Pajevic, old friend, help South’s cause

Barry Faulkner

A dream will come true tonight for Newport Harbor High boys

basketball coach Larry Hirst, but not in the way he had imagined.

Nedim Pajevic, a 6-foot-9 Newport Harbor senior, will pair with

6-8 senior George Fedorovtsev to form the most imposing portion of

the South front line in the Orange County All-Star boys basketball

game, scheduled to tip off at 8 at Orange Coast College.

For Fedorovtsev, who starred this season for Capistrano Valley

after transferring from Newport Harbor, it will be a chance to play

with a friend and former classmate, with whom he spent much of his

free time this season.

For Hirst, Newport Harbor faithful, and others on hand tonight or

the 38th edition of the county showcase, which includes a girls game

at 5 p.m., it will be a glimpse of what might have been for the

Sailors last season.

“I dreamed about it a lot,” Hirst said of the Pajevic-Fedorovtsev

pairing, which has been impressive in practice, according to El Toro

Coach Todd Dixon, who guides the South in tonight’s contest.

“[Pajevic] and George get along very well and it shows on the

court,” Dixon said. “Sometimes, they have a little too much fun

teasing each other.”

The prospect of Pajevic, a Sea View League Co-Player of the Year

who also earned second-team All-CIF Southern Section Division II-AA

recognition, playing alongside Fedorovtsev, who averaged 14.5 points

and 8.5 rebounds en route to second-team All-CIF Division I-A and

first-team All-South Coast League honors, teased those who followed

Fedorovtsev’s progress through the lower levels of the Sailors’

program, before his transfer.

And, when 6-8 junior Jamie Diefenbach was lost for the season when

he tore an ACL in preseason drills, Hirst became fond of joking about

the 13 feet of talent that had disappeared from his roster.

Newport, further decimated by injury as the Sea View League season

progressed [losing 6-4 sophomore Brett Perrine to a torn ACL and

junior guard Andre Pinesett to a severe knee sprain], finished second

in the Sea View League and lost in the first round of the CIF

Division II-AA Playoffs to finish 16-10. Pajevic averaged 15.7 points

and more than 13 rebounds for the Tars.

Capo Valley, bolstered by the surprisingly polished varsity

newcomer in the post, lost in the Division I-A section title game to

Loyola.

Dixon believes both will help the South, a prohibitive underdog

against a North squad that includes Wesley Washington and Harrison

Schaen from Mater Dei, Brea Olinda’s Evan Moore, Villa Park’s

UCLA-bound Sean Phaler, and Orange High standout Patrick Sanders.

The aforementioned North stars prompted their coach, T.J. Hardeman

from Troy, to request a slam dunk contest tonight, in hopes of

sharing some of the rim-rattling heroics he has witnessed after North

workouts with the ticket-buying public.

The South boys roster includes Sage Hill senior Michael Fitzhugh,

but an ankle injury sustained last weekend has rendered him unable to

play, Dixon said.

Other South boys include Kyle Hogan (Laguna Beach), Brandon McGee

(Santa Ana), Drew Terry (Northwood), Jake Collins (Mission Viejo) and

Patrick Carney (El Toro).

There are no Newport-Mesa representatives in the girls game.

The event, which provides proceeds to several charities, is hosted

by the Costa Mesa Kiwanis. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for

students with student ID cards.

Three trips to Las Vegas will be given away in a halftime drawing.