Prep column: High-flying history

Barry Faulkner

The note pads, programs and computer files pile up in this job much

faster than the watershed memories. I mean the moments that transcend

mere competition and beg retelling, again and again, until they have

outlived even those who witnessed the event.

One never knows when these moments will occur. Once in a while, they

crop up amid the December playoff pageantry under Friday night lights.

They could come between sunflower seeds on a sun-splashed diamond, or

before the huddled masses stairstepping up both sides of a high school

gym.

But they also come unaccompanied by hoopla, under the radar of

expectant crowds and outside the realm of what some would consider

meaningful competition.

One such moment took place Saturday at Newport Harbor High, when the

Sailors boys basketball team hosted Villa Park in the semifinals of the

George Yardley Summer Cage Classic.

I’d estimate there were about 100 spectators on hand, but few, if any,

will forget the thrill provided them by Newport Harbor senior Tony Melum.

Melum, a 6-foot-6 All-CIF standout whose explosive and entertaining

style of play has already earned him a reputation as one of the most

engaging talents in Orange County hoopdom, outdid himself with 2:02 left

in a seesaw struggle with the highly regarded Spartans.

Melum, who scored 102 points in four tournament games and had already

dropped 27 on one of the Southland’s better defensive teams, took a pass

on the left baseline and bolted toward the goal.

He took off about 18 inches inside the left block, with most of his

body behind the backboard and a soaring swarm of defenders already

prepared to challenge him in midair.

He later said he had no intention of dunking, but, as he soared to,

then under the rim, he found himself high enough for his face to brush

the net on his way past.

With three defenders placing a forearm fence around the basket, Melum

powered the ball above his head. Then, more suddenly than seasoned

basketball observers could expect, he slammed the ball backward through

the net, while being fouled.

It was, at least, the most improbable dunk I’d ever seen and among the

three most impressive (former Laguna Beach star Travis Hanour, now at

Arizona, tops that list).

What added to its impact was the collective cry of disbelief that

erupted from the crowd, as well as Melum’s almost instant recognition,

manifested in a wide grin and mock laughter. The latter brought home the

fact that even Melum knew he’d done something he would always remember.

Before stepping to the free-throw line he took a brief trot out past

halfcourt, obviously savoring the moment.

“You don’t even know,” he said more than 24 hours later. “I wanted to

interview everyone in the stands to see if someone had a video camera. I

screw around with that dunk sometimes in practice, but I never thought It

would happen in a game. It was just instinct, I think. That’s the first

time I’ve smiled after dunking in a game. But that was the best play I’ve

ever made, by far and I don’t expect to ever make another one as good.”

The dunk drew Newport within 53-51, but Villa Park scored the game’s

final six points and went on to defeat Mater Dei in Sunday’s title game.

But while the scores will soon fade, Melum’s moment will surely

solidify in Newport-Mesa athletic lore. And those who saw it, won’t ever

need to go to the videotape.

Melum’s mom, Barbara, was also still bursting with pride Sunday over

her son’s sensational slam.

“I got so excited, I did his laundry,” she said.

Newport Harbor, by the way, bounced back from its loss to Villa Park

by hammering Northwood, 72-57, in Sunday’s third-place game.

Senior point guard Greg Perrine paced the Sailors with 23 points,

including 18 in the second half, while Melum and sophomore Jamie

Diefenbach scored 18 apiece.

With Melum, the 6-7 Diefenbach and 6-8 junior Nedim Pajevic all

performing well in starting roles, Northwood Coach Tim O’Brien quipped at

halftime: “We’re in over our heads, literally.”