FLAMETHROWER
Last October, as he shivered in the crisp Maryland autumn, Todd Tomlinson realized how lucky he was.
Lucky to be on a recruiting trip to Navy.
Lucky to be the focal point on the Moorpark High basketball team, which would start its season in less than a month.
And, Tomlinson realized with each shudder, he was fortunate he wasn’t raised on the East Coast, which easily could have happened had his father, Arthur, not taken a job that moved the family from New York to Thousand Oaks.
Todd was born five months after the move, a true left-coaster.
“I’m a California boy, so I can’t handle that cold weather,” Tomlinson said. “I like to play basketball outdoors all year round.
“It might have not been cold to them [at Navy], but all this California weather has got me soft. I had to wear all these layers. I got my fair share of being called a California boy.”
Tomlinson is considering Navy and has been in contact with St. Mary’s, a Division I school in Moraga. He has developed a shot that can work in any climate.
The senior guard is 15 points from breaking the Moorpark single-season record of 649, set by Kevin Lawrence in 1997-98. The Musketeers (17-9) play at Anaheim Canyon (14-11) tonight in a first-round game of the Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.
The 6-foot-1 Tomlinson is averaging 24.4 points and has made 80 of 241 three-point attempts (33.2%).
He is open to criticism, especially when it comes from him.
“When the game has gone slow in the beginning, I’ll press myself,” he said. “I’ll take a shot that isn’t that open. I feel a little bit of pressure to carry the scoring and I try to force things.”
In particular, Tomlinson remembers an early season game against San Francisco Riordan in the semifinals of the Chaminade tournament.
He missed some ill-advised shots and turned the ball over a few times. He sat on the bench for most of the second half.
“When you force things, not a lot of good comes out of it,” he said. “I try to pick my spots to try to take over a team. I think at times I might have hurt the team. I think I’ve gotten better at that.”
Tim Bednar, the Moorpark coach, remembers Tomlinson’s freshman season. Tomlinson was unaware of the rigors of varsity basketball, including the idea of practicing five days a week.
“He was used to eighth-grade basketball, where you practice a couple days a week,” said Bednar, who now sees a different player and person.
“He’s come a long way. I looked at him the other day and realized how much he wants to be in the playoffs and how much he wants to win. He realizes this is his last chance.”
Tomlinson has reserved a place in the school record book as the career scoring leader with 1,690 points, but it is real-life history that moves him, specifically World War I and II.
“When people go to war and give their lives so we can have certain things, a small thing like having a bad basketball game isn’t really that bad,” he said.
“A lot of stuff isn’t as bad as we make it seem. You’ve got to put things into perspective and be thankful for what you have.”
For Tomlinson, that list includes being thankful for family, friends and his jump shot.
And one other thing. For the Southern California weather.
