Dandy Don

Tayshaun Prince likes to keep a low profile, whether he’s in the stands of a high school gym watching an upcoming opponent or on the court for Compton Dominguez, one of the strongest boys’ basketball programs in the state.

“I’m a laid-back person,” Prince said. “There are some guys who try to be known and try to be seen. That’s not my style.”

When Prince is playing, however, there is no escape from the spotlight. Not this year. Prince, a willowy 6-foot-8, 185-pound senior forward, is regarded as one of the top prep players in the nation and will attend Kentucky in the fall. But first he will try to lead Dominguez to its third consecutive Southern Section and state Division II championships.

The Dons began San Gabriel Valley League play recently. But Prince, and most followers of boys’ basketball in the Southland, cannot help looking ahead to Monday when Dominguez will play Westchester, the top-ranked team in the City Section and the state, in the featured game of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge at Pauley Pavilion.

The one-day, eight-game event features most of the top teams and many of the top players in Southern California. Mater Dei and Canyon will play in the second game of the day, at 11 a.m.

“We’ve been talking about the Westchester game since August,” Prince said. “Everybody has been looking forward to that game. They’re the No. 1 team in the City and we’re No. 1 in this area. We just have to go out there and play like it.”

Dominguez lived up to its billing in last season’s MLK matchup against perennial City power Crenshaw. The Dons defeated Crenshaw, the eight-time state Division I champions, 101-90, in front of 8,500. The spectators, and their enthusiasm, made an impression on Prince.

“It’s a different kind of feeling, playing in front of a big crowd like that,” Prince said. “Last year against Crenshaw was really the first time it felt that way. It was a good experience because I’m going to have to get used to it at the next level.”

Prince, 17, found out how large and rabid a college crowd can be when he made a recruiting trip to Kentucky in October. Before he arrived in Lexington, he also had been considering Kansas, Georgetown and UCLA. But his visit to Kentucky coincided with the Wildcats’ sold-out “Midnight Madness” opening practice.

“There were people standing at the door waiting to get in four hours before it started,” Prince said, chuckling at the memory. “They were acting like it was the NCAA championship game. I was like, ‘Wow.’ ”

Prince, who is left-handed, is fully capable of wowing opponents and spectators with a spectacular shot, dunk or pass. But his playing style and personality are typically much more understated. Some observers have compared him to former UCLA All-American and NBA all-star Jamaal Wilkes, an intelligent, quiet player with a reed-like body and nontraditional shot who found a way to get the job done against more physically imposing opponents.

“There are guys who maybe shoot better, or pass better, rebound better and block shots better, but he does it all,” Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said. “He understands how to get himself into position to do what needs to be done.

“He might not always be spectacular, but at the end of the game he has 28 points and 15 rebounds.”

Prince, brother of Pepperdine sophomore forward Tommie Prince, is in his fourth varsity season at Dominguez. As a 6-6, 165-pound freshman, he spent much of his first year in the program overmatched by stronger, more mature teammates.

“That’s all they did--push me around,” Prince said. “But that made me find other ways to get the job done.”

The turning point in his career, Prince said, came in a 1996 playoff game against Lakewood Artesia. Dominguez led for much of the game, but Artesia came back late in the fourth quarter to take control.

Then Prince, a sophomore, took over.

“I came down and hit a couple threes,” he said. “One of them was a forced shot, but it went in and we won the game, so I’ll take it. That game made me realize what I could do coming down the stretch.”

Last year, with a team that included Prince, point guard Kenny Brunner (now at Georgetown) and forward Jason Thomas, the Dons won their second consecutive section and state titles.

Prince and Dominguez have eliminated Southern Section champion teams from Orange County in the second round of the state playoffs the last two seasons. In 1996, Dominguez beat Santa Margarita, 75-53.

Last season, Prince had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 83-65 victory over Woodbridge and center Chris Burgess.

Dominguez’s chances of winning three in a row suffered when Thomas, a senior who is perhaps the best all-around athlete in the state, suffered an ankle injury during football season. Thomas, who has committed to play football next season at USC, has recovered but is not playing basketball to avoid re-injuring the ankle.

“We miss Jason, but we’re capable of winning again,” Prince said. “The last two years, everything kind of fell into place, everything was going right. This year it’s like everything is going right but obstacles keep coming up.

“We just need to work on some things and take care of business and we’ll be fine. We’ll be right there.”

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The Facts

* What--Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge

* When--Monday, at Pauley Pavilion

* Matchups--9:30 a.m.: Redondo Beach Redondo Union vs. South Torrance; 11 a.m.: Mater Dei vs. Canyon; 12:30 p.m.: Lakewood Artesia vs. Long Beach Jordan; 2 p.m.: Compton vs. San Diego University; 3:30 p.m.: Long Beach Poly vs. Fairfax; 5 p.m.: L.A. Crenshaw vs. Etiwanda; 6:30 p.m.: Compton Dominguez vs. Westchester; 8 p.m.: Glendora vs. Burbank Bellarmine-Jefferson.