Westchester Rated Too Green to Repeat as L.A. Games Cage King

Westchester High’s basketball team was the worst-kept secret of last summer’s L.A. Games. Consequently, it was no surprise when the Comets claimed the title with a two-point victory over Cleveland.

The victory substantiated Westchester’s claim as a L.A. City championship contender, and the Comets went on win 16 games in the regular season. But their title hopes ended with a quarterfinal loss to eventual City champion Crenshaw.

One year later, Westchester Coach Ed Azzam still regards the L.A. Games title highly, but he knows the big one got away.

“It’s nice to come back to the L.A. Games as champions, but it would be nicer if we were coming back as City champs,” said Azzam, who this weekend will guide the Comets into the 22nd L.A. Games. “But this year I don’t think we have the kind of talent we had last year, because this is a whole different team.”

In addition to providing a gauge of the season, the L.A. Games serve as a celebration of high school sport. Saturday about 10,000 athletes from five Southern California counties will descend on Los Angeles to compete in 12 sports at 20 sites.

Team sports will be played this weekend and next, and all individual titles will be contested the following week.

Often the boys basketball tournament is the focal point and this year is no exception. The competition provides a forum for some of the best young talent in the West, as former participants Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Jamaal Wilkes, Marques Johnson, Kiki Vandeweghe and David Greenwood can testify.

One player certain to draw attention is Artesia junior center Ed O’Bannon, one of the most sought-after players in America.

O’Bannon has been brilliant for two years, and his senior year is sure to be watched closely.

Manual Arts enters the tournament as the top seed, followed by Saddleback and Mater Dei.

Cleveland, beaten by Westchester, 77-75, in for the 1988 L.A. Games championship, was given the fourth seed ahead of Loyola, St. Monica and Westchester.

But last year’s experienced Comet team gives way this season to a squad short on two fronts: height and experience.

Only 6-1 starting guard Damian Wilson returns to the Westchester lineup. Kelly Robinson, Michael Mitchell and Mike Mulligan are expected to fill three more spots, but none is over 6-1.

“I’d say Wilson may be one of the best point guards in the area, but we have to use him in the post,” Azzam said. “He’ll be good and he can play it, but that just shows our limits in height.”

The Comets will find out how they size up Saturday against Palos Verdes at 10 a.m. at Banning High. Morningside, which last season advanced to the Southern California Division III championship game, plays St. John Bosco at Fremont High, and City 4-A semifinalist Carson faces La Salle at El Camino.

In girls basketball, Morningside Coach Frank Scott welcomes back four starters from last year’s state Division I championship team to the L.A. Games 64-team field. The Lady Monarchs play St. John Bosco on Saturday morning at Los Angeles High.

Defending L.A. City 4-A football champion Carson, along with Banning, Gardena, Redondo, West Torrance and San Pedro, play first-round games in the L.A. Games passing tournament Saturday at North Torrance High.