Artesia Goes to the Well Once Again

Jason Kapono of Lakewood Artesia High scored 52 points and had 18 rebounds and nine assists in a Suburban League boys’ basketball game recently against Norwalk Glenn.

Kapono’s performance broke the school’s single-game scoring mark of 50 points set by Ed O’Bannon in 1989--clearly a dominating performance by one of the most highly regarded college prospects in the nation.

Or was it?

“To dominate a game, you don’t have to have the most points and rebounds,” said Kapono after scoring 35 points with 18 rebounds in only 18 minutes against Lakewood Mayfair earlier in the season.

“You can dominate other ways--by playing defense and doing other things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

Try as he might to play an understated role, however, Kapono is the top player on a talented Artesia team that is favored to repeat as Southern Section Division I-AA champion.

The Pioneers, ranked third in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, came within a point of playing for the Division I state championship last season, losing to eventual champion Los Angeles Westchester, 61-60, in the Southern California regional final. This year, they expect to be in Sacramento in March to play for their fourth state title, their first in Division I.

But first there’s a stop this afternoon at Cal State Fullerton, where Artesia meets Capistrano Valley, Orange County’s No. 2-ranked team. Tipoff is 4:30 p.m.

Kapono, a 6-foot-8 senior, is averaging 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists this season for the Pioneers (21-2), who have lost only to a Kentucky team, Ballard, in a tournament in Florida, and to Los Angeles Verbum Dei in the semifinals of the Best in the West tournament.

Kapono is the latest in a growing list of outstanding players from Artesia, which won Division II state titles in 1990, ’92 and ’93 with players such as O’Bannon and younger brother Charles. Pioneer Coach Wayne Merino called Ed O’Bannon--who led UCLA to the 1995 NCAA title--the most physically dominating player he has coached.

“But in terms of basketball knowledge and understanding the game, Jason is as good as I have ever coached,” Merino said.

Casey Jacobsen of Glendora, a senior guard on pace to become the state’s all-time scoring leader, played with Kapono on youth traveling teams in elementary school and junior high. Last season, Artesia defeated Glendora in the state playoffs.

“Jason is one of the smartest players I’ve played with or against,” said Jacobsen, who will attend Stanford next year. “He looks as though he’s thinking all the time--reading defenses, making the open pass, taking the clutch shot. He’s not fantastic at just one aspect. He’s good at everything. There aren’t that many people around that are great at the all-around game like Jason is.”

Kapono developed a multifaceted game out of necessity. He and Jacobsen were always the youngest players on traveling teams that included players such as Baron Davis, Schea Cotton, Tayshaun Prince and Ricky Anderson.

“I was pudgy back then and I saw myself as the last option on those teams, but my attitude was that I was going to prove to myself that I could become the No. 1 or 2 option,” Kapono said. “I always told myself, ‘Just keep fighting.’ ”

During the summer between eighth grade and his freshman year at Artesia, Kapono grew to about 6-3. He followed in the footsteps of the O’Bannon brothers as one of the few players to start for the Pioneers as a freshman.

“That first year, I tried not to do too much, just play solid all around,” said Kapono, who averaged 11 points and four rebounds.

As a sophomore, Kapono averaged 17 points and eight rebounds.

“Coach wanted me to be more of a scorer,” he said. “I tried to do more off the dribble, post people up, those kinds of things.”

Last season, Kapono positioned himself as one of the top juniors in the nation. He played on the wing, at the post or at the point, depending on the situation, and averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

This season, it has been more of the same.

“He’s really worked hard in the off-seasons and every year he has made great jumps,” Merino said. “His knowledge of the game has just been fine-tuned through the years and his athleticism has gotten better.