Terry Scores, Olson Gets Assist

The recommendation came straight from the top.

Two years ago, Drew Terry was eagerly awaiting his high school playing days. He just wasn’t sure where they would be.

He lives in the University High attendance area and isn’t far from Woodbridge, both traditionally strong basketball programs, but was leaning toward Northwood. Terry liked the state-of-the-art facilities at the new school and the opportunity for some early playing time on the varsity.

He ultimately chose Northwood, where he is the leading scorer as a sophomore for a team that is 15-5 in its first season of varsity competition.

Weighing heavily in his decision to attend Northwood was input from Lute Olson, the successful University of Arizona men’s basketball coach.

Olson didn’t know one high school program from another in the city of Irvine, but he knew plenty about Northwood Coach Tim O’Brien.

O’Brien began his coaching career at Saguaro High in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1982, the season before Olson started at Arizona. Olson recruited two of O’Brien’s players, Mark Carlino and Virgil Harris, in the spring of 1983 and although neither went on to play for the Wildcats, Olson and O’Brien began a professional relationship that still exists today.

Drew Terry’s father, Chuck Terry, also has known Olson for many years. They are close enough that he flew to Tucson to attend a memorial service for Olson’s wife of 47 years, Bobbi, who died of ovarian cancer Jan. 1.

Chuck Terry played for Olson at Long Beach City College in 1970, earning California community college player of the year honors as a sophomore.

Chuck Terry played two seasons for Jerry Tarkanian at Long Beach State and was selected in the second round of the 1972 NBA draft by Milwaukee.

Olson, whose early coaching career also included stops at Western High, Loara and Marina, met Drew at his basketball camp in Tucson two years ago. During a discussion with Olson, the Terrys mentioned O’Brien’s hiring at Northwood.

Olson’s thumbs went straight up.

“Lute’s opinion [about O’Brien] was important to me,” Drew Terry said. “I also liked the fact that it was a new school and a new program.”

The formula has been right for Terry and the Timberwolves in their first varsity season.

The team won its first eight games and the season-opening La Habra tournament, where Terry was selected most valuable player. The Timberwolves are 2-2 in Pacific Coast League play after defeating Costa Mesa and Estancia last week, and Drew is averaging 20.5 points.

The highlight so far was a 39-point game against Aliso Niguel earlier this month. Terry made 12 of 15 shots in the 81-79 victory, including eight of 10 from beyond the three-point arc.

O’Brien, who coached seven years at Orange Coast before coming to Northwood, said Terry’s consistent play is a big reason for the Timberwolves’ fast start.

“He’ll get his 20 points most every game,” O’Brien said. “He’s not a guard, he’s not a power forward, he’s a scorer. An inside-outside guy I like to call him, which is the hardest to defend.”

ONE-TWO PUNCH

Ocean View has a solid tandem act with Torin Beeler and Marques Crane. Each turned in spectacular performances in Golden West League games last week.

Beeler missed a quadruple-double by two assists Wednesday in a 74-42 victory over Saddleback, totaling 20 points, 20 rebounds, 10 steals and eight assists.

Crane had an equally spectacular game Friday in a 75-65 victory over Tustin, single-handedly erasing a four-point deficit by scoring all 23 points for the Seahawks in the fourth quarter. Crane finished with 40 points, the third-highest total in Coach Jim Harris’ 28 years at the school.

Harris said he didn’t realize Crane had scored all of the team’s points in the fourth quarter until well after the game, but knew he was in a groove.

“It was quite a display,” Harris said. “He was scoring, Beeler was getting all the rebounds and Casey Ortiz was keeping the loose balls alive. We were in a little bit of trouble for a while.”

PLAYER NEWS

Ty-rell Brown, a senior forward for Santa Ana, was removed from the team last week after an incident during a game against Ocean View the week before, said Santa Ana Coach Adrian Gomez.

Gomez said Brown came off the bench and tried to join an on-court scuffle between opposing players on Jan. 12. Brown played two games after coming back from a broken foot suffered in the second game, scoring five points. . . .

Magnolia junior Geoffrey Clayton broke the school record for career points Wednesday in a victory over Valencia. Clayton’s 15 points gave him 1,346. Former UC Irvine guard Zamiro Bennem set the previous record of 1,343 from 1996-98.

LOOKING AHEAD

Marina hosts two games this week that could make or break its hopes for a Sunset League title. The Vikings (3-1 in league) play Fountain Valley (3-1) on Wednesday and Los Alamitos (4-0) on Friday.

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 19-2 50 2. Santa Margarita (3) Serra 18-2 45 3. Capistrano Valley (6) South Coast 17-2 35 4. El Toro (2) South Coast 18-2 33 5. Woodbridge (7) Sea View 16-4 29 6. Ocean View (5) Golden West 17-4 27 7. Villa Park (4) Century 16-4 26 8. El Dorado (9) Empire 17-3 13 9. Sonora (10) Freeway 18-3 9 10T. Newport Harbor (8) Sea View 16-4 4 10T. San Clemente (NR) South Coast 13-4 4

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* Last week’s ranking in parentheses

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The Times’ boys’ and girls’ basketball statistical leaders are provided by their teams. Coaches and statisticians must report for their teams after their last game of each week and before 10 a.m. on Mondays.

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