6-Foot-9 Ramsey Boosts Taft’s Defense

Ronnel Ramsey didn’t stick around long during his first visit to the gymnasium at Woodland Hills Taft. Though he stood 6 feet 4 and weighed 260 pounds as a freshman, he immediately felt intimidated by his peers.

“The first time I walked in the gym, everybody was dunking and I couldn’t dunk,” he said. “So I walked back out.”

Four years later, Ramsey is the one instilling fear in the opposition, thanks to an even larger frame, the acceptance of his limitations and, most important, an extra year of athletic eligibility awarded by City Section officials.

Ramsey, now 6-9 and 290 pounds, has helped the Toreadors, ranked No. 18 in the Southland by The Times, upset No. 3 Compton Dominguez and No. 6 North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake on consecutive days last week in the Top of the World tournament at Cerritos College. Taft (7-2) then reached the final with a 50-45 victory Monday over Los Angeles Verbum Dei, which was led by Auri Allen, a 6-11, 290-pound freshman center.

The run ended Tuesday night in the championship game with a 63-50 loss to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 6 in the nation by USA Today.

Ramsey has proved a mainstay of Taft’s defense, which limited its first eight opponents to less than 35% shooting from the field.

“He’s so huge,” Toreador Coach Derrick Taylor said. “He takes up almost half the key.”

Ramsey, granted a fifth year of eligibility in mid-October, said he fell behind academically while attending middle school in Watts and needed an additional year at Taft to catch up.

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Redondo senior guard Scott Merrill made quite a recovery after limping off the court late Friday night in a 46-35 loss to No. 10 Santa Margarita in a semifinal of the Irvine tournament.

Merrill came back the next day and scored 29 points, including 19 in the second half, to lead the No. 23 Sea Hawks to an 86-75 victory over Poway in the third-place game.

“He’s gritty,” Coach Tom Maier said of Merrill, one of two returning starters. “Most guys would have hung it up for a week or so.”

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Santa Ana Mater Dei suffered its first loss of the season Friday against Denham Springs (La.), at the City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers, Fla., blowing a late three-point lead and falling, 76-74.

Tasmin Mitchell, one of the top juniors in the nation, made a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to tie the score. After Mater Dei point guard Mike Gerrity failed to draw a foul on a drive to the basket, Williams made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left.

The No. 5 Monarchs came back Saturday to beat Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines, 79-70, and on Monday defeated Athens (Ala.), 89-49.

Mater Dei took its second loss, 60-48, to Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett in the consolation championship on Wednesday.

Louis Williams, a 6-1 guard considered one of the top players in the nation, had 28 points for Gwinnett, which came into the tournament ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today but was also upset in the first round. The Monarchs are ranked 15th nationally.