Family Affair

Steve Aylsworth was proudly following in the footsteps of his brother and father. Little did he know the perils.

A basketball and football standout at Westlake High known for a scrappy, confident approach, Aylsworth set out for Lehigh, a small Patriot League school in the depressed steel-mill town of Bethlehem, Pa.

On the surface an odd choice for a kid who grew up in Malibu, but for Aylsworth it was the sentimental favorite all along.

Aylsworth’s father, John, played football at Lehigh and his brother, Bob, was the Mountain Hawks’ quarterback only a few years ago.

It was a long way from the beach, but the Aylsworth-Lehigh tradition continued through Steve.

Football went well until a separated shoulder ended Aylsworth’s freshman season in 1996 with two games to play. He had five catches in the game against Holy Cross before getting injured.

He recovered quickly and prepared for basketball practice. Although the coach who recruited Aylsworth was fired before the season, incoming Coach Sal Mentesana was well-liked.

Optimism pervaded a youthful roster of nine freshmen and three sophomores.

Then the games began.

Lehigh went 1-26.

“It was like a bunch of high school kids playing a college schedule,” Aylsworth said. “It was a tough year.”

Aylsworth had one big game, racking up 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in an overtime victory over rival Lafayette. He averaged 4.5 points in 17 games, but the team had to improve the following season.

Didn’t it?

Aylsworth was not used to losing. Or struggling. He led Westlake to back-to-back Marmonte League basketball championships and to the Southern Section semifinals in football.

He entered high school as a savvy, well-traveled player whose father had exposed him to the finest youth programs in Southern California. As a sophomore, Aylsworth was a preseason all-state choice by Cal-Hi Sports.

A self-described “little white guy from the suburbs,” the self-assured Aylsworth, 5-10 and an adept ball handler, was thrust into summer games against players from Crenshaw and other top City Section schools.

None of that has changed. He’s still 5-10, still an adept point guard. And his confidence remains high despite Lehigh’s place among the dregs of Division I basketball.

He considers his sophomore season at Lehigh his best. That was the year he quit football to focus on academics and basketball.

The team went 10-17, modest by all measures except one: Because the Mountain Hawks were 1-26 the previous season, it marked the best turnaround in Division I.

“We made some real strides,” said Aylsworth, whose playing time increased even though he averaged only 3.3 points and 2.0 assists.

The next step was a winning record. Last season was the opportunity. Four starters returned, including Brett Eppehimer, who averaged 24.7 points in 1997-98.

Lehigh opened 5-3. Then Eppehimer went down with a fractured foot. Three other starters were injured, which enabled Aylsworth to crack the lineup but resulted in a team tailspin.

The Mountain Hawks were winless in league play and finished 6-22. Only an upset over top-seeded Navy in the league tournament salvaged the season.

“We came in with real high hopes,” Aylsworth said.

Aylsworth had a career game against Lafayette, scoring 31 points. Otherwise . . .

“Another tough year,” he said. “I’ve played alongside about seven different guards. Of the nine freshmen who started together, there’s only two of us left. I’ve been the resilient one.”

It helps that dozens of his relatives, including both sets of grandparents, attend home games.

But as for the team’s fortunes, this season is no better. Lehigh is 3-9, with two of the victories coming against Division III teams. Perhaps the low point came Jan. 3 in an 83-38 loss at Pepperdine.

The same Pepperdine where Aylsworth has worked summer camps for several years.

The same Pepperdine in the same Malibu where he grew up.

With numerous friends, family members and former Westlake teammates and coaches cheering him on, Aylsworth made two of 11 shots. He had three of Lehigh’s four assists, but the experience was embarrassing.

Yet all those folks who came to watch him marvel that the driving force behind so many Westlake victories has endured four years of losing.

Without whining. Without quitting.

College is for growing up, and Aylsworth has done so. He is a finance major who will graduate in May and was honored as the team’s

scholar-athlete two years in a row.

The extended visit home last week had a silver lining. Aylsworth has interviewed for jobs in New York and Philadelphia, but now he wants to return to California after graduating.

“I do miss California,” he said. “When I tell people at school where I grew up, they say, ‘What are you doing here?’ ”

Aylsworth has an answer for them, but he keeps it to himself. Remaining true to family tradition, even in the face of hardship, isn’t easily put into words.

“I’ve been happy,” he said. “It’s a whole different atmosphere at Lehigh. I’ve had a great education at a great school.

“I went to a school with a complete opposite culture from where I grew up. It’s made me a better person.”