Times Honors Top Valley Cagers, Coaches of Year

Two juniors received top honors in the San Gabriel Valley at the Los Angeles Times All-Star Basketball Awards program.

Brian Hendrick of Diamond Bar, a 6-7, 200-pound forward, and Tasha Bradley of Muir, a 6-3, 170-pound center, were named players of the year.

The coaches of the year are Bill Murray of the Diamond Bar boys team and Dudley Stewart of the Pasadena girls squad.

Hendrick, Bradley, Murray and Stewart received trophies. The nine other players on the boys and girls San Gabriel Valley teams received trophies and certificates.

The San Gabriel Valley boys team consists of Andy Bojarski of San Gabriel, Keeley Brooks of Workman, Antonio Johnson of Ganesha, Faris Manning of Nogales, Mike McDonald of Rosemead, Tracy Murray of Glendora, Terry Owens of Pomona, Kirk Wagner of Muir, Kelvin Woods of Damien and Hendrick.

The girls team has Eular Carlyle of Monrovia, Stephanie Coons of Wilson, Lisa Crosskey of Monrovia, Julie Garcia of Rowland, Angela Grant of Muir, Charleen James of San Dimas, Rachonne Jones of Pasadena, Rachel Norris of San Gabriel, Anitra Wilkins of Pasadena and Bradley.

The speaker at the ceremony was George Raveling, USC basketball coach.

Hendrick, who led Diamond Bar to the CIF Southern Section 4-A Division semifinals, averaged 19.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3 blocked shots a game, a big improvement from his sophomore season when he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds, but his progress as a 10th-grader was slowed when he broke a foot.

Hendrick earned a berth on the All-CIF 4-A Division first team and selection as the most valuable player of the Sierra League. He has been recruited by many of the top colleges on the West Coast.

Hendrick, whose father George is an outfielder for the California Angels, also plays first base for the Brahmas and batted .436 last season.

It should come as little surprise that Bradley was selected top player among the girls. A Muir player has won the honor three years in a row. The last two years it was center Pauline Jordan, who is expected to start for Nevada-Las Vegas next season.

With Jordan graduated, much of the offensive responsibility fell on Bradley, and she came through.

Bradley was the leading scorer and rebounder in the valley, averaging 24.7 points, 20.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Bradley, who led Muir to a 15-10 record, was selected to the all-state team by Cal-Hi Sports News of Sacramento, was named to the All-CIF 4-A team and voted co-player of the year in the Pacific League with Pasadena’s Jones.

She has been recruited by USC, Nevada-Las Vegas, Oregon State, Iowa, Washington and North Carolina.

Much of Diamond Bar’s success goes to Murray. The coach watched his fledgling program struggle through most of its first four years as a varsity sport.

But after the Brahmas posted a 12-9 record last year, Diamond Bar emerged as one of the premier teams in the valley this season. The Brahmas finished with a 26-3 record and reached the 4-A playoff semifinals before losing to eventual champion Santa Monica.

It was a year of firsts for Diamond Bar, which won its first title with a 10-0 record in its first year in the Sierra League and at the 4-A level.

Before this season, Pasadena had taken a back seat to cross-town rival Muir in the Pacific League.

Under Stewart’s direction, the Bulldogs put an end to Muir’s four-year reign as league champion. Not bad considering that the Bulldogs did not have a starter taller than 5-9.

Pasadena finished with a 10-0 league record that included two victories over taller Muir. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the valley most of the season, had a 20-7 overall record but were upset by Huntington Beach in the first round of the 4-A playoffs.

Pasadena posted its best record in Stewart’s seven years and won its first league title.