Los Angeles Times 1988 ALL-STARS : Kings and Queens of the Court : It’s the Year of the Big Man on the San Gabriel Squad With None of the These Quality Players Less Than 6-4

The all-star boys and girls teams, each consisting of 10 members, their coaches and parents will be guests of the Times at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 1, at the annual Times High School Basketball Awards Brunch where all-star teams from 12 circulation areas will be honored at the Anaheim Hilton. The featured Speaker will be Loyola Coach Paul Westhead. The players and coaches of the year from each area will be announced.

The teams were chosen on the basis of a poll of area coaches, who are asked to fill out ballots nominating their own players and opponents, plus the observations of college scouts and sportswriters. Each player will receive the traditional Times golden basketball plaque and award certificate.

There may still be a place for the small player in basketball, but not on this year’s 10-member Los Angeles Times All-San Gabriel Valley high school all-star team.

With quality players--none shorter than 6-4 and five 6-7 or taller--it could be the biggest all-valley team ever.

Standing above the pack are 6-8 front-line players Brian Hendrick of Diamond Bar, Geoff Lear of Bishop Amat and Wayne Womack of Muir. They are joined by 6-7 forwards Tracy Murray of Glendora and Carlos Carrillo of Bosco Tech, 6-6 forwards Kelvin Woods of Damien and John Moses of Edgewood and 6-5 forward Otis Mixon of Duarte.

The other two players on the all-star team are 6-4 forwards Eric Smith of Bonita and Marvin Whitlock of Nogales, neither of whom is short by any standard.

Murray is the only junior to make the squad and one of three repeaters from last year’s team. The others are Hendrick and Woods.

With seven of the all-stars averaging 20 or more points, it was a good year for offense.

One of the stronger offensive players was Bosco Tech’s Carrillo, an excellent shooter who averaged 21 points and 8.5 rebounds to lead the Tigers into the CIF 5-A Division playoffs.

A two-time All-Del Rey League first team selection, 190-pound Carrillo was the top offensive player for Bosco Tech the last two seasons. He is also considered a good NCAA Division I prospect and has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of San Diego next fall.

Another prime recruit among college scouts is Hendrick, a physical player around the basket at 215 pounds. After averaging 19.3 points and 12.2 rebounds and earning Times San Gabriel Valley player of the year honors as a junior, he came back with even more impressive statistics this season.

Hendrick, whose father, George, plays for the California Angels, averaged 25.5 points and 16.1 rebounds and also earned a reputation as a good shot blocker. An All-CIF 4-A Division first team selection, he was also named Sierra League most valuable player for the second straight season.

An honorable mention selection to the Street & Smith’s and USA Today’s All-America teams, Hendrick was heavily recruited but has signed a national letter of intent to attend UC Berkeley.

It was the best year ever for the basketball program at Bishop Amat and one of the biggest factors was the imposing play of Lear, an intimidating 225-pound center who led the Lancers to a 27-4 record and berths in the CIF 5-A Division final and the state Division I tournament for the first time.

The leading scorer in a balanced offensive attack for the Lancers, Lear averaged 21 points and about 17 rebounds. An All-CIF 5-A Division and All-Angelus League selection, he was also a key recruiting target before signing a letter of intent to attend Pepperdine next season.

Another school that produced its best record ever was Duarte, which won the Mission Valley League and reached the 2-A Division quarterfinals and finished with a 26-2 mark. Mixon was one of the leading forces behind the success, averaging 20.2 points and 14.1 rebounds.

That was enough to earn the 178-pounder a spot on the All-CIF 2-A Division first team, along with the Mission Valley most valuable player award and all-league honors.

Even more impressive offensively was John Moses of Edgewood, who averaged 23.8 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists to lead the Trojans to a 17-9 record and the Valle Vista League title.

Moses also earned a place on the All-CIF 2-A Division first team and league player of the year honors. Not surprisingly he has been recruited by several West Coast Division I programs and Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine are the front runners.

The player who has been attracting the most interest among college recruiters is the junior Murray and for good reason. In making the all-valley team for the second year in a row, Murray averaged a valley-leading 31.3 points and 11 rebounds.

A superb outside shooter, Murray was the Southern Section leader in three-point shots making 93 of 182 attempts. One valley coach went as far as to call Murray “the best high school perimeter shooter I have ever coached against.” The All-CIF 4-A Division selection is also a strong inside player who averaged about 5 blocked shots and three steals in pacing Glendora to a 28-1 record and the 4-A Division quarterfinals.

No wonder he was an honorable mention choice on Street & Smith’s All-America squad and was named the top junior in California by USA Today. That also explains why Murray has been recruited by more than 80 schools including national powers such as North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke, DePaul, Michigan and Louisville.

Another prolific scorer was Bonita’s Smith, who averaged 26.9 points and 10.8 rebounds to help his team reach the second round of the 3-A Division playoffs. The 185-pounder was also named the Hacienda League’s most valuable player and earned a position on the all-league first team for the second straight season.

Whitlock may be one of the shortest players on the all-valley squad at 6-4 but that may be a little deceiving since he also one of the most physical front-line players in the valley at 210 pounds. He averaged 16.6 points and 11.9 rebounds to pace the Nobles and Coach Mike Southworth said Whitlock deserved much of the credit for his team finishing at 22-7 and reaching the 4-A Division quarterfinals.

A two-time All-Sierra League selection, Whitlock has been recruited by Division I schools New Mexico State and San Jose State. He is also an outstanding outfielder in baseball.

Perennial Southern Section power Muir has produced its share of outstanding front-line players in recent years and the latest is Womack, who averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Mustangs won the Pacific League title and reached the second round of the 4-A Division playoffs.

An All-CIF 4-A Division selection and Pacific League player of the year, Womack was one of the top college recruits in Southern California and signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Arizona, the Pacific 10 Conference champion, next season.

Another repeat member of the all-star squad was Woods, making his second appearance on the team after averaging 18.5 points and 10.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists as a senior at Damien.

A three-time All-Baseline League selection, Woods was recruited by many Division I programs and has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of San Diego next season.

Players receiving honorable mention are Kurt Bonds of Glendora, Tony McGee of Azusa, Kent Wang and Rick Febres-Cordero of Alhambra, Corey Rogers and Boo Moore of Nogales, Stephon Pace and Terrance Lamb of Bishop Amat, Darold Caouette of Wilson, Mario Rose of Duarte, Joey Madott of Diamond Bar, Jason Giambi of South Hills, Derrick Cooper of Blair, Ryan McKee of Pasadena Poly, Jason Matthews of Claremont, Jason Ferguson of Workman, Marcus Austin of Garey, Byron Jackson of Monrovia, Jeff Von Lutzow of Charter Oak and Bruce Evans of Northview.

BOYS PREP TEAM Name: Carlos Carrilo School: Bosco Tech Year: Senior Height: 6-7 Average: 21.1 Name: Brian Hendrick School: Diamond Bar Year: Senior Height: 6-8 Average: 25.5 Name:Geoff Lear School: Biship Amat Year: Senior Height: 6-8 Average: 21.0 Name: Otis Mixon School: Duarte Year: Senior Height: 6-5 Average: 20.2 Name: John Moses School: Edgewood Year: Senior Height: 6-6 Average: 23.8 Name: Tracy Murray School: Glendora Year: Junior Height: 6-7 Average: 31.5 Name: Eric Smith School: Bonita Year: Senior Height: 6-4 Average: 26.9 Name: Marvin Whitlock School: Nogales Year: Senior Height: 6-4 Average: 16.7 Name: Wayne Womack School: Muir Year: Senior Height: 6-8 Average: 26.0 Name: Kelvin Woods School: Damien Year: Senior Height: 6-6 Average: 18.5