Goods Delives for Corona Centennial

If there were any blips on the basketball radar screen identifying Anthony Goods of Corona Centennial as a possible big-time player, they went largely unnoticed last season.

Even the Huskies’ new coach, 26-year-old Josh Giles, had little idea whom he was inheriting when he took the job last summer.

“I was really shocked no one had heard of him,” Giles said. “I had never heard of him.”

The newspaper in Riverside didn’t rank Goods among the top 15 players in his area before this season.

How times have changed. Goods has gone from playing in stealth mode to being recognized, respected and revered. He’s a 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior guard who’s a straight-A student, averages 15 points per game and is receiving attention from UCLA, Stanford and Arizona.

“I know I’m a young coach starting off, but you don’t get to coach kids like Anthony Goods very often,” Giles said. “He is literally the fastest guy on the floor and the most explosive guy every night.”

He can play point guard or serve as a shooting guard. He’s unselfish, under control and, most notably, plays as intensely on defense as he does when he has the ball. His work ethic is nothing short of extraordinary.

“My mom doesn’t understand how I can get up any time of the day, head to the gym and work,” Goods said. “If every day I’m at the gym and not getting dog tired to the point my legs are shaking, then I don’t think I’ve worked hard enough.”

When basketball practice is completed, Goods’ day isn’t over. He heads to a private 24-hour fitness center to keep working out. The old-timers at the gym have nicknamed him “Scared” because he refuses to join them in pickup games.

“I’m always in the corner doing ball-handling drills and shooting drills on my own,” he said.

Goods moved to Corona from Atlanta with his mother in the middle of his seventh-grade school year. His parents were divorced when he was 4.

He came back to Southern California, his birthplace, with the hope of spending more time with his father. But a month after his return, Goods’ father died of cancer.

The memories of his father help motivate him in basketball.

“I remember playing one-on-one against my father, like every kid does,” Goods said. “Knowing he’s not going to see me in college, I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

He has been starting on varsity since his sophomore year. He’s so versatile that he can blend in wherever a team needs him.

“People are starting to see what he’s capable of,” Giles said.

Goods is a rare 16-year-old with the talent to be the best in athletics and academics. As a student, he has received “A”s on every report card since starting school except for one “B” last year. He loves math, calculus in particular.

“I can do a math problem for an hour,” Goods said. “You’re pulling your hair out. But once you finally get it, it’s the best thing ever.”

His reputation is spreading. Internet recruiting services and travel team coaches have begun to watch him play. On Feb. 21, he plans to take an unofficial recruiting trip to UCLA. He’s also filling out an application to Stanford.

He already understands the value and importance of taking advantage of his dual talents in basketball and academics.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I could blow out a knee or ankle. But as long as you have that college education to fall back on....There’s so much money in the world to get and I want to be part of that.”

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