1989 Los Angeles Times ALL-STARS : Kings and Queens of the Court : Glendora’s Murray Has Record Year

As high school basketball seasons go in the San Gabriel Valley, this was one for the record books.

At least when the subject is Tracy Murray, the brilliant 6-8 forward for Glendora High School who led the Tartans to a 31-3 record and the state Division II finals.

In his final season, Murray established CIF Southern Section single-season records for most points and highest scoring average and surpassed the career mark for most points. Murray saved his best for last, pouring in a state-tournament-record 64 points in his team’s loss to Menlo Atherton in the state final last week.

So it is no surprise that Murray tops the list of players on The Times All-San Gabriel Valley high school all-star basketball team.

Charter Oak, which won the Sierra League and finished at 21-5, is the only team with more than one player on the squad. The Chargers placed 6-9 center Jeff Von Lutzow and 6-5 forward Shane Bowers.

Other team members are guards Jason Ferguson (6-0) of Workman, Jason Giambi (6-2) of South Hills, Idris Jones (6-3) of Pasadena, Carlos Lopez (6-1) of Rosemead and Corey Rogers (6-3) of Nogales and forwards Tony McGee (6-7) of Azusa and Pablo Patino (6-7) of Bishop Amat.

There are no juniors on the squad. Murray is the only repeater from last year.

Murray is the first player to make the all-valley team three years in a row.

Murray averaged 23.1 points and 10.4 rebounds as a sophomore and 31.3 points and 11 rebounds last year. This season he averaged 44.3 points--best in the nation--and 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.

That gave him 3,053 points--the first CIF Southern Section player ever to surpass the 3,000 plateau. He also finished with Southern Section single-season records of 1,505 points and a 44.3 average and finished in the Southern Section top 10 for his career in rebounds and scoring average.

The three-time league most valuable player has been named to the McDonald’s All-American team and Gatorade state and regional player of the year. He has narrowed his list of schools to UCLA, UNLV, Villanova, Louisville and New Mexico.

Bowers hasn’t nearly received the attention of Murray or even his teammate, Von Lutzow, but has quietly emerged as one of the valley’s top players. A two-time All-Sierra League selection, Bowers averaged 18.6 points and 10 rebounds as a senior.

He is an all-around athlete, captain on both the basketball and baseball teams at Charter Oak.

Ferguson enjoyed a big year. He was one of the best shooters in the valley, averaging 28.4 points, and averaged a valley-leading 12.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds. An All-Valle Vista League selection, he will probably attend Mt. San Antonio College for one season and transfer to a four-year program.

Another standout named Jason from the Valle Vista League was Giambi, who led South Hills to its best season in recent years. The Huskies won their league title and finished at 19-6 as Giambi averaged 22.9 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Selected most valuable player of the Valle Vista League, he is also one of the top pitchers in the valley, having led the Huskies to the CIF 4-A Division finals last season.

When it comes to shooting guards, there may not have been anyone better than Jones. He averaged 20.2 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead resurgent Pasadena.

With Jones earning Pacific League most valuable player honors, the Bulldogs won their first league title in seven years and were ranked No. 1 in the CIF 5-A Division most of the season before losing in the semifinals of the playoffs and finishing at 24-3.

Jones, who was also named most valuable player of the Glendale and Bishop Amat tournaments during the season, is considered one of the top college prospects in the valley and has signed a letter of intent to attend UC Santa Barbara.

Another outstanding shooter was Lopez, one of the premier players from the three-point line in the Southern Section with 103, including 10 against Mountain View. He made five or more three-pointers in a game 13 times in his senior season.

Lopez finished the season with averages of 21.7 points and 4.8 rebounds to lead Rosemead to a 19-5 record and its first league title and the second round of the 4-A playoffs. He was selected the league’s most valuable player.

McGee has followed a path of steady progress in three years as a starter for Azusa. He averaged 17.3 points as a sophomore, 22.6 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior and 26.9 points, 11 rebounds and six assists this season.

He earned All-Montview League honors for three straight years and was named league most valuable player the last two seasons. An outstanding offensive player from both inside and outside, McGee was heavily recruited by Division I programs and has signed a letter of intent with Hawaii.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Bishop Amat. But with Patino leading the way, the Lancers finished at 16-10 and reached the 4-A quarterfinals before losing to Barstow.

An all-league first-team selection in the rugged Angelus League, Patino averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds. He has been recruited by numerous Division II and III programs, including Cal Poly Pomona, UC San Diego, Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer.

Rogers stamped himself as one of the top guards in the valley. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a junior before improving to 25.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a senior. An outstanding outside shooter, he finished third in the CIF in three-point baskets with 92.

He was named to the All-Sierra League first team two years in a row and earned all-tournament selection three times as a senior. He signed a letter of intent last November with Northern Arizona.

Von Lutzow, perhaps the top center in the valley, averaged 24.5 points and 12.3 rebounds to lead the Chargers to a 21-5 record and the second round of the 4-A playoffs.

Von Lutzow, a two-time all-league selection, was second to Murray in balloting by valley coaches. He is considered an excellent college prospect and has signed with UC Irvine. He also plays baseball.

Receiving honorable mention are Don Mitchell, Chris Henson and Burl Irby of Pasadena, Ryan McKee of Pasadena Poly, Jason Green of Bishop Amat, Kenny Hall of Garey, Clyde Jordan of West Covina, Johnny McWilliams of Pomona, Kevin Cable of Covina, Criss Freeman of Baldwin Park, Rod Taylor of San Dimas, Derrick Cooper of Blair and Hung Duong of Alhambra.

1989 ALL-STARS 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, April 2, at the annual Times High School Basketball Awards Brunch where all-stars teams from 12 circulation areas will be honored at the Anaheim Hilton. The featured speaker will be George Yardley, a former All-American at Stanford University, who went on to become the first player ever to score more than 2,000 points in an NBA season. The players and the 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 recieve the traditional Times golden basketball plaque and award certificate.

BOYS PREP TEAM

Name: Shane Bowers School: Charter Oak Year: Senior Height: 6-5 Average: 18.6 Name: Jason Ferguson School: Workman Year: Senior Height: 6-0 Average: 28.4 Name: Jason Giambi School: South Hills Year: Senior Height: 6-2 Average: 22.9 Name: Idris Jones School: Pasadena Year: Senior Height: 6-3 Average: 20.2 Name: Carlos Lopez School: Rosemead Year: Senior Height: 6-1 Average: 21.7 Name: Tony McGee School: Azusa Year: Senior Height: 6-7 Average: 26.9 Name: Tracy Murray School: Glendora Year: Senior Height: 6-8 Average: 44.3 Name: Pablo Patino School: Bishop Amat Year: Senior Height: 6-7 Average: 19.0 Name: Corey Rogers School: Nogales Year: Senior Height: 6-3 Average: 25.9 Name: Jeff Von Lutzow School: Charter Oak Year: Senior Height: 6-9 Average: 24.5