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BOYS’ BASKETBALL CLAUDE WILLIAMS Sr., San Bernardino Arroyo Valley

Then: When Arroyo Valley opened three years ago, Williams played on the freshman team because the school didn’t field a varsity squad. As a sophomore, he earned a starting role on varsity for the final five games after another player was kicked off the team. Williams averaged 15.2 points last season while helping the Hawks reach the Southern Section Division I-A quarterfinals, where he made five three-point baskets in a loss to eventual champion Mission Viejo.

Now: A 6-foot-1 guard with no travel-ball experience, Williams has scored 40 points or more five times this season, including a school-record 51 last month against Riverside Ramona. He’s averaging 26 points, 6.6 assists and 4.6 steals, the only Southland player in the top 15 in three statistical categories. He also averages 7.1 rebounds. Last month at the Torrey Pines tournament, he scored 42 points, including a three-point basket that tied the score at the end of regulation, in an 82-74 overtime victory over Fresno San Joaquin Memorial.

Quote: “He has to work to get open,” Coach Scott Smith said. “But the one thing everyone has told me is, no one can guard him one on one. Everyone needs to help.”

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Dan Arritt

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GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TANYA TSIKANOVSKY Sr., Los Angeles Brentwood

Then: Brentwood went from a so-so basketball school to a perennial small-school power behind Tsikanovsky, who brought instant offense, and freshman teammate Brianne Brown, whose specialty was stifling defense. Tsikanovsky averaged 18 points her first three seasons, and in her junior year, Brentwood won the Southern Section Division IV-A championship.

Now: Tsikanovsky’s scoring average is down to a team-high 11 points this season, and she’s being used as the sixth man for the division’s No. 2-ranked team. “We want everyone else to get involved,” Coach David Smith said. “They seem to wait for her, so we try to get everyone else to be in an offensive mood.” Once in the game, the 5-foot-10 forward isn’t bashful. Against their most highly regarded opponents, Los Angeles Marlborough, Long Beach Millikan and Etiwanda, Tsikanovsky averaged 20 points. She signed with Dominican University of California in San Rafael, currently the No. 7 NAIA team in the country.

Quote: “There aren’t many kids who are willing to shoot in the big games,” Smith said. “Tanya is willing to bite the bullet and shoot under pressure.”

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Martin Henderson

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GIRLS’ WATER POLO BRITTANY FULLEN Sr., Corona del Mar

Then: A former club softball player who gave up that sport a year after she took up water polo in the sixth grade, Fullen is in her third season as the Sea Kings’ starting goalie. She was the Southern Section Division II player of the year last season and a Division II first-team selection as a sophomore after leading Corona del Mar to the division championship each year. She also started on the Sea Kings’ Division IV championship team in 2002. Last summer, Fullen played on the U.S. national youth team, helping it win gold at the Pan Pacific Championships in New Zealand.

Now: The 6-foot Fullen is a strong, intimidating presence in the net. One of three team captains, her leadership and ability to direct and instruct teammates on the defensive end have proved invaluable. A strong, accurate arm on the outlet pass makes her an offensive threat in counterattacks. She has 11 assists to go with 126 saves this season. Her efforts helped Corona del Mar to fifth-place finishes in the Newport Harbor/Corona del Mar Holiday Cup and the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. The Sea Kings, top-ranked in the Southern Section Division II coaches’ poll, will travel to Villa Park, the No. 3 team in Division II, for a nonleague game at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Quote: “I just like to play, and I play better when we’re playing a better team,” Fullen said. “If I’m really focused on the game, I don’t see anything outside the pool.”

-- Lauren Peterson