Crenshaw, Fairfax Await Meekins’ Choice

Doug Meekins left the recent Nike basketball camp in Princeton, N.J., with a case of chicken pox, but the issue now is how sick is he of playing at Crenshaw High School. Specifically, are his ill feelings strong enough to make him transfer to Fairfax (his choice), or will he will remain with the Cougars for his senior year, as his mother wishes?

The balance of City basketball awaits his decision.

Meekins, a 6-foot 7-inch forward, is regarded as one of the top prospects in the state although he was academically ineligible last season. If he stays, Crenshaw, with John Staggers and David Hollaway, will be the favorite to reclaim the City 4-A championship it lost in March after three consecutive titles. If Meekins goes to Fairfax, as he recently hinted that he might, then the Lions, with Chris Mills, become instant contenders for a second straight title.

Meekins says that those who claim he has already transfered to Fairfax are incorrect. A final decision is expected by the end of the month.

“It’s in my mind, but it’s not true,� he said. “Me and my mom have to talk about it.�

At issue is Meekins’ relationship with Joe Weakley, the top Crenshaw assistant coach who, as head of the summer league program, is a key figure in the past success of the Cougars.

“I had a problem with coach earlier this year, in the Watts (L.A.) Summer Games,� Meekins said. “He pulled me out and afterwards we had some words. He said I was not working hard enough and I thought what I was doing was fine. He’s been doing that a lot.�

Hollaway played well as Crenshaw’s newest addition, after transferring from Westchester, at the same L.A. Games, though Cougar Coach Willie West said he still doesn’t consider Hollaway a part of the regular-season team. Hollaway, a fine shooting guard, left Westchester without explanation after quitting once and returning last season. This time, he’s not expected back.

West is handling the Meekins and Hollaway matters the same way--with little information.

“I don’t know anything until September,� he said.

Pete Sampras, the Southern Section tennis champion from Palos Verdes, made more than the Junior Davis Cup team when invitation-only tryouts were held two weeks ago at Sonoma State. He made a big impression, and not only because, as a 15 year old, he is one of the youngest ever to make the 10-man 18-and-under team.

“Pete never ceases to amaze me or the coaching staff,� said UC Irvine Coach Greg Patton, who also heads the Junior Davis Cup program.

“The kid doubles and triples his ability every day. Last year, he tried out for the boys 16s and didn’t make it and now he’s still only 15 and he made the 18s. He’s a light at the end of the tunnel for American tennis that could get brighter and brighter.

“Don’t be surprised down the line if you read about him on the grass at Wimbledon. I think the kid’s got that much potential. Every time I see him, it’s like watching a time exposure. . . . He gets better every time I see him.

“He plays the game a lot older than himself. Today, he had us grabbing our heads at the things he was doing. He was playing a game a college player would.�

Sampras, who doesn’t turn 16 until Aug. 21, is nicknamed the Mongoose because, Patton said: “He is a cute little critter who can take a cobra out.�

Last season as a sophomore, Sampras was cute and unassuming to the point of disgusting, going undefeated (with a 58-0 record in sets) and giving the family an unprecedented brother-sister sweep in the Southern Section finals. Stella, a senior at Palos Verdes, won her title in December.

The Junior Davis Cup team is making its first stop on the summer tour this week at National Hardcourt tournament in Burlingame, Calif.

In what Sheriff’s deputies called a gang-related incident, Van Erwin, a football player at Lawndale Leuzinger, was shot and killed June 23 in Los Angeles.

Last August, his senior season was wiped out when he was shot six times. Still, Leuzinger Coach Steve Carnes told the Daily Breeze that Erwin was “as good a player as we’ve had.�

Prep Notes Mission Viejo was named the state school of the year by Cal-Hi Sports. . . . Kirsten Kroner of Carondelet High in Concord, Calif., finished her four-year career with state softball records for hits (163), batting average (.568), RBIs (163), doubles (44) and triples (32). She also holds several single-season marks, including hitting--.701 as a junior. . . . The Cal-Hi players of the year in baseball: Tom Redington of Anaheim Esperanza in the 4-A, Chris Robinson of Fullerton Troy in the 3-A, Tim Williams of Playa del Rey St. Bernard in the 2-A, Jeff Cirillo of Burbank Providence in the 1-A and Mike Arthur of Templeton in Class B. . . . Bill Friedrich of Bellflower St. John Bosco will coach the West and Mike Wunderly of Cerritos Valley Christian the East for the 20th annual 605 all-star football game, to be played July 17 at La Mirada. St. John Bosco was runner-up to Encino Crespi for the Big Five title while Valley Christian won the Inland Conference championship. . . . Former Hawthorne track star Henry Thomas had a tough time at the U.S. Junior National meet June 19 at Tucson, without even being there. First, Michael Bates of Tucson Amphitheater broke his national sophomore-class record of 10.46 in the 100-meter dash by running 10.34, which was also good enough to beat out Quincy Watts of Woodland Hills Taft and Corey Ealy of Pasadena Muir (both 10.36) for the country’s top time of the year. Then, Thomas lost his junior-class record of 45.82 in the 400 when William Reed of Philadelphia Central went 45.17, the fourth-best mark ever in the event. . . . The Southern Section will host a benefit golf tournament Aug. 27 at California Country Club in Whittier to kickoff the organization’s 75th anniversary. Entry for the scrambles event is $150, or $25 for dinner only. For more information: (213) 860-2414. . . . Four Washington football recruits--Corey Brown of Inglewood Morningside, Eugene Burkhalter of Long Beach Poly, Terrance Powe of Wilmington Banning and James Sawyer of San Jose Archbishop Mitty--will play in the Shrine All-Star football game Aug. 1. Of the seven current or recently graduated high school volleyball players that will compete in the Olympic Festival this month in North Carolina, four are from California: Megan McCallister of Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, the national player of the year by Volleyball Monthly, Jill Johnson of Cerritos Gahr, Beverly Oden of Irvine, the only junior-to-be, and Cheri Boyer from Poway of the San Diego Section. Lisa Arce of Mira Costa will be an alternate. . . . For the second straight year, pitcher Michele Granger of Valencia has been named the state softball player of the year by Cal-Hi and also the best in the 3-A. Nicky Luce of Cypress was named the top player in the 4-A and Tiffany Boyd of Irvine Woodbridge in the 2-A. . . . Ken Fagans, a former Southern Section commissioner and basketball coach at Compton, was among the 15 coaches and administrators honored with the 1987 Distinguished Service award presented by the National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Assn. in its meeting at Kansas City last month. . . . City champion San Pedro was named the state soccer team of the year by Cal-Hi Sports. . . . The Keebler International track meet, held last month in Elmhurst, Ill., will be broadcast today at 2 p.m. on Nickelodeon and again July 26 at 3 p.m. Pole vaulter Steve Slocum of Santa Ana Foothill, long jumper Percy Knox of Quartz Hill and distance runner Aaron Mascorro of Rosemead were among the participants. . . . Charlie Brande, fired as girls’ volleyball coach at Corona del Mar last fall amid allegations that he mistreated a player and was insubordinate, has been rehired at the Newport Beach school. His September dismissal had sparked an outpouring of support from parents and friends and former and current players. . . . Pitcher Willie Banks of Jersey City, N.J., the third pick in the June baseball free agent amateur draft, was named the high school baseball player of the year by Gatorade.