SPORTS

STEADY GROWTH

The Nielsen ratings have been climbing steadily higher in Redondo Beach during the past three seasons.

But these marks have nothing to do with television programs. The subject here is basketball.

In the short time since the arrival of Jim Nielsen as coach of the Redondo High boys’ basketball team, the fortunes of the Sea Hawks have risen dramatically.

Redondo finished 13-12 and reached the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs in Nielsen’s first season, and improved to 21-8 and advanced to the Division II-A quarterfinals last season.

This season could turn out to be the best yet for the Sea Hawks under Nielsen. They are 9-2, one of the best records of any team in the South Bay, and will have high hopes when postseason play begins in February.

Nielsen gives much of the credit for the team’s record to its play during the summer, when the Sea Hawks competed in more than 60 games.

“That’s when programs are made,” Nielsen said. “It all happens during the summer.”

He said there are also four intangibles that lead to a successful program and Redondo has all of them: talent, coaching, outstanding facilities and strong support from boosters.

The talent pool features 6-foot-4 junior guard Tremaine Mayeaux, who Nielsen says is “as good as any player I’ve coached.” Redondo, which has no shortage of depth, is also led by juniors Doug Francis (6-5) and Wyatt Hage (6-2) and seniors Ahmad Holmes (6-1) and Dave Foot (6-4). Two other standouts are twins Randall and Ryan Stowasser, both 6-1 juniors.

As for Redondo’s coaching staff, it appears more like a committee. Nielsen has four assistants, more than most staffs, and that enables the Sea Hawks to bring more structure to their practices. “With four or five coaches, we’re able to break down the practices better and focus on specific things,” he said.

Nielsen also said the size of Redondo’s gym, which has been used for numerous tournaments and even the NBA Summer Pro League, also makes it easier to individualize practices.

Boosters have been adept at raising funds for the program through events such as bingo nights.

All that has helped Redondo assemble one of the top programs in the South Bay. But how good are the Sea Hawks?

“We’re not quite in Inglewood’s class, but we’re not far behind,” Nielsen said.

He is quick to caution that the Ocean League is particularly balanced with teams such as Morningside, Culver City, Beverly Hills and Mira Costa. “If we finish worse than fourth, I’ll probably have to start looking for a new job next year,” he joked.

But considering the direction the team has been headed, that doesn’t figure to happen.

GOOD KNIGHTS

Beset by a rash of injuries and the absence of top players who were still competing for the football team, Bishop Montgomery Coach Doug Mitchell expected his boys’ basketball team to struggle at the start of the season.

So Mitchell is surprised by the Knights’ 9-2 record entering Friday night’s Del Rey League opener at Long Beach St. Anthony.

“We’ve definitely got some momentum, although we can play better,” Mitchell said.

The Knights have surged behind 6-6 junior forward Brandon Price, who averages 19.5 points. He has already been named most valuable player of two tournaments, including the Anaheim Katella tournament that Bishop Montgomery won last week.

Another leader has been 6-3 senior Brandon McLemore, whose brother Cristin is a wide receiver for Pacific 10 Conference champion Oregon. The Knights figure to improve even more in league play with the return of 6-5 junior center Alvin Dunn, who has played only one game because of a knee injury.

Even with the addition of Dunn, the task for Bishop Montgomery will become more difficult because the Knights have moved up from the Mission League to the Del Rey. They are joined in the powerful league by St. John Bosco, St. Bernard, Bishop Amat, St. Paul and Serra. “I don’t think there’s a bad team in the group,” Mitchell said.

Despite the team’s early success, Mitchell realizes that his team has little room for complacency.

“We can’t be satisfied,” he said. “We’re off to a good start, but we can’t be satisfied with that.”

TURNING IT AROUND

Peninsula Coach Cliff Warren acknowledges that he was a little perplexed with the way his boys’ basketball team was playing early in the season.

It had nothing to do with the fact that the Panthers played one of the most imposing nonleague schedules among South Bay teams, including games against perennial powers Mater Dei, Artesia and Nogales.

“Even though we lost to some pretty good teams, I was concerned about how we were playing,” he said. “I didn’t know if we were headed in the right direction.”

Warren is feeling better after the Panthers’ trip to Las Vegas, where the team won its final three games of the El Dorado tournament to win the consolation title and return home with a respectable 7-5 record.

“It was a good tournament for us and I think we played our best basketball of the year,” Warren said.

Peninsula was led in the tournament by guards Phil Belin (6-4) and Andy Jensen (6-0) and center Marcus Boyd (6-5).

The improvement couldn’t have come at a better time with the start of Bay League play this week. Despite the team’s development, Warren concedes that the Panthers are most likely playing for second place, considering they are in the same league with talent-rich Inglewood.

“Inglewood is clearly the class of the league,” he said.

But with its play in Las Vegas, Peninsula is showing signs that the best is yet to come.

WON ONE

Although the Loyola Marymount men’s basketball team is off to one of it best starts ever, it has been a struggle for the women’s team.

Not that it figured to be any different with the graduation of All-West Coast Conference forward Sheri Brown and 6-5 center Amy Lundquist’s decision to transfer after last season. But the Lions finally have reason to smile after winning for the first time in nine tries, 79-43, over winless Columbia on Monday.

The Lions were led by senior forwards Tanya White with 17 points and Desiree Warren with 14.

Loyola plays host to NCAA Division II Cal Poly Pomona at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Lions open conference play against visiting St. Mary’s on Jan. 13.

HONOR ROLL

Postseason honors continue to pile up for South Bay prep football standouts Aaron Williams of Leuzinger and Ademole Turner of Serra.

Williams, a senior linebacker, and Turner, a senior safety, were among 25 players selected to the All-Southern Section team that includes top players from all divisions. Both players were previously named to the all-state second team by Cal-Hi Sports magazine as well as The Times’ All-South Bay first team.

The 6-3, 240-pound Williams was Leuzinger’s leading tackler last season and named Bay League defensive player of the year. He also rushed for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a fullback.

The 5-9, 170-pound Turner was among the Southland leaders with 10 interceptions--three of which were returned for touchdowns--and second in tackles for Serra with 104.

STARS OF THE FUTURE

The Torrance 4 “D” Stars, an eighth-grade all-star basketball team that has players from throughout the South Bay, was the only team from the continental U.S. to compete in the Hawaii Holiday tournament in Hilo last week.

The team, coached by Sam Alipio of Lynwood and Bob Dworkin of Torrance, won all four games it played to win the tournament title. The team was led by forward Marvin Isaac of Inglewood and center Eric Torres of Gardena.

SPRING FEVER

Registration for the 1994 Hawthorne Pony-Colt Baseball league for youths 11 to 16 begins Saturday at the Dana Intermediate School cafeteria at 135th Street and Aviation Boulevard in Hawthorne. Sign-ups are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through Jan. 21 and noon to 3 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 22. The fee is $65. Information: Jim Shaw at (310) 643-5129, Jim O’Connor at (310) 675-6855 or Ron Light at (310) 973-8158.