PREP WEDNESDAY: 1993-94 GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Brea the Best, but Beyond Is a Litany of Lists

Everyone knows Brea-Olinda is the best girls’ basketball team in the county, probably the state, and one of the best in the nation. The Ladycats could win the Orange League without their starting five. But there are other issues in the sport. One thing you can’t say about it in 1993-94 is that it’s listless.

It’s not.

In fact, it’s all lists.

ONE FALSE RUMOR

* Cypress’ Jessica Eggleston (averaging 31.3 points) wants to play volleyball in college instead of basketball.

TWO PROGRAMS READY FOR THE UPPER ECHELON

* El Dorado. Coach Gary Raya has done some nice things, such as winning the program’s first Empire League title and being a top 15-type team. With seven players returning from a 25-3 team, the next step is the top 10.

* Estancia has been good in the past but has never won a section title. Not yet, anyway.

THREE PLAYERS ON THE SPOT

* Nicole Erickson is the county’s best player and signed with Purdue, a top-25 team. She has helped Brea-Olinda win three consecutive State titles. What will she do for an encore?

* Heather Robinson, meanwhile, has been called the best player in the county by her coach, Lisa McNamee. Thus, the onus of leading Costa Mesa to another Southern Section title (and perhaps another State championship appearance) falls on Robinson, who excelled in a supporting role last year.

* Jessica Eggleston doesn’t play in the best league in the county, and her county-high 30-point average at season’s end will look impressive. The real question will be how she performs in the playoffs and if she can do for Cypress what Michaela Ross did last year for Newport Harbor, which was lead it to the section semifinals--or beyond.

FOUR MOST INTRIGUING TEAMS

* Mater Dei didn’t play to its potential last year and finished third in the South Coast League. The Monarchs have a new coach and two transfers, guard Melody Peterson, a Division III All-Southern Section player at Monrovia, and Michelle Meyers, a guard/forward who played for the Pennsylvania state champion.

* Costa Mesa must make do without Olivia DiCamilli, one of the county’s five best players last season. The Mustangs reached the State final but were hardly challenged. How will the team react when Estancia gives it a run for its money in the Pacific Coast League?

* Westminster has been bad forever, but this year the Lions have size and they already defeated L.A. Crenshaw by 10 points. Crenshaw was ranked seventh in the state at the time.

* Newport Harbor lost the Sea View League’s best player, Ross, and its volleyball players didn’t come out until Dec. 6. Can the Sailors make up for lost time, and will they be as good by playoff time as everyone expects?

FIVE COACHES TO WATCH

* John Hattrup, Brea-Olinda. One coach said Hattrup will probably be more demanding than Mark Trakh. Scary.

* Joni Easterly, Katella. She had an outstanding career at USC, is only 22 and returns to her alma mater. One coach said, “She was the perfect player on the court; her energy and enthusiasm were unmatched. If she can translate that to her players, her teams will be aggressive.” And dare we say, successful?

* Mary Hauser, Mater Dei. Formerly Mary Gainey, she is another alumnus who gets her first head coaching job, but Hauser’s task might be more difficult than Easterly’s: There’s so much talent at Mater Dei, the pressure’s on to win with it.

* Pete Pyle, Rancho Alamitos. Following in Bob Becker’s shoes isn’t quite the same as following in Trakh’s, but since the Vaqueros have been to the Southern Section final three of the last four years--and in the semifinals the other year--it’s applicable. Like Easterly and Hauser, this is his first head coaching job.

* Deni Christensen, Aliso Niguel. She left El Toro to begin a new program. The foundation for the future is being laid now.

SIX TOUGH PLACES TO PLAY

* Estancia. Dungeon-like, with dead spots. Tough to adjust.

* Mater Dei. Loud crowd on top of the court, with little room on sidelines--and humid.

* Brea-Olinda. Maybe it’s the team, not the gym.

* Orange. Quaint gym but feisty fans, and they’re right on top of you.

* El Modena. Oppressive heat: Everyone comes out of there saying it’s a sauna.

* Villa Park. Worst floor in the county.

SEVEN TEAMS ON THE RISE

* Mission Viejo. The coaching community has nothing but praise for the job Jim Irby has done in turning the program around in a tough league. Dropping down to II-AA in playoffs also will help.

* Santa Ana. May be better than last year’s 9-13 mark, but the Saints play in the Sunset League where there are few breaks in the schedule.

* Magnolia (10-14 last year) may have its best team in five years, with three starters who have three-years’ varsity experience. The Sentinels are already 6-2 and have a chance to triple that.

* Pacifica (4-18) has third coach in three years, Dick Bradarich, and a lot of height. Bradarich wants to bring some stability to the program; it can only help.

* Laguna Hills should easily eclipse last year’s 6-16, and with eight underclassmen, the Hawks can only get better.

* Foothill was in a lot of close games last year and, though young, are a year older. The Knights may not finish .500, but they won’t finish 1-19, either; the already have won three games.

* Rosary. Royals won only five games last year, but gave everyone trouble. And now they’re a year better.

EIGHT NAMES YOU DON’T WANT TO SPELL ON DEADLINE

* Phouangmaly Pravonguiengkham, Huntington Beach, freshman guard.

* Adrian Ratajczak, freshman guard, Western.

* Masy Moatazedi, St. Margaret’s, senior forward.

* Tayyiba Haneff, Laguna Hills, freshman center.

* Faye Tsiramanes, sophomore center, Whittier Christian.

* Erryn Gutjahr, Kennedy, junior forward.

* Nenette Luarca, Santiago, senior center.

* Jennifer Tuiolosega, Ocean View, freshman guard (or her sister, Andrea, a sophomore forward).

NINE FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT

* Jennifer Tuiolosega, Ocean View, guard. She’s 5-8, has big-time potential, and has cracked the starting lineup for the Sunset League favorite.

* Jamie Nebeker, El Dorado, 5-8 guard. Averaged nearly 15 points in first six games from the point.

* Erin Stovall, Woodbridge, guard. Athletic, and her quickness keeps the Warriors from having just average speed.

* Jenny Jennings, Estancia, 5-10 forward. Her first five shots as a varsity player were from three-point range: Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.

* Tayyiba Haneff, Laguna Hills, center. Though she plays a little soft, like a freshman, her rangy 6-5 frame makes her an instant threat.

* Deanna Mitchelson, Aliso Niguel, 6-2 center. She’s one of the best things to come along at first-year Aliso Niguel.

* Koo Kim, Costa Mesa, 5-6 guard. Can give teams trouble defensively.

* Monique Toney, Esperanza, 5-4 guard. Undersized--but can palm a basketball--and is physically gifted.

* Beau Bryant, El Dorado, 5-7 guard. Broke into starting lineup with quickness and defense.

TEN NOTABLE TRANSFERS

* Sonya Bryant, 5-10 sophomore forward, from Edison to Marina.

* Melody Peterson, 5-7 sophomore guard, from Monrovia to Mater Dei.

* Michelle Meyers, 5-9 guard/forward, from Pennsylvania to Mater Dei.

* Robynn Kuhlmann, 5-10 junior forward, from Fountain Valley to Canyon.

* Mary Medina, 5-4 senior guard, from Mater Dei to University.

* Stacey Fitz, 5-3 senior guard, from Moreno Valley Rancho Verde to Corona del Mar.

* Nora Mariner, 6-0 senior forward, from Santa Ana Valley to El Modena.

* Unelda Sweet, 5-11 junior forward, from Savanna to Canyon.

* Gina Huizar, 5-7 sophomore guard, from Bolsa Grande to Garden Grove.

* Sarah Monsoor, 5-8 sophomore forward, from Villa Park to Garden Grove.

20 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE KNOW

* For the second year in a row, the Irvine girls’ basketball team played host to a Christmas party for underprivileged children in Santa Ana that Coach Connie Brazell calls “the highlight of our year.” This year, there were 44 kids in attendance, between the ages of 3-10. All the girls bring a gift, adopt a child for the day, and make sure everyone gets a present. “If a child doesn’t win a prize,” Brazell said, “they’ll make something up.” They do it in association with Teen Challenge in Santa Ana, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for teen-agers.

* Marina’s Shandy Robbins (6-0) wants to be a model, and she seems to be off to a good start: She was one of 25 finalists over the summer in the “Express Yourself” nationwide model search. She has shot a television commercial and also does some runway work.

* San Clemente’s Jenny Geminert (6-0) also models. She has recently finished her portfolio, and has been on three calls for L.A. Models. She, too, has done some runway work, but she’s constantly worried about bruises: “To model skirts and shorts, it looks really bad.”

* Brea-Olinda Coach John Hattrup spent the weekend scouting in Santa Barbara. While the Ladycats compete Dec. 28-30 in Alaska, his parents, Marlene and John Sr., will scout the local tournaments.

* Hattrup coached Mission Viejo to Southern Section titles in 1982 and ‘87, and was the Southern Section coach of the year both years.

* Newport Harbor’s Gina Heads set the junior national record for girls’ clean and jerk with a lift of 205 pounds in the 154-167-pound weight class. Combined with her 143-pound effort in the snatch, she finished second overall in the open age group.

* Edison’s Marie Philman is the two-time defending national champion in the AAU Junior Olympic heptathlon.

* Marina’s Martita Emde is a concert pianist and teaches students for a studio in her free time. And, she gets paid for it.

* Estancia has twins Sarah and Meghan Nolan; Jenny Drake, whose twin brother Mike plays for the boys’ varsity; and Jennifer and Meghan McCartin, who play on the junior varsity.

* Mater Dei junior Michelle Meyers, a 5-9 guard/forward who transferred from Pittsburgh Oakland Catholic High, was on that school’s State Division I championship team and played for Suzie McConnel, captain of the 1984 Olympic team. Meyers’ dad, Bill, coaches for the NFL Raiders.

* Marina Coach Pete Bonny plays drums for the Rockets, a Rockabilly band that once won first place on “The Gong Show.” He recently finished a half-hour music video titled, “Cruisin’ All Night,” which includes covers and original songs, including the title track and “Two-Timin’ Baby.”

* Len Whitacre, who suffered a serious bicycle accident before coaching at Villa Park, goes through periods during which he suffers periods of dizziness between 100 and 1,000 times a day.

* Ten Orange County girls’ basketball teams have won Southern Section titles since 1989, but only one coach still directs the team she coached to a championship: Lisa McNamee, who won the III-AA title last year with Costa Mesa.

* Brea-Olinda’s junior varsity team played in a varsity summer league and went 7-3.

* Edison Coach Philip Abraham is the brother of Oregon State women’s basketball Coach Michael Abraham.

* Tustin’s frosh-soph team is coached by Jennifer Falk. Her father, Rick, is the varsity coach.

* Carol Murphy is a first-year coach at El Toro; her husband, Mike, is the Sonora boys’ coach.

* Marc Hill coaches girls’ basketball at Esperanza; Mark Hill coaches boys’ basketball at Esperanza.

* Michelle Macintyre, unless stopped by an injury, will break the San Clemente girls’ career scoring record set by Mary Mulligan, her coach. The record is 956 points, and she needs 45 more to break it, and will probably do so at the Costa Mesa tournament.

* Aliso Niguel’s Deanna Mitchelson is the sister of C’ta Mitchelson, who played for Rutgers in the NCAA Final Four.

FOUR NOTORIOUS SETS OF FANS

* Mater Dei. The Monarchs have the greatest contingent and, according to several coaches, their fans “make asses of themselves.”

* Woodbridge. Loud and opinionated with rose-colored vision.

* Marina. Ill-informed and vocal.

* Brea-Olinda. Supportive, but spoiled--and really tough on officials. Said one coach: “I went to a game last year and heard fans yelling at Trakh about some of the stuff he was doing. The guy has won four consecutive championships, and I just shook my head. I couldn’t believe it.”

ONE VOTE FOR GENDER EQUITY

* “She can play H-O-R-S-E with any boy anywhere. Most go home with a new understanding of equality.” Villa Park Coach Len Whitacre, on sophomore Cathy Handra, a 5-4 shooting guard.

FOUR GAMES WORTH WATCHING

* Marina at Ocean View, Jan. 4. Two top-10 teams in the Sunset League open season; Marina’s the champ, but in the position of having to upset the challenger.

* Estancia at Costa Mesa, Jan. 6. Two best Pacific Coast League teams open league play against each other in an emotionally charged game. There is intrigue here: Coaches Russ Davis and Lisa McNamee once taught clinics together and now are rivals. McNamee, who preceded Davis at Estancia, hired his junior varsity coach, Shontel Sherwood, when she took over the Costa Mesa job one year later, and Mustangs reached the State title game. Costa Mesa is the two-time defending league champion but now Estancia is the power. This game will probably be more intense than fundamentally sound.

* Mater Dei at Brea-Olinda, Jan. 22. It might be the only game Brea comes close to losing all year.

* El Dorado at Cypress, Feb. 10. Two teams with contrasting styles meet in last game of the season with the Empire title on the line.

THREE NOTICEABLE TRENDS

* A lot more girls are competing in feeder programs, such as AAU, and that’s increasing the level of play around the county.

* More freshmen are going out for girls’ basketball and making an impact. Forty-two went out for the El Dorado program.

* Accusations of recruiting. Coaches are pointing their fingers--off the record, of course. One coach who addressed it was Woodbridge’s Eric Bangs: “I’ve never heard so much talk about a kid going here or a kid going there. Maybe it’s just because people have more time to watch games.”

TWO PLAYERS WORTH ROOTING FOR

* Jamie Shine, El Modena. The 6-foot senior was the Century League’s most valuable player, but was given last rites in April while suffering from a rare, often fatal, strain of bacterial meningitis. She was in a coma for 30 hours but suffered no long-term memory deficit. She and her brother, Casey, now are featured in a commercial for an HMO.

* Tracy Deleu, Anaheim. The 5-3 junior guard missed most of last season because of surgery to get rid of a rare throat cancer that has doctors puzzled; it runs in her family.

FOUR TEAMS TO FEAR IN 1994-95

* Ocean View has talented group of young players.

* Edison has only two seniors this year, and Marie Philman is just a sophomore.

* Woodbridge is losing only one starter this season, guard Jamie Oenning.

* El Dorado, which will start two freshmen and three juniors when Shanna Renken returns from knee injury, loses only one key player.