PREP NOTES : Lisa Leslie Reported Leaning Toward USC

Is Lisa Leslie destined to join the women of Troy?

Although the Morningside High School center has not yet made an official announcement, a source said the 6-foot-5 All-American is expected to choose USC over Long Beach State and Notre Dame.

The period for seniors to sign letters of intent begins Wednesday.

“I’d be shocked if she didn’t pick USC,” the source said. “She hasn’t officially committed, but she really likes USC. Plus, staying close to home would give her mom the opportunity to see her play.”

Long Beach State, of course, could provide the same opportunity.

“She likes the USC program a little bit better than Long Beach State,” the source said. “I think she’s part of a group of high school seniors who are interested in bringing back USC’s program.”

The Trojans, coming off back-to-back losing seasons, signed All-American guard Linda Watson of Lynwood to an early letter of intent. USC returns nine players, including three starters, from this year’s team that finished 8-19.

That’s a far cry from the powerful teams USC had during most of the 1980s. The Trojans captured back-to-back national championships in ’83 and ’84 under former Coach Linda Sharp. She was replaced this year by Marianne Stanley, who guided Old Dominion to three NCAA titles during a 10-year stint.

Stanley reportedly is committed to rebuilding the USC program, and landing Leslie would be a giant step in that direction.

The only stumbling block at the moment is the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Leslie has yet to score 700, needed to be eligible as a freshman. She scored 680 on her first two attempts, and is confident she can surpass 700 before the end of the school year.

“The third time,” she said, “hopefully will be the charm.”

Leslie isn’t the only sought-after basketball player at Morningside.

Monarch forward Tyrone Paul will take a recruiting trip this weekend to Clemson, where Morningside graduate Elden Campbell has played the last four years. The 6-11 Campbell, who is projected as a high NBA draft pick, became the Tigers’ all-time leading scorer this season.

It will be the second recruiting trip for Paul, who also visited Lamar University in Texas. The 6-6 senior still needs a 700 score on the SAT. He took the test for the second time Saturday.

Believe it or not:

A check of the trophies prior to The Times’ All-Star Basketball Brunch on Sunday at the Anaheim Hilton revealed a major goof. The South Bay Player of the Year award to be presented to Tyrone Paul mistakenly read Byron Paul.

Even though Paul’s game resembles that of Laker guard Byron Scott, a former Morningside standout, the error could not be overlooked. It seemed that the trophy would have to be retrieved after the presentation and corrected.

But when Paul was asked for the trophy, he said no correction was needed.

He explained that Byron is his first name. Tyrone, the moniker he uses, is actually his middle name.

The strange thing is, no one at The Times or the trophy shop knew it before Sunday.

Ron Randle could have used some of Paul’s luck.

The Morningside co-coach, recipient of the South Bay Coach of the Year award with Carl Franklin, missed the all-star program for the first time in six years because of a severe case of strep throat.

Franklin accepted for his silent partner.

Jeremy Carr, left fielder for El Segundo’s Southern Section 2-A champion baseball team last season, is enjoying an impressive freshman year at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo.

The starting center fielder and lead-off hitter, Carr is batting .338 (26 for 77) and leads the team with 14 walks and 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. In Western State Conference play, he is batting .410 (16 for 39) and leads the conference with 11 steals.

Carr has helped Cuesta to a first-place conference mark of 9-3 and overall record of 14-10-2.

St. Bernard’s basketball team will pack its heavy coats next December when it visits Chicago to compete in the Windy City Classic basketball tournament.

Coach Jim McClune said the Vikings will be the only West Coast high school represented in the eight-team tournament, which runs Dec. 27-29. Perhaps the best feature of the tournament is that all expenses are paid for visiting teams, eliminating the need for fund-raising.

St. Bernard (14-12 this past season) should bring a strong team to Chicago. The Vikings return their entire front line of 6-6 center Wyking Jones and 6-4 forwards Chris Keldorf and Rick Famuyiwa.

Hawthorne, once considered a favorite for the Bay League baseball title, will have a tough time making the Southern Section 5-A playoffs after losing to Santa Monica, 13-9, Tuesday.

The defeat dropped the Cougars to 0-5 in league play, placing them dead last among eight teams and four games behind tri-leaders Torrance, Beverly Hills and Rolling Hills, all 4-1.

Hawthorne (4-8 overall) has had no problems scoring runs, averaging 6.5 per game. But the Cougars’ pitching and defense have been less than inspiring. They are giving up an average of 7.2 runs per game, 8.8 in league play.

It again proves that pitching and defense win championships.

Miraleste’s baseball team boasts two of the South Bay’s hottest hitters in junior shortstop Mike Ryan and senior catcher Mike Cooper.

In the last four games, they’ve combined for 14 hits in 24 at-bats (.583), 21 runs batted in and 13 runs scored. Ryan, the area’s leading hitter with a .658 average (27 for 41), was eight for 12 with 10 RBIs during that stretch, while Cooper, who is batting .571 (24 for 42), was six for 12 with 11 RBIs.

PREP NOTES--Senior forward Doug Kay, the leading scorer for Palos Verdes’ Southern Section 4-A champion soccer team, has been named divisional Offensive Player of the Year. Teammates joining Kay on the All-CIF 4-A squad are goalkeeper Mark Antrobius, midfielder Brandon DeMott and forward Peter Malishka. Other South Bay players on the team are defenders Derek Espinoza of Hawthorne, Tim Bohan of Rolling Hills and Humberto Macedo of Leuzinger, forward Kevin Fitzpatrick of South Torrance, and midfielders Sergio Medrano of Hawthorne and Eric Hendricks of West Torrance. El Segundo placed two players on the All-CIF 1-A squad: midfielder Mark Lewis and goalkeeper Kenneth Zunker. Midfielders Brian Lui and Andy Nystrom of Chadwick, and midfielder Greg Keese and defender Leif Halverson of Miraleste were named to the All-Small Schools team. . . . Four South Bay baseball teams are ranked in Southern Section top 10 polls this week. El Segundo is rated No. 1 in the 2-A Division, followed by No. 3 Miraleste and No. 6 St. Bernard. In the 1-A poll, Chadwick is ranked No. 10. . . . No South Bay softball teams are ranked in Southern Section top 10 polls.

South Bay’s Baseball Top 10 Selected by Times Sportswriters Through Tuesday’s Games

Rank, School, League Record 1 El Segundo (Camino Real) 12-1 2 St. Bernard (Camino Real) 9-1 3 Torrance (Bay) 12-3 4 Redondo (Ocean) 9-5 5 Miraleste (Santa Fe) 10-3 6 San Pedro (Pacific) 8-3-1 7 Palos Verdes (Bay) 8-6 8 Rolling Hills (Bay) 6-5 9 Carson (Pacific) 5-1-2 10 Banning (Pacific) 7-6