Jameson Is Sailors’ All-Around Hero

In an era of high-flying hoopsters and Heisman Trophy-posing football players, Newport Harbor senior Matt Jameson is an old-school flashback.

On the basketball court, his defensive intensity draws more raves from his coach than his shooting ability. On the volleyball court, Jameson doesn’t dance or holler after spiking the ball for a big kill.

And as some peers began specializing in their sports, Jameson quit club teams so he could devote time to the high school teams in both sports.

The results? Jameson has been named to All-Southern Section teams in basketball and volleyball. This winter, he helped the Newport Harbor boys’ basketball team tie the school single-season record for victories.

This spring, Jameson, an outside hitter, is gearing up for his final prep volleyball season.

Newport Harbor, which reached the Southern Section Division I volleyball semifinals last season, figures to be one of the county’s best teams this year, and the Sailors will be tested this weekend in the Orange County Championships, which begin Friday at Marina High.

“Sure we want to do well at the tournament,” Jameson said. “But winning [a Southern Section title] is our ultimate goal. We don’t want to settle for anything less than getting to the [section] finals where we can take our shot.

“We want to peak late.”

Surprisingly, Jameson hasn’t piqued the interest of many college recruiters.

Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball Coach Dan Glenn said Jameson’s 6-foot-1 frame could be the only limiting factor to a Division I volleyball career.

“The college game has so many guys who are 6-6, 6-9,” Glenn said. “Matt competes as hard as any kid I’ve ever coached. He’s been one of my primary passers since he was a sophomore. He’s a great all-around player . . . he works his butt off.”

Newport Harbor boys’ basketball Coach Larry Hirst is baffled why only Columbia, Princeton, UC Davis and Santa Clara are among the few basketball suitors Jameson has attracted.

Hirst said Jameson’s play is of the same caliber as his former Edison players, Brandon Jessie and Micah Kroeger, who went on to play at Utah and Hawaii. Jameson also impressed Stanford center Mark Seaton, a former Servite standout, who worked out with Newport Harbor last summer.

“Mark told me, ‘Coach, your point guard could play in the Pac-10 right now,’ ” Hirst said. “I mean, Matt is 6-1, can dunk the ball, is extremely athletic and is one of the toughest son-of-a-guns you’ll see. I can’t figure it out.”

Jameson put up comparable numbers to many top recruits.

He averaged a team-leading 17 points and seven assists, and was second in rebounding at six per game. Jameson shot 49% from the field (41% from three-point range), made 79% of his free throws (122 of 155) and his assist-to-turnover ratio was better than four-to-one.

“In fact, he was too conservative,” Hirst said. “We had to encourage him to try to make more plays.”

Glenn said Jameson’s volleyball play has always been encouraging, even if it seemed he wasn’t succeeding.

“When he was a sophomore, there was this one match at the Orange County Championships,” Glenn said. “We kept setting him, and the ball kept getting blocked back at him. We’d cover it, then set it right back outside to him, and he’d get it blocked back at him again.

“The rally kept going and he got it blocked back at him probably five times during that same point. But on the sixth one, he got the kill. That’s the kind of battler he is.”

Jameson hopes he and his teammates are ready to fight their way toward a section title this spring. He returns with starting setter Ty Tramblie, outside hitters Zach Wells and Alan Limon and middle blockers Adam Hearlson and Billy Clayton. All six played key roles last season.

“We don’t have one guy or a superstar,” Jameson said. “I think that’s good. There are no big egos here. We’re just a bunch of people who have been playing together for a while and everyone is working hard for the same thing.”

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Boys’ Volleyball

* What: Orange County Championships, featuring many of the top teams in the county playing best two-of-three matches.

* When: Friday--Pool play begins at 3:30 p.m. at each site. Saturday--Pool play continues at 9 a.m. with elimination rounds to follow. Championship quarterfinals start at approximately 5 p.m. with semifinals to follow. Monday--Division II final, 6 p.m.; Division I final to follow.

* Where: Division I--Marina HS; Division II--Huntington Beach HS. Both finals Monday at Golden West College.

* Admission: Free, first two days. $3-$4, Monday finals.