The Californian from Salinas, California • 23

Saturday, Feb. 20, 1993 The Californian Page ID Rim-and-shoot for the players and the fans Tonights game: Whats at stake High-scoring style has Hartnell bidding for conference glory By George Watkins The Caiiiorman The Hartnell College mens basketball team will be chasing a share of the Coast Conference title tonight when it hosts Canada College at 7 p.m. But the pursuit for first place really began about four years ago. To be exact, it was Oct. 15, 1989.

"Our big guys all got wiped out before the season began that year, Hartnell coach Jim Forkum recalled. "By the time practice started we had only one big guy left. Then, the day before regular practice was to start, Oct. 15, Phil Hinkle, our last big guy, broke his foot. Next thing you know we had nothing but a bunch of guards." And guards don't make great rebounders.

Since Hartnell couldnt beat its opponents ON the boards, it was going to try to beat them TO the boards. "Thats when I decided if we were going to salvage anything out of that season at all, we werent going to do it holding the ball," Forkum said. "We might as well cut it loose and go after it have some fun and maybe catch some people by surprise." The Panthers may have had some fun, but they didn't catch too many teams by surprise. The Panthers didnt win their first conference game of the 1989-90 season until after they had lost 16 straight. They finished 1-17.

But the surprises eventually came as word of Hartnell's nin-shoot-and-score offense spread. Here are the possibilities that exist tonight when Hartnell and Canada meet for the final game of the Coast Conference season: If Hartnell It will be Hartnell's first championship in 20 years. It last shared the title with Menlo, going 9-1 in the 1972-73 season. Hartnell will be seeded No. 1 from the Coast Conference Into the Northern California tournament and could host as many as two playoff games.

It will extend its perfect record Next year is when people started calling us," Forkum said. We were developing a reputation for a wide open, up-and-down game." Players who had been handcuffed by defense and discipline quickly found Hartnells style refreshing. A lot of people say its garbage, not basketball, that we dont play any defense," Forkum said. That never bothered us." Hartnell averaged 98 points a game last year, second best in the state and fifth best in the nation. This year, with opponents deliberately slowing down play, Hartnell has averaged 73 points, but has topped the 100-point barrier eight times.

The results strongly support the Panthers style. With a goal to score 100 points a game, Hartnell tripled its overall victory total from the 1989-90 season to 18 the next year. Last season it was 20. This year its 22 and counting. Hartnell's high-octane offense, a contrast to the more rigid and discipline demands of most teams, may not appeal to many coaches.

Cley PetersonThe Caiiiorman North Salinas' Donnell Harris (31) lets a shot fly over Seasides Cochise Semedo (33) as Jason Porto watches Friday. Vikings nipped on last-second bucket Ohlone women fall, Hartnell shares title The Hartnell College womens basketball team earned a piece of the Coast Conference title Friday night without having to play a game. The Panthers, who ended their regular season on Wednesday, managed to become part of a three-way tie for first place after De Anza beat conference-leader Ohlone 59-51 Friday night. As a result, Ohlone, Hartnell and De Anza all finished the conference season with 10-2 records. A coin toss will be held today between the three teams to determine the No.

1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds from the conference into the 16-team Northern California tournament. The NorCal pairings will be made Sunday, with first round games scheduled to start Wednesday. SCORES Basketball College women Top 25 No.

3 Iowa 63, Purdue 55 No. 4 Colorado 79, Iowa St. 29 No. 7 Ohio St. 68, Michigan St.

51 No. 18 USC 76. No. 23 Cal 71 (OT) No. 19 W.

Kentucky 92, Lamar 43 Kansas 73. No. 24 Okla. St. 69 Prep boys Monterey Bey Leegue Seaside 67, North Salinas 65 Monterey 61, Gilroy 57 Mission Trail League Palma 47, Stevenson 45 Carmet 62, King City 57 (OT) Pacific Grove 66, Gonzales 68 Santa Cruz Coast League tourney Harbor 40, Santa Cruz 39 Prep girls Mission Trail League Gonzales 54, Pacific Grove 42 Carmel 60, King City 39 Monterey Bay League Gilroy 64, Monterey 58 Santa Cruz Coast League tourney Harbor 42, Santa Cruz 35 Box ecoree, Page 20.

Hockey NHL Buffalo 3, New Jersey 3 Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 1 Calgary 3, Detroit 3 Standings, Page 20. SPORTWAVES TV today BASKETBALL Wisconsin (Green Bay) at Marquette, 9 a (ESPN). (Women) Stanford at Connecticut, noon. (5X46). USC at Stanford, 2 (5).

UCLA at California, 3 (5). NBA All-Star Saturday, 4 p.m.. (TNT). Colorado State at Wyoming, 9 p.m., (ESPN). BOWLING Cleveland Open, 3 p.m., (7X11).

GOLF Buick Invitational of California, 1 p.m.. (4X8). The GTE Suncoast Classic, 3 p.m., (ESPN). HOCKEY Boston at Toronto, 5 p.m., (ESPN). HORSE RACING The Down Handicap, 2 p.m., (ESPN).

OLYMPIC WINTERFEST 1992 Olympic figure skating review. 2 p.m., (46). SKIING Chrysler Western Championships, noon, (4X8). S. Alpine Championships, 1 p.m., (ESPN).

SPORTS CAVALCADE Copper World Classic, 12.30 p.m., (TNN). SPORTS SATURDAY Tournament of Champions skiing, 11 (5X46). TENNIS S. Indoor Tournament, 11 a (ESPN). U.S.

OLYMPIC GOLD Gymnastics: Mens Winter Nationals. 2 p.m.. (TNT). WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS Professional figure skating, 4:30 p.m., (7X11). Radio today HOCKEY New York Rangers at San Jose, 7:15 p.m., KLAU 1540-AM.

Weekend list, Pegs 20. JIM FORKUM at home to 13-0. Despite a 23-5 record, Canada, which also hasn't lost a home game this year, would get only one home game for the playoffs. If Canada It will be the first outright basketball title in the school's history. It shared the crown in 1988.

Canada will be seeded No. 1 from the conference and be awarded as many as three home games for the playoffs. Hartnell will earn only one home game In the NorCal tournament. but it certainly has done wonders for recruiting. Dwhawn Edwards, leading the conference in scoring, came from Skyline High in Oakland.

Waseem Ahmad, the conference leader in assists, arrived from Copenhagen, Denmark. Dennis McNabb, the second-leading rebounder in the conference, came from Florida by way of Fort Ord. Lamont Graves, the fourth-leading scorer in the conference, came from Monterey. "We tried an all-local team before, he said. "But its no fun to play if you get beat all the time.

The right combination is some of both." But perhaps the real question is, if what Hartnell has done has been so successful, why aren't other schools willing to give the old run-and-shoot a try? "You have to give up (coaching) control," Forkum said. "Too many coaches want to control every pass, want to look like theyre in control of everything that happens. The game is for the players and the fans. Some coaches just aren't willing to let that happen." "Every coach I've had has told me to be a shooter," Edwards said. At Hartnell, that applies to almost everyone.

"But in this system you get a lot more chances to shoot," Edwards noted. And Edwards hasn't wasted many chances. With a little assistance from playmaking guard Waseem Ahmad, Edwards has gone on to lead the conference in scoring, averaging 21 points a game. In turn, Ahmad leads the conference in assists with 1 1 per game. "He (Ahmad) looks for me a lot," Edwards said.

"He counts on me and that's what I like. Instead of shooting the ball, he'll give it to me so I can shoot." Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Its the magic word for the Hartnell basketball team.

PREP SHOCKERS King Citys run of Mission Trail Athletic League girls' basketball championships ended at sight Friday night. Carmel defeated the Mustangs 61-40 to give the title to idle Noire Dame. Meanwhile, the Gonzales girls, who won only two games last year, earned a playoff berth. Page 30. Talented guards conclude Panthers fast-fonvard program worth a shot Seaside boys grab share of MBL title By John Devine The Californian Eric Wilson isn't called upon to score much.

But it was Wilson's basket with four seconds left in the game Friday that gave the Seaside High School boys' basketball team a one-third share of the Monterey Bay League title with a 67-65 win over North Salinas. The defending MBL champion Spartans and North Salinas divided the crown with Monterey, a 61-57 winner over Gilroy. All three teams ended league play with 9-3 records. Despite the loss at the sold out North Salinas gym, the Vikings have their first boys varsity basketball championship in eight years. Still, the loss was a bitter one for North Salinas to swallow.

"We didn't play smart," North Salinas coach Steve Blascr said. "We didn't take care of the ball. We werent running the offense. I thought we were ready to play." The Vikings still had a chance to tie it with four seconds left. But North Salinas' inbound pass was stolen by Seaside's Jason Green.

"The play was designed to get the ball to (Jason) Porto," Blaser said. "But they (Seaside) switched on a screen and the ball wasn't thrown long enough." After eight lead changes and five lies in the fourth quarter alone, the Spartans and North Salinas found themselves right back where they started tied. Electing to run the clock down. Seaside worked the ball around, setting up a play designed for Ryan Addison, who had come off the bench to supply 17 points. But Addison took an off-balance shot that bounced off the rim into the waiting hands of Wilson, who put the ball back in the basket.

Porto caught fire in the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers. Ken Bates contributed six points off the bench to raise the Vikings lead to 34-27 with 3:13 left in the first half. But North Salinas couldn't shut down Addison, who buried three 3-point goals in the second quarter, trimming the lead to four at halftime. Despite struggling from the field, Donnell Harris supplied 19 points for the Vikings. But it was his passes to Chris Waters that fueled the Vikings in the fourth quarter.

Seaside's junior varsity won 73-57. Jason Soboleski had 22 points for North Salinas while John Ball added 14. Damon Smith tallied 20 for Seaside. By George Watkins The Californian Dwhawn Edwards is more proof that the Hartnell system works. Both on the court and off.

Edwards, named first team all-city in Oakland, where he averaged 17 points a game his senior year at Skyline High, is one of the latest in a string of talented players, particularly shooting guards, lured to Hartnell after hearing of its fast-forward style of play. Edwards will probably be the third Hartnell guard in as many years to be named all-Coast Conference. Gary Walker and Mark Collins were the others. "Hartnell was the only team 1 saw that was a running team," said the 6-foot-2, 175-pound freshman. All the other teams weren't my sty le." Hartnell was a pcfcct fit.

Hartnells running style was a perfect fit for high-scoring freshman Dwhawn Edwards. Little League's touchy nature GEORGE WATKINS parental help that she drops him off and comes back in a couple of hours to get him." Some of these problems can be avoided. For starters, Deaton suggests coaches ease along parents unfamiliar with Little League by calling a meeting before the season begins. "At least that way theyll (parents) have some idea of how the team will be run," Deaton said. Even so, such meetings are not always well-attended.

"You can have 12 kids on a team, and you'll be lucky to have three-fourths of the parents there," Deaton said. And that can extend to the games as well. "I'll see kids get a hit, then look into the stands and not see any of their parents," Deaton said. "Its as if a lot of parents dont care anymore." GEORGE WATKINS It sports sditor ot Ths beckons more on how many coaches are there to control the tiny-tyke mob. If you see fewer than three coaches, grab a mitt.

If you can throw some batting practice, great. If the arm is gone, a few soft lobs or fungos to the outfield would probably be looked upon as a gift from heaven. If nothing else, a little supervision around the batting cage wouldn't hurt. A 30-ounce aluminum bat is a lethal weapon in the hands of most any youngster. Especially as he takes a few practice swings.

A stray ball being chased dow near the home plate area by an oblivious 10-year-old can result in some frighteningly close dental work projects. Unfortunately, some parents look at Little League as nothing more than a baby-sitting service. "Two years ago a lady called wanting team pictures of her son," Deaton said. "She didnt even know the league he played in. He was 9 years old and all she said was I approach the topic of Little League cautiously.

I was the same way with a ground ball. You cant be careful enough. Say this about Little League not much has changed. There are still coaches who act as if the fate of the universe depends on winning. There are still parents who act as if they were released just a bit too soon from the loer ntal health clinic every time a close pla ocs against their team.

And theres aiways some frazzled, stressed-out league official threatening to quit at the sign of the next crisis. Granted, not every Little League game resembles a barnyard cockfight, but each league has its share of "controversy." Bad umpiring. Bad coaching. Bad managing. Bad nachos.

Never mind its a game for kids, the complaints begin to roll in about the time the first pitch is served. So whats a concerned parent to do? "Go to one of the Little League meet- ings," suggests Larry Deaton, the chief administrator for Little League baseball from King City to Gilroy. "Theyre usually held once a month. Ask the league if theres anything you can do." In other words, get involved. Unless youre prepared to help, dont expect your concerns, advice, or complaints to carry much clout.

Ever been to a Little League practice? Most have all the organization of an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese. It usually depends We want news Do you have results, story ideas, or news tips for the Sports section? If so, call Executive Sports Editor Jim Albanese at 754-4225, or call the TIPLINE at 754-4287, or send the Information by fax machine at 754-4293. The toll-free Monterey County number is (800) 300-6397..