Shooting Skills Are All in the Shipp Family

A smorgasbord of notes, quotes and opinions from across Southern California:

Josh Shipp was the sixth man on Fairfax’s City Section runner-up boys’ basketball team last season as a sophomore, averaging close to 10 points a game.

This season, Coach Harvey Kitani said he wouldn’t be surprised if the 6-foot-4 Shipp doubled his offensive numbers.

“To me, he’s the best junior around,” Kitani said.

It seems as if everyone in the Shipp family is a three-point shooter. Brother Joe plays for California and is one of the best in the Pacific 10 Conference. Josh and his youngest brother, Jerren, a freshman at Fairfax, also can shoot threes.

But the most accurate shooter in the family is probably their grandfather, James Knight, who played at Kentucky State and taught each boy how to shoot.

“He’s 74 and still thinks he can outshoot anyone,” Shipp’s mother, Debra, said.

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With the men’s gym at UCLA being renovated, Santa Monica St. Monica High became the new hot spot to play pick-up games over the summer.

Making appearances were NBA players Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Earl Watson and Mike Dunleavy, plus college players Jason Kapono and Ray Young.

If only St. Monica Coach Chris Quinn could suit up one of his visitors for a game or two this season.

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High school baseball teams are starting to flex their muscles in winter ball, and one team that’s ready to take on the best is Quartz Hill.

The Rebels, who will compete in Division II, have top hitters up and down their lineup. Catcher Alex Massari and first baseman Daniel Slayton have already committed to Fresno State. Shortstop Matt Ware is considered one of the top juniors in the country. Another junior, second baseman Brian Chavez, was an alternate for the Junior Olympic team. Outfielder Kent Wulf, a transfer from Palmdale Highland, led the Golden League with eight home runs.

Coach Lance Pierson is also excited about 14-year-old right-hander Chase Tigert, a 6-2 freshman who was throwing 85 mph as an eighth-grader. Pierson coached Matt Harrington at Palmdale High and knows something about top pitching prospects.

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Sophomore middle linebacker Luke Laolagi of Lake Balboa Birmingham has star quality written all over him, and it’s not just because he likes wearing one of his five pairs of sunglasses around campus.

Laolagi, who’s 6-1, 185 pounds, is fast, tough and athletic. He’s one of the leading tacklers for Birmingham (6-2, 3-0 in West Valley League). He’s also a starting infielder for the baseball team.

“He’s a player,” Coach Ed Croson said.

Laolagi receives lots of attention for his sunglasses. They rarely come off. He wears them because his eyes are sensitive to the sun, but classmates think they fit his personality.

“They think I’m a cool guy,” Laolagi said.

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Moorpark (8-0), ranked No. 22 by The Times, is in contention for its first Marmonte League football championship. No one should be surprised, considering the Musketeers have one of the best coaches in Southern California in Tim Lins.

Lins was only 27 when he became coach at Encino Crespi in 1989. He took the Celts to the 1993 Division I semifinals, where they lost to top-seeded Rialto Eisenhower, 7-3.

This is his fourth season at Moorpark. He’s a defensive specialist, and that’s the strength of the Musketeers, who led by linebacker Wes Pryor and defensive back Dennis Pitta, have allowed only 57 points this season.

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Monrovia’s football team is 8-0 and one of the favorites to win the Southern Section Division X championship.

Coach Steve Garrison has several players who could be competing at the college level one day.

Tailback-linebacker Adam Gabriel is a 6-2, 235-pound senior who has recruiting trips set for Colorado and Wisconsin. Junior tight end Jamie Sbicca is 6-5, 230 pounds and figures to be heavily recruited next season. Sophomore receiver Jesse Canada has terrific potential.

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For the first time, Simi Valley will hold an alumni boys’ basketball game Nov. 27. It’s an alumni filled with former All-Southern Section players, including former NBA player Don MacLean. The Pioneers’ 1988 Southern Section championship team will be honored, along with former coaches Bob Hawking and Dean Bradshaw.... Corona’s football team has a future college player in 6-1, 283-pound junior offensive lineman Clarence Tuioti’Mariner. He bench presses 335 pounds and would beat anyone in a doughnut-eating contest.... Danny Bae, who won the City Section golf championship last season at Fairfax, has transferred to Burbank.

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