Leas Can Clean Up at Home and on Court

Marvin and Markisha Lea of Martin Luther King High have become Riverside’s most intriguing brother-sister sports duo since Reggie and Cheryl Miller were the king and queen of basketball at Riverside Poly in the 1980s.

Marvin, a 6-foot-3 senior point guard, is averaging 23.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Markisha, a 6-0 junior forward, is averaging 22.5 points and 11.9 rebounds.

Because King’s boys’ and girls’ games are played on the same day during league play, the Lea family must split up. Mom goes to one game, Dad to the other. But if there’s a blowout, they make the quick decision to reunite at the other’s game.

There’s no playing favorites in the Lea household. Whether you’re a boy or girl, you take turns cleaning dishes, which is a good way to teach responsibility while reminding everyone that life isn’t always about pleasing spectators in the stands.

“My kitchen is always more clean,” Marvin said. “The key to doing good dishes is before putting them in the dishwater, you have to rinse them off. That’s how you get them real clean.”

Marvin doesn’t get into a defensive stance while doing dishes, and he doesn’t mind trying out his cake recipes in the kitchen, either.

“I’ve become one of the best cooks in the house,” he said.

His specialty is a poundcake with nuts, sour cream and brown sugar, which he might make to celebrate his 18th birthday on Saturday. Markisha’s expertise is cheesecake. Maybe they will open their own bakery.

Basketball, though, has made them the most recognizable athletes at King, which opened in 1999.

“They’re such great kids,” boys’ Coach Tim Sweeney said.

Marvin transferred to King from Riverside Poly after his sophomore season. He was involved in a very public dispute with his former Poly coach. Markisha was already a freshman at King.

“It was a disagreement that escalated,” Marvin said. “It shouldn’t have been that serious.”

Marvin led King to the Sunkist League championship as a junior, averaging 31.4 points. His scoring average dropped this season, and the big news is he doesn’t care. That’s an indication of growing maturity. His assists and rebounds are up, and he’s doing the little things needed to make the Wolves (23-3) a Southern Section Division II-A title contender.

“He can score just about any time he’d like,” Sweeney said. “He’s a relentless offensive rebounder. He’s an incredible passer. He throws passes which you have to be ready for.”

Markisha is clearly the most improved Lea. She didn’t start playing until eighth grade. Marvin has been her teacher.

“It’s one of the best feelings seeing her play,” he said. “She’s grown so much as a player, like night and day. She’s making threes. She shoots jumpers. She dribbles down the court. She’s becoming an all-around player.”

The little sister has similar praise for her brother.

“I’m just like, ‘Wow, he shoots so well,’” she said. “Every game, you’re on the edge because you don’t know what’s going to come next. I get so excited.”

The Leas are separated by 18 months. They have a 27-year-old brother and an 11-year-old brother, who one day might be the best basketball player in the family. Their parents are teachers.

“We have a competitive spirit at our house,” Marvin said. “Nobody wants to lose. There’s always battles, even when we play Scrabble.”

Marvin and Markisha are expected to receive college scholarships for their basketball skills.

Neither would trade these last two years together in high school. They’ve influenced each other in many ways.

“Somebody’s there to look out for me and look out for her,” Marvin said. “She taught me to stay focused on school work and be more social.”

Now, if only Markisha would volunteer to do Marvin’s dishes, he’d really feel indebted.

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