Artesia Goes To The Well

Jason Kapono of Lakewood Artesia High scored 35 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in only 18 minutes in a recent Suburban League game against Lakewood Mayfair.

It was 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, a 6-foot 8-inch senior. “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 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.

Kapono is averaging 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists this season for the Pioneers (17-2), who have lost only to a Kentucky school, Ballard, in a tournament in Florida and to 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 Ed and Charles O’Bannon. 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,” said Merino, who last week won his 300th game.

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 youth 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 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.

“When he got here, he couldn’t touch the rim, much less dunk. Now he’s dunking with ease and doing some things no one would have expected.”

Kapono surprised many observers when he chose not to commit to a college during the early signing period in November. He has visited several campuses and has trimmed his list to Nevada Las Vegas, Utah, Missouri, Rhode Island and, possibly, California.

“My plan was to go look at schools, and if I found one, to focus on that and commit right there,” Kapono said. “But I’ve narrowed my choices to a select few and, hopefully, I’ll choose from those. And maybe I’ll have some new ones.

“It’s no big deal. I don’t feel any pressure.”

Kapono does acknowledge the urgency of winning a state title this season, especially after coming so close in 1998.

In last year’s state regional loss to Westchester, Kapono was held scoreless in the first half, then scored 14 of his 17 points in the final quarter--10 in the final four minutes. He made two free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Pioneers their first lead at 60-59.

“That [final] game is going to stay with me the rest of my life,” Kapono said. “We had every chance to win, we had all kinds of breaks, but we didn’t win.

“I would have rather lost by 30 because then I would know that we had no chance and it was a done deal. There are so many ‘what ifs?’. That’s all that sticks in your mind.

“Hopefully, this year we come out with a victory in the end so I can graduate on a good note.”