The Preps / Scott Howard-Cooper : It’s LeRon Ellis vs. Brian Williams

In one corner, at 6 feet 11 inches, bound for the University of Kentucky, wearing the red shorts, braces and the tradition of the family name, the great athlete from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana . . . LeRon Ellis.

In the other, at 6-10, heading for Maryland, his fourth school in four years, blocking shots wherever he goes, a dominating defensive player from St. Monica of Santa Monica . . . Brian Williams.

This showdown of prep basketball heavyweights will occur Wednesday night at the Sports Arena when St. Monica and Mater Dei play in the first game of a Southern Section 5-A semifinal doubleheader at 7 p.m. Ellis vs. Williams could be a game within a game.

The team that wins will get a return trip to the Sports Arena for the championship game Saturday against the winner of the semifinal game between Lakewood and Long Beach Millikan.

“Williams is a better defensive player,” said St. Anthony’s of Long Beach Coach Tom Roanhaus, whose team split with St. Monica during the season and lost to Mater Dei last Friday in the quarterfinals. “Williams is a more intense player, there’s no doubt in my mind. But Ellis, by far, is a more polished player on offense.

“Ellis is a little more developed. He’s less apt to make mistakes, less apt to get in foul trouble, and that could make the difference in a game like that. But two or three years down the line, if Williams gets a coach who refines him and teaches him how to shoot better, he’ll be better, I think.”

Contrary to some opinion, Ellis, son of LeRoy Ellis, the former National Basketball Assn. player and current USC assistant coach, is not able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound. He and his teammate, Ben Weink, combine for something almost as spectacular, though, although it will never be seen in a game.

Weink, a Mater Dei reserve, sits in a chair in the middle of the key with a ball. Ellis starts running at the far end of the court.

Just before he reaches the chair, Ellis takes off. Weink lobs the ball up to Ellis, who splits his legs to avoid hitting his assist man, plucks the ball from mid-air and slams it through the basket.

As further testament to his athletic ability, Ellis jumped 6-5 in the high jump as a junior, played water polo earlier in his senior year and will join the volleyball team after basketball season.

Downright M-pressive: Juniors this season whose last names start with the letter M--Chris Mills of Fairfax, Don MacLean of Simi Valley, Darrick Martin of St. Anthony and Douglas Meekins of Crenshaw--all have had outstanding seasons.

Martin, a 15-year-old, was the No. 2 scorer in the Southern Section this season at 30.4 points a game and finished with 30 or more in the final 12 games, ending with the quarterfinal loss to Mater Dei last Friday. He also topped 40 points five times.

The Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs will move into the semifinal round tonight except for the two 5-A division games and one 2-A game between Irvine Woodbridge and Victor Valley, which will be played Wednesday. . . . Long Beach Millikan will play Lakewood in the second game at the Sports Arena without starting point guard Marlon Marshall, who broke a kneecap two weeks ago in practice. . . . The Southern Section boys’ and girls’ soccer semifinals will also be played today. . . .

Prep Notes The Huntington Beach Edison girls’ soccer team finished the regular season with two section records, consecutive shutouts in league play, 10, and overall shutouts, 19. . . . Bryan Dameworth of Agoura set a national freshman indoor record for the two-mile at the recent Michelob Invitational at San Diego, clocking a 9:22.0 for fifth place. That bettered the mark of 9:31.2 set by Alan Scharsu of Austintown, Ohio, in 1975. . . . Tom Kelly of Burbank Burroughs made 95.5% of his free throws this season--106 of 111. He had one stretch of 43 straight.

Venice will remain in 3-A for City baseball. The Gondoliers, three-time defending division champions, were voted down in their bid to switch to the 4-A and decided not to try to have the entire Western League moved up. . . . Terry Roche, the only football coach in the five-year history of Diamond Bar, has resigned. No replacement has been named. The Brahmas went 49-14-2 under Roche and reached the Southeastern Conference final three times, winning in 1984. Last season, they were moved to the Eastern and made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Hacienda Heights Los Altos. . . . Middle blocker Julie Glenn, formerly of Playa del Rey St. Bernard, recently became the second consecutive Camino Real League most valuable volleyball player to transfer to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa. Heather Bova took the same route last season and started for the Southern Section 5-A champions. . . . Bob Shupp, who guided the Costa Mesa water polo team to five Southern Section playoff appearances in eight years, has been named coach at Orange Coast College. . . . Beginning with the 1987-88 season, field hockey players will be allowed to use one-piece fiberglass sticks instead of the traditional wooden sticks or two-piece sticks with wooden heads.