Transfers Helping the Rich Get Richer

Several girls’ basketball players are wearing new uniforms this season. At least three left teams that were in the county’s top 10 last season for teams that are in the top 10 this season.

El Toro, ranked third less than a year ago, was hurt significantly by the defections of sophomore Sara Brown to San Clemente and junior Amy Shaw to Huntington Beach.

Foothill will also feel the sting. Guard Kelsi Sousa, a senior, transferred to Woodbridge shortly after the Knights were upset in the Southern Section semifinals last season.

What’s it mean?

In most cases, it’s the rich getting richer. Woodbridge was going to be good even before the arrival of Sousa, a talented outside shooter who fills a need; the team she left behind, Foothill, would have been an easy top-10 selection had she remained.

The exodus at El Toro broke up a squad that also would have been a top 10-caliber team had it remained together.

Why did Brown and Shaw leave? Brown says she was never comfortable at El Toro and struggled to gain social acceptance during her freshman year. Shaw cited negatives, including the sudden resignation of Coach Vincent Avitabile, and what she described as a lack of support from school administration--specifically the team’s suspension from the Marina tournament after a 1998 incident involving fans at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

To outsiders, it looks as if they left for greener pastures after Giuliana Mendiola, The Times’ Orange County player of the year, graduated.

“I’m pretty close to Sara Brown,” Shaw said. “When we were talking about transferring, we knew we would hear that ‘You couldn’t [win without] Giulie.’ That was hanging over our heads. That did cross our minds. . . . It’s the best choice for us.”

But it was particularly frustrating for El Toro’s new coach, Greg Yeck, who coached the Chargers to three league titles between 1985 and ’90. San Clemente Coach Mary Mulligan says that such movement is unfortunate.

“I think it’s too bad that everyone left at El Toro, but it works out nice for me and it works out nice for Huntington Beach,” Mulligan said. “Obviously, I’m not going to turn Sara Brown down. We’re happy to have her and she fits very nicely, but I feel El Toro had something going.”

Brown is the third impact player to transfer to San Clemente in the last three years. Last year, Kalena Jackson arrived from Newport Harbor, and the year before that, Debby Caine from Woodbridge.

“The mentality now is that if you’re not happy, you start looking around,” Mulligan said. “I think kids are looking at who’s graduating, what schools need, who else is coming into the program, how strong is the program going to be the next couple of years, are we willing to move?

“I’ve never had anyone transfer away, but I can see down the road where people might leave San Clemente because there aren’t enough spots. It’s frustrating. These kids start coming to my camps in second grade. That’s going to be a problem I’m going to start having.”

As for El Toro, Yeck says the players Brown and Shaw left behind, including 6-foot-3 center Carrie Twaddell, will make the most of their situation. “We’ve already had kids on campus say, ‘Giulie’s gone, you guys are going to stink,’ ” Yeck said. “And I think that’s part of the motivation. We want to prove that we can play basketball too, and that we’re still a good team.”

THE DOW JONZ

Whose stock is up and down this week:

* Kelsey Ball, Huntington Beach. Down. The senior center re-injured her ankle at practice Saturday. Last time it happened, she was out seven months. The time before that, five months.

* Kim Buffum, San Clemente. Up. She averaged 3.7 points last season but blistered Esperanza for 13 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, and eight rebounds in the Tritons’ 52-47 victory.

* Capistrano Valley. Down. The Cougars’ inability to handle Pacifica’s 2-3 zone defense in a 40-19--that’s right, 19--defeat in the opener goes back even further. Last season, they lost in the second round of the playoffs to Century, 29-27, which also played a zone defense.

* Woodbridge. Holding steady. On the first day of the season, the program won its 400th game, a solid 45-40 victory over Norco. Of those games, Coach Eric Bangs has won 332.

* Ocean View. Up. The Seahawks went 1-21 last season but opened with a 47-45 upset of Trabuco Hills behind the 18 points of freshman point guard Leila Abufarie.

LOOKING AHEAD

Two intriguing tournament championships will be played Saturday:

* The University tournament could feature a reprise of the San Clemente-Esperanza game, which went down to the final minute with the Tritons winning, 52-47.

* The Ladycat Classic at Brea Olinda has three state champions participating--Harbor City Narbonne (the defending tournament champion) from Division I, Brea from Division II and Torrance Bishop Montgomery from Division III. Also in the field is the team that ended Brea’s Southern Section title streak at 11, Redondo Beach Redondo Union.

And among the regularly scheduled games:

* Edison at Rosary, tonight. Rachael and Bianca Ziemann face Jen Farner and Jenise Karcher as two of the county’s best defensive teams face off.

*

If you have an item or idea for the girls’ basketball report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at martin.henderson@latimes.com.