HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : McKeith Cheered by Successful Juggling : Girls: When looking for a point guard last season, Taft turned to one of the busiest students on campus. She helped Toreadors set a school record with 18 victories.

This is a busy time of year for Taft High point guard Nyoki McKeith.

Besides her practices and games with the Toreador basketball team, McKeith, a senior, maintains her role as a varsity cheerleader. Combine both schedules and she often spends 11 hours a day at school.

“It gets to the point where all the janitors know me by name,” McKeith said. “They see me in the hall and say, ‘What are you still doing here?’ ”

Last year, the hectic schedule was almost too much.

The burden of five core classes plus extracurricular activities left McKeith teetering on the edge of academic ineligibility as the Toreadors were preparing for the 4-A Division playoffs.

“It was either going to be a 1.8 or a 2.2,” McKeith said. “I’d come back from either cheering or playing a game and I’d be so tired I’d go right to bed. I didn’t even have time to read for my history class.”

McKeith was able to squeeze by and maintain her eligibility. Good thing for the Toreadors, who set a school record with 18 victories (against three losses) and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, thanks largely to McKeith.

Former Coach Jim Woodard handed the point-guard duties to the 5-5 McKeith before the season because she was the only player who could bring the ball up the floor and display leadership.

McKeith responded by averaging 14.5 points, 5.8 assists and five steals. She was one of two City players selected to The Times’ All-Valley first team.

“She is a very outgoing, feisty player,” said Woodard, who has retired from coaching. “If I still had a desire to coach, I would want to coach players like Nyoki.”

Although McKeith must make some minor adjustments playing for her third coach in three seasons, Stephanie Blin plans to utilize McKeith’s strengths.

Blin plans an up-tempo style using a full-court press, to take advantage of McKeith’s quickness and aggressive defensive style.

And McKeith has put her academic troubles behind her with a less-challenging class load.

“It’s still not easy but I’ve got a better handle on it,” she said. “I’m really concentrating on basketball now. We really like to be undefeated and win the 4-A championship.”

That would mean making a little history of her own.

Other players to watch:

Frontcourt: Taft’s Vanessa Dunn, a 5-11 junior post player, complements McKeith. She averaged 14 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.4 steals last season, her first full campaign on the varsity.

“We have this perfect connection on the court,” McKeith said. “Sometimes we just look at each other and we know what each other is going to do.”

Dunn handles the ball well for a frontcourt player. When McKeith fouled out of a playoff game against Garfield last season, Woodard had Dunn bring the ball upcourt and run the offense. The Toreadors won in overtime.

Coyles Scarbrough of Kennedy, a 5-9 wing player, averaged 12 points and 13 rebounds as a sophomore last season. She is being counted on to replace Tami Ross as Kennedy’s go-to player in the late stages of games.

“She plays much bigger than her height,” Kennedy Coach Donis Bailey said. “She will be one of the top players in the league.”

Gohar Tumanian of Van Nuys is a 5-10 post player who Coach Tony Magnante considers his most aggressive player. Tough, too. Early in last season’s conference opener against Grant, Tumanian broke her middle finger but didn’t notice until just before halftime.

“I was standing near the foul line, and I looked down, and my finger was really bruised and swollen and looked really painful,” she said. “I just didn’t notice until then.”

After heavily taping the finger at halftime, Tumanian, who averaged 13.2 points and 13.5 rebounds, played in the third quarter before the pain became too much. She missed seven conference games, effectively ending the Wolves’ playoff chances.

Nancy Vincent of Chatsworth is among the most-physical players in the region, although she enters the season slightly battered herself. Vincent, a 6-foot center, suffered partially torn ligaments in her knee while playing for Chatsworth’s volleyball team. She returned three weeks ago as the Chancellors’ starting middle blocker and appears fully recovered.

That’s bad news for opponents entering the lane. She led City Section players from the region by blocking an average of 3.3 shots. She also averaged 14.5 points and 10.8 rebounds.

Backcourt: Tami Jones of El Camino Real didn’t play organized basketball until ninth grade, but she is the leading returning scorer from City schools in the region, averaging 19.2 points.

She led the Conquistadores to the 4-A playoffs.

Jones, a 5-6 senior, will start the season at shooting guard.

“I’ve been working on my three-point shooting,” said Jones, who has signed a letter of intent to play softball at Northwestern and is El Camino Real’s student-body president.

“It’s difficult to find time sometimes with softball on the weekends and student council, but I have the greatest time when I’m on the court.”