Kids Seem to Grow Up So Quickly These Days

When it’s time for playoff games, freshmen boys’ basketball players are usually allowed to handle the ball only during pregame warmups, when they pass it to the upperclassmen.

But in the last month, some of the Southland’s top programs have been bolstered by the play of freshmen. All of them guards, they have been especially clutch down the stretch, in tight games, when most of their peers are handing out towels.

Brandon Jennings of Compton Dominguez, Chris Solomon of Los Angeles Fairfax, Jrue Holiday of North Hollywood Campbell Hall and James Pruitt and Malik Story of Lakewood Artesia have played played key roles in leading their teams to the Southern California Regional finals today at the Sports Arena and Cal State Fullerton.

“I’ve grown up a lot being around the guys,” said Story, who scored a team-high 18 points, including two three-point baskets that sparked a fourth-quarter comeback, in a quarterfinal victory at Fresno Washington Union on Tuesday. “I don’t feel like a freshman anymore.”

Pruitt, the brother of USC freshman guard Gabe Pruitt, looked calm Thursday, when he stood at the free-throw line with the score tied and 0.4 of a second remaining in overtime of a Division III semifinal against top-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake. Even after missing the first attempt, Pruitt stood his ground on the opponent’s home floor and swished the second, giving the fourth-seeded Pioneers a 62-61 victory.

“It couldn’t have been in a more hostile environment,” Artesia Coach Scott Pera said. “It was so loud the floor was shaking.”

Solomon scored nine of his 16 points in the final five minutes to lead visiting Fairfax back from a five-point deficit to a 61-57 victory over second-seeded Etiwanda in a Division I semifinal Thursday.

Holiday stepped into a starting role after the season-ending abdominal injury to teammate Jason Heard in February. In his best game, Holiday scored 26 points, making four three-point baskets, in a 78-57 victory over Playa del Rey St. Bernard in a Division IV-AA semifinal.

“That game has sort of propelled him to another level,” Coach Terry Kelly said.

Jennings, perhaps the most touted of the group, has bounced in and out of the starting lineup for a deep Dominguez team, but he has continued to play a bigger role as the season has progressed, especially late in games.

He had 17 points, five blocks and five steals in an 87-75 victory over visiting Fresno Edison in a Division II semifinal on Thursday. He scored 10 points during a 24-4 run in the second quarter that helped the top-seeded Dons take a 40-25 lead.

“That’s his middle name, impact,” Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said. “He’s not a freshman. We’ve said all along, this kid has so much poise, he’s so big time. I’m just glad he decided to come to Dominguez.”

Jennings, Story and another highly touted freshman, 6-foot-11, 290-pound center Auri Allen of L.A. Verbum Dei, originally planned to play for Coach Tom Lewis at San Juan Capistrano Serra.

Story said his family moved from Pasadena to Laguna Niguel when he was in eighth grade and he attended Serra for two months before transferring to Artesia.

“I didn’t like living down in Orange County,” Story said.

Pera, who took over in 2000 after Artesia had won six section titles between 1990 and 2000, led the Pioneers to the Division III-AA title in 2003. He said the program’s success has been its biggest attraction for incoming players like Story and Pruitt.

“You put those [banners] on the wall and that helps,” Pera said. “You just have to train yourself to run the program as best you can and that kind of recruits itself.”