Taking Full Advantage of Mother Wit

No longer is it safe to assume that a high school athlete learned the game from Dad. Moms are taking charge of teaching sons and daughters how to throw elbows, not only in the kitchen, but on the basketball court.

Ashlee Trebilcock of Newhall Hart High is the product of such a family. Her mother, Kim, was a high school basketball standout in Idaho who played for Brigham Young.

When Ashlee decided to play basketball in the fourth grade, Kim started teaching her everything she knew.

“I’m very lucky,” Ashlee said. “It’s been awesome. We’ve butted heads, but two people who are so intense and have such a love for the game are going to do that.”

Thanks to Kim’s instruction and experience gained by playing on travel teams, Ashlee, a 5-foot-9 point guard, entered Hart this year as one of the most highly touted freshmen in Southern California.

She’s a female version of Pete Maravich, with dribbling skills so effective that opponents are learning quickly not to full-court press the 9-1 Indians.

“I get a rush beating a press,” she said.

Ventura Buena tried to press the Indians, and Ashlee responded with 30 points.

“She just plays at a high level and is so fundamentally sound,” Hart Coach Dave Munroe said. “She can take it to the hole, post up, pull up and hit a jumper. She’s definitely blessed and has worked extremely hard.”

Ashlee, who is averaging 15 points, has spent many hours working on ball-handling drills and practicing free throws and jump shots. She even plays her mom one-on-one--but has never won.

“She’s been watching me forever,” Ashlee said. “She knows everything I’m going to do.”

Ashlee’s experiences in game situations helped ease the transition to high school.

Years ago, a freshman on a good girls’ team wouldn’t have had the chance to start at the varsity level, let alone play. Young players didn’t possess the required fundamentals or mental toughness. But girls today have so many more opportunities to learn the game through camps and club programs before getting to high school.

“The game has come so far in 10 years,” Munroe said.

Added Ashlee: “I’ve been in triple overtimes. I’ve been on the line with one second left, we’re down by one and have a one-and-one [free-throw opportunity]. I’ve had lots of experiences.”

She’s only 14, with people already speculating what college she’ll attend and how many records she’ll break.

“I’m a freshman,” she said. “I have to keep my grade-point average up before I’m going to college. It’s nice to have people write about me, but you can’t get into it. High school is cool.”

High school is challenging. Last week, in a game against Quartz Hill, Ashlee made only one of eight three-point shots, the first time people around Hart learned that a so-called phenom isn’t unstoppable every game.

“I’m always grateful for a win, but it’s a little disappointing when you don’t shoot your best at home,” she said. “This isn’t going to be my only game I’m going to be off in high school and I have to get used to it. If I get my head out of the game, my point guard skills go to heck and I do dumb stuff.”

Ashlee isn’t the only prized freshman point guard in the girls’ ranks. Erika Arriaran of Norco is averaging 19 points and impressing onlookers with her poise and offensive skills.

“She’s an extremely gifted passer and one of the best pull-up jump shooters I’ve seen,” Norco Coach Rick Thompson said. “There’s not a lot of things she doesn’t do well.”

Arriaran and Trebilcock have competed against each other for years on travel teams. They’re part of the growing wave of players entering high school ready to produce immediately.

In the case of Trebilcock, she’s using her mom as a role model.

“She’s been where I want to be in high school and college,” she said.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.