ON THE REBOUND

No one could blame Eddie and Annie Courtemarche if they developed a little knot in their throats every time they said goodbye to their Los Alamitos basketball coaches.

That’s because the Courtemarches no longer can tell for certain whether the goodbyes will be temporary or permanent.

Eddie has had three coaches in three seasons.

Annie has had three coaches in two seasons.

Together, the siblings have shared one giant headache over the last few years.

“It’s like [the coaches] are father figures because you spend so much time with them, and then when they’re gone, it’s tough,” said Eddie, a senior shooting guard on the boys’ team. “You think you’re going to have this great coach, and things happen and you have to adapt.”

As Los Alamitos’ coaching merry-go-round accelerated, Eddie had to adjust from a coach who featured a structured half-court approach to one who liked to pick up the tempo to one who utilizes a mix of the others’ styles. But there was an upside too.

“As tough as it is to adapt to three different coaches’ styles and philosophies, each coach brings his own attributes and you learn a variety of styles of basketball,” Eddie said. “You just have to keep an open mind.”

Eddie played his sophomore season, his first on the varsity team, under Coach Steve Brooks, who had built a solid reputation for the program and himself over his nearly 20 years at the school. But Brooks resigned in the fall of 1999 amid allegations of misappropriation of funds. Brooks has denied any wrongdoing.

His departure spurred an immediate search for a successor, who eventually turned out to be Richard Smith. Eddie was a role player last season on Smith’s team that shared the Sunset League title with Marina. But before player and coach could build on their success, Smith resigned for personal reasons.

Eddie had reason to be positive, though. He was the team’s player representative on the board that brought in Russ May, the current coach.

The Griffins (4-5) have won three games in a row under May, who switched Eddie from the point to the two-guard position in what has turned out to be a nice move. Eddie scored 25 points Saturday in a consolation victory over Brea Olinda in the Anaheim Holiday tournament.

May said his star player has been shortchanged by all the coaching turnover.

“They always say experience is huge in basketball,” May said. “Well, if you don’t have the same coach for three years, you don’t have that experience to help you when you become a senior. There’s no consistency there. You automatically feel like a freshman again, where everything’s a new experience.”

Annie Courtemarche is a sophomore point guard who would be justified in feeling like a freshman; she is on her third coach in two varsity seasons.

Kevin Davis was the coach when Annie arrived, but he was gone after one season after being charged with having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. He has pleaded not guilty.

Mike Liskey was brought in as Davis’s replacement, but he resigned before coaching a single varsity game.

This prompted the return of Mike Ford, who had posted a 78-140 record at the school in nine seasons before resigning after the 1998-99 season. Annie said she believes the Griffins (3-3) are a program on the rise under their new coach.

“He’s a real good coach and he’s real personable,” Annie said. “You can get along with him.”

While Annie and Eddie admit they have moments when they simply can’t get along, the shared coaching turmoil has helped bring them closer together.

“We can just relate to each other with the types of feelings and emotions that we go through,” Eddie said. “We’re definitely there to talk with each other.”

Said Annie: “It’s been kind of comforting because we’ve both been going through it and feeling the same things.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Forget the Southern Section championship and the state final. The best matchup of the season might come Thursday when Mater Dei (6-0), fourth in the most recent USA Today national rankings, could face Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, which holds the No. 1 spot, in the championship game of the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic Millennium Cup.

Capistrano Valley (4-1) will play in the tournament’s Silver Cup division, while Canyon (3-3) and San Clemente (8-1) will compete in the Bronze Cup division.

The tournament, which features 68 teams from 15 states and Canada, began Monday and continues through Thursday.

Meanwhile, El Toro (10-0) will look to keep its early-season momentum going this week in the Bullhead City (Ariz.) tournament, while Woodbridge (6-2) hopes to win bragging rights in the Irvine World News tournament.

If you have an item or idea for the high school boys’ basketball report, you can call us at (714) 966-7826 or e-mail us at ben.bolch@latimes.com

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BOYS’ BASKETBALL TOP 10

Orange County Sportswriters’ Poll

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Pos. School League Rec Pts 1. Mater Dei (1) Serra 6-0 40 2. Santa Margarita (2) Serra 7-0 35 3. El Toro (4) South Coast 10-0 33 4. Villa Park (3) Century 8-1 27 5. El Dorado (7) Empire 8-1 20 6. Ocean View (5) Golden Wes 4-1 18 7. Woodbridge (6) Sea View 6-2 14 8. Sonora (10) Freeway 9-2 10 9. Capistrano Valley (9) South Coast 4-1 9 10. Newport Harbor (8) Sea View 8-3 7

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Others: San Clemente (8-1) 6, Alison Niguel (5-2) 1