s an exceptional ballhandler and passer,” Lloyd said. “He’s the floor leader. He takes all the direction from the coaches and still controls the game. To be able to do all that shows how good he really is.”

McMillian said he wants to continue to help his team while preparing for the next level.

“I know in college I’m not going to get to shoot the ball a whole lot of times as I do now, so I’m working on the range of my jumper,” he said. “I want to be able to step out a bit more and hit it. I know in college there will be a lot of 6-3, 6-4 guards on me and I want to be able to shoot over them.”