Miller: Man Among Big Men in Valley : Boys: Chatsworth’s 6-8 center will have plenty of company in the rarefied air this season.

Without a doubt, seniors Eddie Miller and Jerome Joseph make the Chatsworth High basketball team the one to beat among the region’s City Section teams.

But you won’t hear that from Chatsworth Coach Fluke Fluker, who would like to hoodwink opponents.

“I’ve got my work cut out for me here,” said Fluker, who in May became Chatsworth’s third coach in three years.

With two of the most exciting, experienced players in the region, his work sounds downright playful.

Miller, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound center, has been considered among the region’s finest players since he started his high school career at Notre Dame four years ago. Last season, Miller averaged 17.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and nearly three blocked shots.

But some coaches say Miller, who will have played for four high school coaches in his career, is overrated.

They say he is slow and often plays halfheartedly.

Fluker, a former Cal State Northridge assistant, disagrees.

“He is a Division I talent for sure,” Fluker said . “He’s strong, quick and has a sixth sense where the basket is at. And he’s 6-8 on top of that.”

Joseph, a 6-foot, 185-pound point guard, makes Miller that much tougher to defend. When he’s not making baskets from the outside, he’s dishing off inside. He averaged 19.7 points and five assists last season. Both are the region’s highest averages among returning guards.

If Joseph has a weakness, it is that he has not handled the ball well against pressure defenses. But he has done a lot of work in the off-season and promises marked improvement.

Much of that work has been done in the weight room. Fluker has had the Chancellors, 20-5 last season, on a rigorous weight-training program since school started.

It has paid dividends for Joseph, who was recently voted “Best Body” by classmates.

“They’re in better shape than ever before,” Fluker said of the Chancellors. “And that’s what makes [Joseph] the best in the Valley.”

Other players to watch:

Backcourt: Joseph isn’t the only playmaker who has made a name for himself, but he is among the few established guards among City teams from the region.

Cleveland’s Tony Hoggatts (6-6, 170) has attended several schools in the past four years. Canoga Park Coach Ralph Turner thinks he’s the best guard around. “He’s an unbelievable player,” he said. “Just awesome.” Cleveland, which is loaded with good athletes, also has returning starter Marcus Baldwin (6-3, 180).

Frontcourt: Seven of last season’s top nine rebounders are returning, meaning more teams will hitch their game plan to their inside player.

Garnering as much attention as Miller at Chatsworth is David Redmond at Birmingham.

Redmond, a junior, received honorable mention in Street & Smith magazine as a player to watch. He is receiving even stronger praise from area coaches.

“I think the world of David Redmond as the big man in the Valley,” Grant Coach Howie Levine said. “When he is good, he is absolutely scary.”

Redmond (6-6, 210), an All-City 3-A selection, averaged 14.6 points and nearly 10 rebounds. However, he will probably be slow out of the gate for two reasons: He has been hampered by minor injuries (ankle, knee) in the preseason and he is the only returning starter for the Braves, who will start only one senior.

Another post player who has been brought from anonymity is Verdugo Hills senior forward Maurice Potter (6-6, 190), a scoring machine on a team that returns three starters. Potter averaged 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds and gained more attention over the summer. If he improves his defensive skills, he promises to be among the region’s best.

Ernest Quinley of Granada Hills was the fourth-leading scorer among City players from the region, averaging 20.3 points. Quinley, a 6-4, 180-pound senior who also averaged 10.9 rebounds, is the Highlanders’ only returning starter.

El Camino Real’s Cameron Henderson (6-4, 200), who averaged 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, will work without point guard Jermel Jones, who averaged 19 points and transferred to Fremont.

Shannon Johnson (6-7, 190), a junior center who averaged 12.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and led the region with an average of 4.4 blocked shots, makes North Hollywood a contender in the East Valley League.

Grant, which edged North Hollywood and Monroe for the East Valley title and gave Crenshaw a battle before losing in the playoffs, lacks experience and depth.

But Donald Patterson, a 6-2, 170-pound forward who averaged 14.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, should keep the Lancers in the hunt.

Van Nuys senior forward Onaje Longmire (6-4, 190), 15 points and 9.1 rebounds, is one of three returning players who averaged more than 12 points for the Wolves.

Cleveland’s Junior Brignac, a 6-4, 180-pound swingman, averaged 15.5 points and will probably prosper with the help of returning starter Donald Holt, a 6-6, 185-pound junior.

Another promising swingman is Canoga Park junior Carlos Harper (6-4, 190), a monster on the boards who averaged 13 rebounds.

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