Prep Players Will Miss Role Model

Casey Jacobsen watched intently as Michael Jordan faked out Bryon Russell and made the legendary shot that beat the Utah Jazz in last year’s NBA championship series.

And as Jordan extended his arm for that extra, defining moment, Jacobsen, the Southern Section Division I player of the year from Glendora High, stared at the TV and reflected on the career of a player he had watched since he was 4.

“When he hit that shot, I cried,” said Jacobsen, now a senior. “I didn’t start bawling, but a tear rolled down my cheek. I started thinking about how great he was and I realized that was probably the last time I was going to see him play.”

Although Jordan played high school basketball in North Carolina, he was a role model for local high school players and a teaching model for their coaches throughout his stellar 13-year NBA career.

Jordan, who retired Wednesday, was the player a generation of boys and girls has tried to emulate.

“You looked up to him because of his skills and his work ethic,” Los Angeles Fairfax senior Joe Shipp said. “Watching him, on and off the court, made me want to be the best player I can be.”

Mater Dei boys’ basketball Coach Gary McKnight said he was shocked to find assistant Dave Taylor, the school’s business manager, sitting in McKnight’s office Wednesday morning glued to the television.

“I thought, ‘Did the president get shot?’ ” McKnight said. “He’s never down here. He said, ‘Jordan’s retiring. I’m watching it.’ For him to get out of his normal working day, that was unique.

“The kids were gathered around the TV in the team room. I haven’t seen something like this [among the basketball players] since the [space shuttle] Challenger explosion, and of course, that was a tragedy and I don’t want to compare the two. But it got that kind of attention among my basketball players and coaches.”

Neither of Mater Dei’s standouts, Steve Scoggin or Mike Bayer, said they had any emotional attachment to Jordan’s announcement. But Jordan made a clear impact.

Scoggin said that while growing up, “I wanted to be like him,” though today he is most impressed by the intangible aspect of Jordan’s game.

“He shows everyone how smart you have to be to make it in the NBA,” Scoggin said. “You don’t just need talent, you also need to be smart. . . . I wish he’d come back--he’s the only person I really want to watch in the NBA.”

Bayer said he wasn’t much of a Bulls fan, but he delayed plans Tuesday night and watched two hours of Jordan highlights on television.

“I don’t even understand how someone can be that good,” he said. “I think maybe I should have watched him more.”

Signs of Jordan’s influence are prevalent throughout Southland high school basketball, from the signature-model shoes to Jordan-inspired tattoos.

Mike Bartee, boys’ varsity coach at Riverside North, has been reminded of Jordan’s impact every year at freshman tryouts.

“I’d say that 90% of the kids come in wearing something with the Bulls on it or a jersey with No. 23 on it,” Bartee said.

Jordan’s impact on the girls’ game might be even greater than it has been on the boys’, said James Anderson, girls’ coach at Harbor City Narbonne.

“He was a universal role model,” Anderson said. “The girls can’t dunk and they might not watch a lot of pro basketball, but they all watched Jordan.

“As a result, the girls’ game has become much more athletic than it was even five years ago.”

Brea Olinda junior Chelsea Trotter singled out Jordan’s mental approach.

“His game speaks for itself, but the way he leads his teammates on and off the court is incredible,” Trotter said. “That’s what I admire so much, he’s serious whether he’s playing the Raptors or the Knicks. He’s focused. That’s probably the toughest thing for me, it’s hard getting up for Anaheim the same as it is for Narbonne.”

Diana Taurasi, a junior at Chino Don Lugo who is regarded as one of the top players nationally in the Class of 2000, has her bedroom plastered with Jordan posters and has a life-size cardboard cutout.

“The guy is just God, on and off the court,” Taurasi said. “The way he carries himself and the way he plays, you just want to be like Mike.”

In Jordan, coaches had an example to point to when discussing almost every facet of the game.

“We refer to him in practice at least half a dozen times a week,” said Mel Sims, girls’ coach at Chino Hills Ayala. “A lot of kids don’t know how to play without the ball, they all want to dribble. We point out that Jordan is a guy who gives up the ball and works as hard to get open and play defense as he does when he’s making one of those spectacular drives and dunks.”

Jacobsen, who is likely to become the state’s all-time leading scorer by season’s end, said Jordan’s retirement creates a void in the role-model department.

“I have an 11-year-old brother, and if I were to pick a role model for the new generation, I would probably choose Grant Hill in terms of talent and off-the-court demeanor,” Jacobsen said. “He comes closest to Michael Jordan.

“But I don’t think we’ll ever see anyone like him again. He was the man.”