SUMMER BASKETBALL : Johnson, Fowlkes, Bailey Are Happy Campers

Kris Johnson and Tremaine Fowlkes of Crenshaw High and Toby Bailey of Loyola proved themselves as three of the area’s top juniors last season and were selected to the City Times’ All-Star Basketball Team.

But how do they stack up against the nation’s best?

After each competed in one of two national summer camps, the threesome exceeded college coaches’ expectations and were selected to their camp all-star teams.

Bailey, along with Cameron Murray of Glendora, was selected to the Top 20 at the Nike-All American/AAU Festival, July 6-10 in Indianapolis. Bailey, a 6-foot-5 forward, had 12 points, and Murray, younger brother of former UCLA star Tracy Murray, had 16, including four three-point shots in the all-star game.

Fowlkes, Johnson, Jelani Gardner of St. John Bosco, Rick Price, formerly of Long Beach St. Anthony, and J.R. Henderson of Bakersfield East guided their team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to the finals of the Converse ABCD Summer Jam July 5-8 at the Eastern Michigan University campus in Ypsilanti. The California team lost to the Detroit Pistons, 62-61, on a last-minute steal and layup by Willie Mitchell of Detroit Pershing.

Fowlkes, Johnson, Price, Gardner and Henderson were selected as five of the Top 20 players of the camp. Price and Gardner were honored as Top 10 players and were selected to the all-tournament team.

Price, a 6-foot-6 senior guard who will transfer to Gardena Serra, was the star of the camp and is considered by some to be the top prospect on the West Coast. Fowlkes, a 6-6 senior forward, averaged 12 points and was the spark plug when the team grew listless. Johnson, the City Times player of the year, played guard and averaged 16 points during the eight-game tournament.

“Tremaine’s stock went through the ceiling,” Johnson said. “I’ve never seen him play like that. He was unstoppable in one game, hitting six jumpers in a row during one stretch.”

*

Nike Top 20 performers--After the final shot was made and the trash-talking ended, the Top 20 players were selected.

In addition to Bailey and Murray, they are:

* Ishua Benjamin, Concord, N.C. (6-4, guard, senior) * Ronnie Fields, Chicago (6-3, guard, sophomore) * Prince Flower, Las Vegas (5-10, guard, senior) * Allen Iverson, Hampton, Va. (6-1, guard, senior) * Sam Jacobson, Cottage Grove, Minn. (6-5, swingman, senior) * Raef LeFrentz, Monona, Iowa, (6-10, forward, senior) * Trajan Langdon, Anchorage, Alaska, (6-4, guard, senior) * Ron Mercer, Madison, Tenn. (6-7, forward, junior) * Johnny Miller, Quarryville, Pa. (6-1, guard, senior) * Norman Nolan, Baltimore (6-8, forward, senior) * Andrae Patterson, Abilene, Tex. (6-8, forward, senior) * Tony Rutland, Hampton, Va. (6-1, guard, senior) * Curtis Staples, Roanoke, Va. (6-2, guard, senior) * Samaki Walker, Columbus, Ohio (6-9, forward, senior) * Jahidi White, St. Louis (6-10, center, senior) * LeRon Williams, Bradenton, Fla. (6-7, forward, senior) * Lorenzen Wright, Memphis, Tenn. (6-10, forward, senior) * Tim Young, Santa Cruz (7-1, center, senior) The Nike All-Star game will be televised by ESPN on Aug. 2.

*

Add camps--After the conclusion of the ABCD and Nike camps, the top players returned to California for the West Coast All-Stars last weekend at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Nearly every West Coast NCAA Division I program was represented by either a coach or an assistant. Among the top coaches in attendance were Lute Olson of Arizona, Steve Fisher of Michigan and Jimmy Anderson of Oregon State.

The Top 15 players selected by college coaches were:

* Chauncey Billups of George Washington High, Colo. (6-3, guard, junior) * Travon Carmichael of Fontana (6-4, guard, senior) * Schea Cotton of St. John Bosco (6-5, guard, freshman) * Carlos Daniel of Fairview, Colo. (6-7, forward, senior) * Michael Dickerson of Federal Way, Wash. (6-5, forward, senior) * Sidney Faison of Artesia (6-5, guard, senior) * Fowlkes of Crenshaw (6-6, forward, senior) * Pat Garrity of Lewis Palmer, Colo. (6-8, center, senior) * omm’A Givens of Aberdeen, Wash. (6-11, center, senior) * Jim Hajdukovich of Monroe, Alaska (6-2, guard, senior) * Henderson of Bakersfield East (6-11, center, senior) * Johnson of Crenshaw (6-4, forward, senior) * Arthur Lee of North Hollywood (6-0, guard, junior) * Charlie Miller of South Miami, Fla. (6-6, forward, senior) * Archie Williams of Santa Monica (6-1, guard, senior)

*

Community college basketball--The top 200 community college basketball players will compete today in the finals of the West Coast Invitational All-Star Camp at Cal State Bakersfield.

Marty Cartwright, a 6-9 forward for Los Angeles City College, is among the top players invited to the camp, which began Friday.

*

Camp information--Los Angeles City College Coach Mike Miller will serve as coordinator for the Pat Miller U-Can-Shoot ball-handling camp Thursday and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at L.A. City.

Boys and girls, grades four through 12, are invited to participate in the two-day camp. They will receive a free basketball and T-shirt. Cost is $55.

Information: (213) 953-4352.