Back On Course

Reality jolted Michael Goldman too late.

“To this date, I regret what happened,” Goldman said.

Goldman, a freshman guard at College of the Canyons, didn’t mug anyone or get into drugs or microwave neighbors’ pets.

But Goldman made decisions that likely changed the course of his basketball life. He treated schoolwork in his junior year at Calabasas High like hazardous waste.

And it cost him.

“The day I was called into the athletic director’s office and I was told I couldn’t play, that was a shock,” Goldman said. “If I had my junior year, where would I be now?”

Perhaps Syracuse or Pepperdine. Goldman said those schools and others showed interest in him but backed off when they read his transcripts.

“I was a nonworker,” Goldman said. “I’d go to school [for] social hour. I’d go home and instead of doing homework, I’d shoot around at the park and be on the phone.”

After being academically ineligible his junior season in 1997-98, Goldman got his act together his senior year. He had a 3.0 grade-point average and averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 assists as one of the region’s most dynamic point guards.

Goldman’s attitude changed between his junior and senior years. He played well in summer leagues and won the dunk contest at the War on the Floor tournament at Chatsworth High, surprising those who saw his 6-foot-1 frame but didn’t know about his 40-inch vertical leap.

“That whole summer, I pretty much just played basketball,” Goldman said. “I still thought that if I did well that year in school, I could go to a Division I school.”

He won the dunk contest at the Battle of the Valley All-Star game last summer at Cal State Northridge, clinching the competition by alley-ooping the ball behind his back and over his head, catching it after it bounced outside the key and slamming it through the hoop.

By then, though, Goldman already knew his immediate basketball future was in junior college.

Goldman considered attending Valley but settled on Canyons, where he moved to shooting guard because the Cougars have sophomore Eurskine Robinson, among the best points guards in the Western State Conference.

“I told [Goldman] that he would have to be a two guard and he accepted the role,” Canyons Coach Lee Smelser said. “He’s filled that role real well for us.

“He’s played like a freshman at times, and other times he’ll light it up and run the show for us practically.”

Goldman sharpened his shooting during the summer, especially from three-point range, and became a starter for the Cougars. He is averaging 11.6 points and leads the team with 35 three-point baskets in 94 attempts.

His three-point basket with 13 seconds to play against Santa Monica, ranked No. 10 in the state, on Saturday tied the score, 80-80, in regulation and the Cougars won in overtime, 94-85.

“That was a great shot under pressure,” said Coach John McMullen of Santa Monica. “He shot the ball well in both games we’ve played them.

“They didn’t have [forward Anthony] Ellison the first time we played them in a consolation game of a tournament and [Goldman] made five straight threes to bring them back to a respectable score.”

Canyons lost that game, 92-80, at the Antelope Valley tournament in early December and has struggled this season.

The Cougars were 8-12, 1-1 in WSC Southern Division play, going into a home game Wednesday night against West L.A. Goldman believes they are about to turn things around after upsetting Santa Monica.

“We have a good team,” Goldman said. “We’re going to win some games.”

Goldman earned straight A’s his first semester at Canyons and he likes the college and the team, but he longs for the opportunity he let slip away in high school. He vows to be ready for the next one.

“A lot of my friends at Calabasas went to universities,” Goldman said. “They came home for the holidays, so I was hanging out with them. It was hard for me. They started talking about what happened at the dorm and about this and that, and I felt I was missing out on something.

“I want to go to the next level. I want to be playing on TV after JC. I want to make an impact for someone.”