Timely Start for Irvine Valley

Julie Hanks didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for her first season as women’s basketball coach at Irvine Valley College. But it really doesn’t show.

She took over at Irvine Valley in early July after four seasons at Grand Canyon College in Phoenix. Hanks didn’t have a chance to recruit and had to take who was waiting in the gym.

But the eight players she inherited have built a 12-4 record, including winning the 15-team Fullerton tournament title last week.

“We’ve all worked hard,” said Hanks, who replaced Eric Bangs after he returned to Woodbridge High. “We don’t have one superstar but they all complement each other well.”

Hanks already had an important puzzle piece in place in point guard Phouangmaly Pravongviengkham, a starter last season. She is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 assists. Freshman Jami Allred leads the team in scoring at 14.2.

Hanks is happy with the strong start but she isn’t making any predictions for Orange Empire Conference play, which starts Wednesday.

“We’re the surprise [so far],” she said, “But I picked us fourth at the start of the season and I still pick us fourth. Why not be the underdog? That makes the kids work harder.”

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Honors: Three football players from Orange County made the region IV all-state football team.

Linebacker Brian Berg, who set Saddleback’s career record for tackles at 241, and wide receivers Ivan Mercer (Orange Coast) Rob Caston (Santa Ana) made the team. Mercer caught 55 passes for 706 yards and Caston caught 54 passes for 844 yards.

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Signings: Three Santa Ana baseball players have made commitments to four-year colleges for the 2000 season. Nathan Choate, a sophomore pitcher, is going to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Christian Popoff, a sophomore catcher, is headed to Nevada.

Richard Lane, a freshman outfielder from Tustin High, plans to play one season at Santa Ana before moving on to Pepperdine.

Steve Kresal can be reached can be reached at (714) 966-7577, or by e-mail at steve.kresal@latimes.com.