The Buena Girls Are No Flash in the Pan : Without Much Flair, Vaughan’s Bulldogs Are 17-1 This Season, 271-21 Since ’75

Joe Vaughan’s coaching methods are simple. Add hard work, sound fundamentals, a little confidence and . . . voila . Success.

This is not a freeze-dried formula, however easy it may seem, and Vaughan, the girls’ basketball coach, has honed it to perfection in his 13 seasons at Buena High School in Ventura.

The Bulldogs are among the most consistent winners in the Southern Section.

This season is no expection. Buena, 17-1 overall, is The Times’ top-ranked team and has won 53 straight Channel League games. The only loss was to Lynwood, last season’s 4-A champion.

Yet, while establishing its niche among girls’ powers, Buena has done it with a distinctive lack of flair. This is strictly a working-class outfit. Vaughan applauds a good pick or pivot the way most coaches would cheer a 20-foot jump shot. And you ought to see him when a player dives on the floor after a loose ball.

Indeed, all that glitters at Buena is its record in Vaughan’s 13 seasons as coach.

Vaughan is a pragmatic man, speaking in simple terms, and his team is a reflection of him.

“We really don’t do anything fancy,� he said.

Since 1973-74, the first year of girls’ basketball in the Southern Section, Buena has lost no more than four games in a season.

In the ‘80s, Buena has finished with records of 26-1--last year--23-2, 31-0, 28-4, 19-3 and 22-1. In the 1982-83 season, when Buena lost four games, the Bulldogs won the state championship. Then they won it again the next season, with the 31-0 record.

Since 1975, Buena is 271-21.

Besides winning consecutive State titles, Buena has advanced to the Southern Section 4-A playoffs every season.

The Bulldogs have been quarterfinalists twice, semifinalists thrice, and have advanced to the final four times, winning twice.

How to explain this success?

It is all part of the Vaughan method of meticulous preparation and attention to detail.

Practice is written out on sheets on Vaughan’s clip board and is timed to the minute:

--4:30-5 p.m.: Shooting drills from medium to short range. A loosen-up period.

--5-5:15: Stretching, then jumping rope. More warm-up.

--5:15-5:30: Layups and more short jumpers.

And so it goes.

Further examples of Vaughan’s program include star center Teresa Palmisano and transfer Stephanie Rainwater.

Palmisano, who has started three straight seasons and is one of Buena’s best players ever, played on the junior varsity as a freshman. Now she is the Bulldogs’ leader in scoring and rebounding.

“Not that she didn’t have ability,� Vaughan said. “We just had a great team that year. We won the state that year. She would have played a little, but at that juncture it wouldn’t have been right.

“It takes time to learn the system.�

Rainwater, a junior forward, transferred from Burroughs of Ridgecrest this fall.

“She’s the first transfer we’ve ever had (on the team),� Vaughan said. “Two days before school started, I got a letter from her coach, saying how good she was and she wanted to play.�

Again, Vaughan was concerned that she wouldn’t learn the system. She did, though, and is starting now.

Becky Sievers, a reserve forward, is yet another example of the slow process. She attended Buena’s summer camp, run by Vaughan, for six consecutive years until she was a sophomore. The Vaughan method was ingrained before Sievers played a varsity game.

“Continuity is a real important factor with our program,� Vaughan said.

“As long as the kids work hard, I’m crazy enough to believe we’re never going to be a .500 team.�

Prep Notes Running back Eric Henley and tight end Tim Winn, both All-Eastern Conference picks from La Verne Damien, have committed to Rice. . . . Tight end John Carpenter of Encino Crespi, an All-Southern Section choice for the Big Five Conference champion, said he will attend Stanford. He is 6-5 and 220 pounds. . . . Brad Ratcliff, an assistant the last four years, has been named to replace Joe Sedia as football coach at L.A. University. Sedia retired after last season, when the Warriors reached the City 2-A title game before losing to Reseda. . . . UCLA has gotten oral commitments from lineman Jeff Bailey of Fullerton, and linebacker Pat McPherson and lineman John Zilinskas of San Jose Bellarmine. Bailey also visited Arizona State and Colorado and canceled trips to Nebraska and Washington, not bad for a guy who didn’t even make All-Orange County. . . . Tailback Scott Lockwood of Boulder, Colo., a national top 100 player, is on a recruiting trip to USC this weekend. He has already been to Arizona State, Georgia, Colorado and Notre Dame, but figures it will come down to the Trojans and the Fighting Irish. His father, John Lockwood, played for USC in 1963 and ’64. . . . Another tailback, Brian Cleveland of Orange, Tex., visits USC next weekend. He has already been to Georgia and Notre Dame and will be in Iowa this weekend. New USC Coach Larry Smith and assistant Chris Allen had been recruiting Cleveland, a second-team all-state pick, for Arizona and got him to switch over. . . . Receiver Alvin Warren of Long Beach Poly said he will attend New Mexico State. . . . Dominic Sandifer of North Hollywood Harvard, the area’s best kicker, finishes his UCLA trip today and leaves Sunday for an East Coast swing to visit Pennsylvania, Brown and Michigan. . . . Last weekend, California got a visit from lineman Troy Auzenne of La Puente Bishop Amat. Auzenne is also looking at Utah and Northern Arizona. James Rae of Anaheim Esperanza and Ron Simmons of Granada Hills Kennedy, two other linemen, are in Berkeley this weekend in what figures to be the final trip for both. Rae will decide among Arizona State, USC, UCLA and the Bears, and Simmons will pick from among Colorado, BYU and Cal, with Colorado having the edge at this point.