Chase Stands 6-7 but Makes His Point at Guard for Valley

Germaine Chase was not a starter in high school or as a freshman in college.

Yet Chase, a 6-foot-7 point guard--yes, point guard--for Valley College, is signed, sealed and soon to be delivered to Montana State on a scholarship.

Talk about growing up in a hurry.

In fact, that’s exactly what Chase did.

Chase sprouted six inches during the summer before his senior year at Westchester High. But as Chase grew, so did coaches’ impressions of him--as an inside player.

A guard trapped in a forward’s frame, Chase began to feel the squeeze.

“Growing like that surprised me a little bit, but I was still a guard, mentally,” Chase said. “I like to play guard. That’s my natural position.”

This season, Chase is enjoying the view from above. A starter for the first time in his career, Chase, who played last season as a wing, will pilot the Monarchs’ offense.

So far, Chase has received high marks. He had 45 points and 15 assists in three games and was an all-tournament selection as Valley (4-1) won the Fullerton tournament last week.

“We probably have the tallest point guard in the state,” said Valley Coach Doug Michelson.

Chase’s ball-handling skills are exceptional for a player his size, Michelson said. He played sparingly at guard last season. In his first game playing the point, Chase scored 11 points and attracted the attention of Montana State coaches.

“It’s a challenge, but I think I can handle it,” Chase said. “I consider myself a leader on the team and being a point guard is being a leader.”

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Center Leon Brisport, an All-Western State Conference selection last season for Valley, was selected most valuable player of the Fullerton tournament.

Brisport--6-9 and 225 pounds--averaged 20.6 points and eight rebounds, and scored a career-high 34 points in an 89-73 victory over Fullerton in the final.

Valley enters the Bakersfield tournament Dec. 5.

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Pierce, striving for a turnaround in women’s basketball under first-year Coach Jim Couch, is winless in its first two games. But the Brahmas’ season ostensibly begins Friday with a nonconference game against visiting Trade Tech.

Pierce, 1-28 last season, will have most of its players in uniform Friday, including guards Felicia and Cheryl Flores (no relation), who were with the school’s volleyball team until last week. Same goes for forward Kim Cox, a freshman from Texas.

Couch, who led Bell-Jeff High to a Southern Section Division IV-A title last season, expects to have 12 players in uniform. Both Floreses played for Couch at Bell-Jeff.

Thus far, Pierce has played with six players.

But even that is an improvement from last season. The Brahmas, who have won six games in the past four seasons, finished last season with four players.

Couch, who remains athletic director at Bell-Jeff, promises significant improvement.

“You’ll see some changes and a new attitude at Pierce,” Couch said. “The anticipation at the school and in the athletic department . . . people are really looking forward to it.”

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Runners from the region turned in another strong showing in the state junior college men’s cross-country championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday.

Not only did Moorpark win its second consecutive title after Glendale won in 1995, but local runners took seven of the first 20 places.

While fourth-place Julio Serratos of Glendale, ninth-place Miguel Galindo of Ventura and 10th-place Jesus Villavicencio of Moorpark couldn’t match the 1-2-3 finish of Moorpark’s Eleazar Hernandez, Galindo and Mission’s Ricardo Valenzuela in last year’s meet, the region did have one more finisher among the top 20 than a year ago.

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Ryan Wilson of the University of Arkansas had his bid for an undefeated senior season end with a fifth-place finish in the NCAA men’s cross-country championships at Furman University on Saturday, but it still capped a noteworthy college cross-country career.

Wilson, a 1993 graduate of Agoura High, placed 69th in the 1994 NCAA championships as a redshirt freshman before finishing fifth, eighth and fifth in the last three years.

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Ramon Serratos of Lubbock Christian was 11th in the NAIA men’s cross-country championships to help the Chapparals win their eighth consecutive title at Wisconsin-Parkside on Nov. 15.

Serratos, who helped Glendale win the 1995 state junior college title, clocked 26:26 over the 8,000-meter course.

Staff writers Vince Kowalick and John Ortega contributed to this column.