Wednesday, January 21, 1998
Martin Luther King Challenge features Southland high schools
Young talents spar for attention of top college recruiters at
Pauley Pavilion
By Steve Kim
Daily Bruin Contributor
A full day of high school basketball provided not only an
energetic way of celebrating a holiday, but also served as a
gathering place for rising talents and potential college recruits
in the eyes of coaches and scouts. The Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday Challenge featured 16 top Southern Californian high school
teams packaged in eight games at Pauley Pavilion.
* * *
The MLK Challenge featured some of the most wanted recruit
prospects in the nation. Included are California’s No. 1 sophomore
Andrew Zahn, of Redondo Union High School, and No. 1 junior Jason
Kapono of Artesia High School (Lakewood). Assistant coach Jim Sais
represented UCLA, and other major coaches, including Arizona’s head
coach Lute Olson, attended the event to see such potentials.
At 6 feet 9 inches, Zahn has reach. Currently a sophomore, he
has potential oozing out of his unpolished, sporadic skills. Since
Zahn is too young to be officially recruitable, he is much wanted
but supposedly untouched. Zahn, however, already has his
preferences.
"I love it here, but I want to experience going far away.
Basketball program-wise, I love North Carolina, Arizona, of course,
and there are a lot of good schools. I have two more years to
decide."
Far less brash is junior Kapono. His forte is the ability to
blend with the team and make it stronger as a unit. He is well
known for assists but also has good shooting and rebounding skills.
Kapono moves very fast, yet smoothly makes his dishes
awe-inspiring.
Even with several months left before signing his intent, he says
college basketball isn’t his focus right now.
When asked toward what school he’s leaning, Kapono replies, "I’m
just focused on playing high school basketball right now. I don’t
really have colleges of my choice. I really can’t say."
Kapono is a talented player who is wanted by practically every
school in the nation, yet is also grounded and modest: Too good for
UCLA to pass.
* * *
The first match was between Redondo Union and South Torrance
High Schools. Actually, there wasn’t much of a match, as Redondo
Union, led by Zahn, quieted South Torrance by a huge margin. There
was little competition, as evidenced by the 78-44 outcome.
By the second game, the pace noticeably picked up. Mater Dei of
Santa Ana, a perennial force in high school sports, was handed a
run for its money by Canyon of Anaheim. Led by senior Andy Gaulden,
Canyon put out an honest effort but was eventually defeated by
junior Derrick Mansell and the rest of the Monarchs, with the score
of 56-64.
Artesia of Lakewood took control of the game from the start
against Jordan of Long Beach, with a definite sense of teamwork.
Jordan rallied to overtake its opponent, but the gap became too
much by the fourth quarter. Kapono was clearly a favorite as he
helped lead Artesia to a victory at 60-43.
It was the invasion of the Waltons in the University San Diego
High School vs. Compton High School game. USDHS had three Waltons,
two belonging to former UCLA basketball star Bill Walton and one
belonging to former Bruin football player Bruce Walton. USDHS had
the early advantage, but Compton, led by seniors DeAndre Moore and
David Hamilton, overtook the Dons with depth of talent, speed and
finesse. Compton frazzle-and-dazzled the crowd with pure
showmanship. By the game’s end, it was 64-55 in Compton’s
favor.
Following a semi-climactic game, the match between Fairfax and
Poly of Long Beach started monotonously, with Fairfax holding a
steady lead over the defending CIF I-AA champs in a controlled
fashion. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, when Poly finally
caught up, that crowd energy picked up. It was in overtime when
Poly’s senior Ricky Anderson, who committed to Arizona, stepped up
and led the Jackrabbits to a 61-55 victory.
The scores tell all for the game against Glendora and Bell-Jeff
(Burbank). Glendora won 66-45.
Fans filled Pauley Pavilion to watch the Crenshaw vs. Etiwanda
game. They were paired justly, for it was a close game all the way.
After much exciting see-sawing, Crenshaw went home the winner,
63-61.
Right before the Dominguez (Compton) vs. Westchester (Los
Angeles) game, the audience was asked to pay a silent respect to
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in honor of his holiday.
The Dominguez vs. Westchester game lived up to its hype, for it
was the highlight of the day-and-night basketball event. Compared
to the other games, this game was refreshingly faster and
energetic. Both teams turned on the crowd as they turned on the
moves. They were the types of teams in which every individual could
be a star in his own right. Once again, the two teams stuck close
until the fourth quarter, when Dominguez’s senior Tayshaun Prince
turned it up a notch to help his team to a 71-62 victory.