Successful on Shoestring Budget

He drives the luxury model now, the sharpest-looking, highest-horsepower boys’ basketball team of the lot.

But Ed Azzam also knows there are plenty of people who believe the Westchester High squad he coaches is nothing but a vehicle of Nike, its well-heeled sponsor.

Those folks probably weren’t around in the early days, he says.

Azzam, 47, has been head coach of the Westchester boys’ basketball team nearly half his life, and he vividly remembers when he could only dream the Comets would win two state championships and be the headliner in tournaments across the country, all while receiving free gear from the world’s No. 1 sports retailer.

When Azzam came to Westchester 23 years ago--supposedly for only one season--he inherited a roster of players who, by his recollection, “couldn’t dribble, couldn’t pass, couldn’t shoot.”

Which was OK, because he couldn’t coach. He had come to Westchester after three years as an assistant at West Los Angeles College thinking he “had to manage every screen, every shot.”

“It was bad coaching,” he said. “The guys fought me. I fought the guys.”

And while his teams were snuffed, Azzam burned.

Short and stocky, he had been a guard of little renown as a player, for Gardena High and West L.A. He fancied himself a good shooter, but he prided himself on defense.

He coached with the same tenacity as he once hawked opposing players. He took each loss personally, as if it were a direct reflection on him.

One particularly humiliating loss stands out.

Crenshaw, which dominated City Section basketball in the 1980s, was badly beating Westchester when Coach Willie West inexplicably reinserted his starters for the final minutes.

Azzam was beside himself. His team was being shown up, and he was embarrassed.

John Williams, the Crenshaw star who went on to play for Louisiana State University and in the NBA, was having a field day ... until he knocked himself out when, after he ferociously threw down a dunk, the rim snapped back and hit him in the forehead.

At which point Azzam calmly walked over to Coach West, folded his arms, and said dryly, “I hope he’s dead.”

The coach smiles when he tells that story. It’s an old one but a good one.

In the past three seasons his teams are 84-11, having won consecutive City championships by an average of 22 points a game. In the past six years, Comet alumni includes Brandon Granville and David Bluthenthal of USC, Billy Knight of UCLA, Tony Bland of San Diego State, Chris Osborne of Arizona State and Chad Bell of New Mexico.

Turning Point

Westchester broke Crenshaw’s hold by winning City championships in 1991 and ‘92, and the Comets have had an upper hand in recent years.

Things have changed so much that the coach who once felt compelled to micro-manage everything nowadays lets his players work out for themselves who they should guard.

By most accounts, Westchester turned the corner for good by winning its first state championship in the 1997-98 season. Nike was a partial sponsor that season, providing free shoes to Comet players.

When Westchester won its title, the team was rewarded with a contract for free complete outfitting for the next four years, making it easier than ever to attract top players.

This past season, when the Comets went 32-2 and won their second state championship, each player received more than $1,300 in gear and most of the team’s travel to four out-of-state tournaments was paid for.

But if anyone thinks Azzam should feel guilty about that, they can think again. With a friend, he says he once figured out that the $2,200 he is paid by the school to coach works out to about 25 cents an hour over the course of a year.

He has worked too hard to attribute too much of his teams’ success to Nike, although, he concedes, its backing “probably has something to do with it.”

Nike is certainly a big piece of Westchester’s network, but Azzam has many connections. To wit, part of the foundation for his current championship team was built this way:

A former Westchester player, Dartgnan Stamps, became a youth coach, and plucked the best players from the talent-rich playgrounds in Venice and Inglewood for his travel team. For practice, Stamps brought his team to the Westchester gymnasium, where the players met Westchester players and coaches and ended up wanting to attend Westchester games. At the games, they were allowed into the Westchester locker room, where they listened to the chalk talks and go-get-’em speeches of the straight-talking head coach.

A year later, to the surprise of no one, three of Stamps’ best players--none of them from the school’s primary attendance area--enrolled at Westchester.

A year later, another of Stamps’ youth players--a grade behind the others--decided to become a Comet. Around the same time, DeWitt Cotton, another former Westchester player who is now one of the team’s assistant coaches, invited an acquaintance of his--Marlon Morton--to join him on the Westchester staff.

A year after that, Morton brought in a transfer, a kid he’d known for nearly 10 years, who quickly became the team’s star.

Two years after that, Westchester was state champion.

From Stamps’ travel team, seniors Ashanti Cook and Keith Everage were starters and Brandon Heath, the sixth man, was the Comets’ second-leading scorer. Trevor Ariza, a junior, averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds in skyrocketing to the top of about every major college recruiting list for next year.

And the kid Morton brought in?

That would be Hassan Adams, a 6-4 guard who led the team in scoring and became the first Westchester player ever participate in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game.

Farm System

Yes, Westchester in recent years has been lucky along with being good. Consider the circuitous route Adams took to the team.

He was barely four feet tall when he started polishing his game on the courts of St. Andrews Recreation Center, two miles east on Manchester Boulevard from where the professionals played at the Forum.

With manicured grass, a sandbox filled with playground equipment, two well-kept baseball diamonds, three tennis courts, two basketball half courts and an indoor gymnasium, the park was usually bustling with activity.

But for Adams it was an escape, a place where he could dream.

Growing up in the shadows of the St. Andrews backboards from the age of 7, he worked on his jump shot and dribbling skills--always making sure he left before it got too dark and the park changed personalities.

Decades before, Morton played on the same courts. Only the game wasn’t always basketball. Sometimes, it was gang activity.

Later, breaking free of the street life, Morton played basketball at Los Angeles Southwest College and the University of La Verne. Then he came back to St. Andrews as a youth coach, where he quickly became a fan of Adams.

Morton immediately recognized the kid’s talent, but he was even more impressed by his manners. He was nice, polite and bright-eyed rather than cocky. And he worked on his game.

Adams wasn’t on the team the first year Morton coached, but after that he made sure to pick him. It was important that his protege retained the will to stiff-arm beckoning gangs.

Driven to the park by his mother, Adams always had a ride home from Morton if he needed one.

Even then, Morton predicted Adams would become a special player. “I told everybody I had the best-kept secret in L.A.,” he said.

Westchester is Adams’ third high school. As a freshman he attended Wilmington Banning, and he spent his sophomore year at Verbum Dei before deciding to leave when former UCLA star David Greenwood quit as coach.

For another team, Adams would be the centerpiece of the offense and probably average about 25 points a game.

Not at Westchester. Azzam is steadfast in his share-the-ball approach. No one player is allowed to carry the scoring load--or even play the whole game.

Adams, who will be in the University of Arizona’s lineup next season, averaged 18.3 points for Westchester. Darting in and out of the lineup, six other players averaged between 14.9 and 7.1 points.

Attracting top players is one thing. Keeping them happy is another. Most quickly conform to their coach’s no-nonsense, team-first tactics. Others transfer.

Jamal Sampson, a starter at center for California last season who recently declared himself eligible for the NBA draft, played for Westchester as a freshman. Then he transferred to Santa Ana Mater Dei, where he teamed with Cedric Bozeman to help the Monarchs to a state championship in 2001.

Another former Westchester player is in his second NBA season. Jason Hart, a guard, left after his junior season in 1995. The next year, he averaged 24.5 points for Inglewood, earning a scholarship to Syracuse. He is a reserve for the San Antonio Spurs.

Azzam didn’t like losing either player, but he understood why they had to go.

“This is generation of instant gratification,” he said. “From the channel changer to the Internet it’s everywhere, and I think it’s carried over to athletics.”

Controlling Egos

With so many potential stars, Westchester coaches are careful to keep an eye out for petty jealousies than can pop up like knotweed in a seemingly well-manicured landscape.

“It’s tough keeping their heads from getting too big,” Azzam said. “They all have entourages wherever they go.”

Early in the season against Hawthorne, Ariza dribbled into the frontcourt and launched a three-point shot without looking to pass, a mistake the prompted frowns and stares from teammates.

Azzam, whose moods can range from strangely stoic to comically animated over the course of a game, quickly took control.

“If we don’t stop playing selfish, we’ll play four-on-five in the second half,” he said. The score at the time, with about a minute left before the half, was 58-21. Westchester would go on to win, 118-45.

Azzam tried to keep a short leash, all the while acknowledging, “if none of our coaches ever showed up for games or practices, we’d still win almost every game. Structure only shows up in important games.”

The Comets had a breakdown in one such situation later in the season, and it cost them the No. 1 national ranking.

Matched against then-No. 2-ranked Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, the favored Comets barely showed up. Their defense was bad, their rebounding worse, and they made only three of 16 three-point shots.

“All of you, every time you get the ball, all you’re looking to do is score,” Azzam yelled at halftime. “You’re too busy looking at the ball, dribbling it between your legs, to notice anybody else.”

The aftermath of that game, the players say, was the turning point of Westchester’s season.

Randy Williams, a seldom-used guard, called a players-only meeting in his hotel room. It started about 12:30 in the morning and lasted for 90 minutes as each player was given an opportunity to speak.

Fingers were pointed, voices were raised, and the Comets emerged a closer and better team.

“Our heads had become swollen a little,” Adams said. “I’m kind of glad we lost.”

Calm Before the Storm

Ten days later, the bus was near silent as Westchester traveled to play Fairfax, its Western League rival. There were 11 varsity players, 18 from the junior varsity, five coaches, 14 cheerleaders and a team manager, but conversation was practically nonexistent.

Azzam likes it that way. No noise on the bus.

There was plenty enough in the Fairfax gym.

By the second quarter of the junior varsity game, there already were 1,200 fans in place waiting for the main event. Outside, about 100 fans were stuck without tickets, including members of the UCLA basketball team who later barged in.

Inside, it was so hot that the gym appeared to be sweating, condensation snaking down the pale, damp walls.

Westchester was just as hot during the game, playing its best ball of the season in a 100-68 rout of the team it would later play for the City championship.

Westchester would lose only one more game--a league rematach Fairfax--and would end the season on a 12-game winning streak.

Still, Azzam wasn’t always satisfied.

There is a catch to always being the best-funded, most-talented team.

“We didn’t win the way I’d like to,” he said two months later, after the Comets defeated Oakland Tech, 80-75, in the state title game. “I hate winning just because we’re more athletic.”

It looks like he’ll have to get used to it.

Although Westchester’s contract with Nike is up, it’s partnership probably isn’t.

Coming off a championship season, and with standout juniors Ariza and Scott Cutley expected back next season, Westchester will be a hot commodity. Another shoe contract seems certain, the next one probably even more lucrative than the last.

Adidas plans on taking a run at stealing the Comets from Nike, but not even Sonny Vaccaro, the adidas consultant, holds much hope.

“I’ll help Westchester get a big raise [from Nike],” he said. “There’s no way in the world that Nike would allow Westchester to get out of their stable.”

And so the rich will get richer.

Probably in more ways than one.

Cook, the senior point guard, has a younger brother, Ahmaad, who is due in. Granville’s brother, Cameron, is also expected to join the Comets, as is Andre Dunn Jr., a 6-foot guard from a local middle school, and Matthew Shaw, a 6-7 post player from Gardena who experts favorably compare to Sampson at the same age.

There are also whispers about possible transfers who are on the way, including Compton Centennial guard Gabriel Pruitt, who would have two years of eligibility remaining.

Not everything looks rosy, though. Westchester has adversaries, coaches and administrators who would like to see the days of lavishly sponsored teams come to an end.

Comet Athletic Director Brian Henderson isn’t worried. “Positive things are still going to happen for us because we have an excellent, well-coached program,” he said.