CROSS-CULTURAL FORCE

Wearing his hightops and dribbling his basketball, Nana Gbewonyo conducts a clinic for a group of attentive but perplexed youngsters who couldn’t be more confused by what they are seeing.

Gbewonyo is in Ghana, half a world away from his home in Southern California, light years away from Michael Jordan, alley-oop passes and the concept of the half-court trap.

That was in 1994, when Gbewonyo last visited the small African nation where he was born, bringing with him the tools of his hardwood trade.

“When I came there with my ball and shoes, they didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Gbewonyo said. “They’re not really into basketball. To really play with them, I had to show them how to shoot and dribble.”

He soon became a gracious visitor, allowing his hosts to beat him soundly in the game they had just learned.

“Not really,” Gbewonyo revealed.

So, did he beat the pick-and-roll out of them?

“Yeah, kind of,” he said.

Basketball neophytes in Ghana aren’t the only ones who have been taken to the hole by Gbewonyo, a senior at Kennedy High who is averaging 23 points and 11.5 rebounds, ranking him third in both categories among City Section players in the region.

Gbewonyo (pronounced buh-WHEN-yo) moved from Ghana when he was 3 years old. His father, Phannuel, came to the U.S. to study computer sciences.

Gbewonyo still has a slight accent, though he has left behind most customs from Ghana.

His mother, Shirley, and father have to remind Gbewonyo to eat with his right hand, but they don’t enforce other traditions.

“We try to [keep some customs alive],” Phannuel Gbewonyo said. “But we realize we’re in a different culture now and we don’t impose anything on him.”

Gbewonyo has been an imposing force on the court.

He has mirrored the emergence this season of the Golden Cougars (12-6, 4-1 in West Valley League play), who were 7-15 last season.

The 6-foot-5 forward added a drop step, he fills the lane during fast breaks and, perhaps most importantly, he improved his attitude.

Gbewonyo was expected to contribute two years ago, but missed part of his sophomore season because of academic problems. Too many missed classes, too much whispering and snickering when he did attend class, too many disciplinary trips to the dean’s office.

Too much playing around. Without a basketball in his hands.

“It taught me a valuable lesson--work first,” Gbewonyo said.

During his junior season, he showed flair on the court. Maybe too much.

He asked for the perfectly timed lob too many times, itching for the chance to rock the backboard with a dunk. Running the court in transition was too much to ask.

“I guess he was the typical 16- or 17-year-old, just out there having fun,” Kennedy Coach Tim Guy said.

“He’s matured quite a bit emotionally and basketball-wise. It’s the process of growing up.”

Gbewonyo progressed during the summer while he was sidelined with a back injury. The bleachers became a classroom. He listened, learned and then applied his knowledge when he returned for the latter part of the summer.

“He became very technical,” Guy said. “It was like, ‘What move can I use? Should I do the drop step? What should I do?’

“Last year, it was just throw the ball up, turn around and shoot it.”

Other coaches have noticed.

“My hat’s off to his development,” said Chatsworth Coach Fluke Fluker, whose team edged Kennedy, 59-56, on Wednesday.

Gbewonyo scored 21 points and was a main reason why the Golden Cougars stayed close with Chatsworth, ranked No. 5 in the region by The Times.

“He’s very mobile and a tenacious rebounder,” Fluker said. “He can play with his back to the basket or facing the basket. He has confidence now.”