Ontario Senior Turns to Mike for Inspiration
It has been three years since Michael Jordan retired from basketball, though his feats live on in commercials, videos and shoe advertisements.
Brandon Davis of Ontario Colony, a 6-foot-3 senior, continues to study his collection of Jordan videos over and over for inspiration.
“I try to imitate what he does in games -- fadeaways, drives to the basket, hanging in the air,” Davis said.
Davis’ athleticism allows him to be one of the few high school players who can occasionally pull off a Jordanesque maneuver. He has the body control, jumping ability and agility to defy gravity and fly through the air as if suspended by an invisible wire.
“When you see him, you say, ‘Wow,’ ” Coach Jerry DeFabiis said.
Davis causes opposing coaches lots of trouble as they try to come up with a strategy to deal with him.
Calabasas Coach Russell White was the victim of a typical Davis performance last season in a Southern Section Division II-A semifinal playoff game. Davis scored 27 points in a 65-62 victory.
“He was the reason they won,” White said. “The problem he presents is he’s so athletic with the ball. He went by us as if we were standing still.”
This season, Davis is averaging 19.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 1.7 blocks. Last week, he scored 27 points against Villa Park and 23 points against North Hollywood Campbell Hall, both ranked among the top 25 in the Southland by The Times. Colony (20-3) dropped both games.
The crux of the dilemma in facing Davis is that he’s too quick for most forwards and too tall for many guards.
“I feel nothing will work [against me],” he said. “If they try to double team me, I’ll just dish it off.”
His rebounding adds to the quandary of whom to assign to guard him. He’s good at picking up offensive rebounds and immediately scoring.
And he can switch into guard mode within the blink of an eye. Watching Davis run the court in the transition game is entertainment at its best. That’s when he’ll aggressively go to the basket with power and purpose.
“I’m effective because I have a lot of stamina,” he said. “I get tired, but I keep playing. I love running up and down the court.”
Davis contributes in so many different ways -- rebounding, making assists, blocking shots, making steals, setting screens. His versatility provides many options for his coach.
“He does whatever we ask him,” DeFabiis said.
Colony is in only its third year of having a varsity program, and Davis has started each season.
The Titans lost to Santa Ana Mater Dei in last year’s Division II-A championship game. This season, with the Monarchs moving up to Division II-AA, Colony is favored to win it all.
And those who hope to stop Davis, beware.
“If they stand in the way,” he said, “I’ll take flight on them.”
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Anaheim Canyon figures to have one of the top baseball teams in the Southland this spring. One of the Comanches’ best players could be senior pitcher Alex Curry, a transfer from Villa Park.
Curry was 10-1 as a sophomore, but he had to sit out last season because of academics. Coach Joe Hoggatt should find out next week if Curry has made the grades to be eligible to play this season.
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Woodland Hills El Camino Real is expected to be the Southland’s No. 1-ranked baseball team, and a big reason is pitching depth. As if the Conquistadores didn’t have enough talent with UC Irvine-bound Eric Pettis, UCLA-bound Garett Claypool and Nevada-bound Shaun Kort, they discovered this winter that they might have the top sophomore pitcher in the City Section in left-hander Casey Fry.
Kort will be honored tonight at the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Dinner as the high school athlete of the year for 2005.
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If diversity is a strength, the Van Nuys boys’ soccer team can take on anyone. The Wolves have players from Turkey, South Korea, Egypt, Uganda, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.
Coach Frank Parodi said in a time when some campuses are dealing with racial tensions, his soccer team is an example of how teenagers with diverse ethnic and religious identities can work for a common goal.
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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
