Taking Their Shots

With one of his most experienced teams in years, Palisades High boys varsity basketball coach James Paleno had high hopes of challenging perennial powers Westchester and Fairfax for the the Western League title. But leading scorer D’Andre Bell was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot over the summer, meaning the rest of the Dolphins may have to play a tough preseason schedule without him. Bell, a 6-5 senior forward who averaged 25.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season, was heavily recruited by UCLA, Michigan State, Georgetown and Arizona before deciding to sign with Georgia Tech. ‘D’Andre had an MRI exam last Wednesday and we’re still awaiting the results from his doctor,’ Paleno said. ‘I’m guessing he won’t be able to play for at least two or three weeks but that just means the other guys are going to have to step it up a notch.’ Palisades’ lineup consists of nine seniors, including four-year starting point guard Corey Counts and 6-5 returning forward Carl Robertson. Fresh off the varsity football team, 6-5 forward Justin Page will be a presence in the paint while the team’s lone freshman, Drake Stewart-Crowley, has impressed the coaching staff in practice. Paleno’s assistant coaches will be Mike Sutton, Mike Teller and Olin Simpliss, an All-City player for the Dolphins in 1992-93. Despite missing 20 free throws, Palisades opened the season with a 66-60 overtime victory over Narbonne Monday in the first round of the Pacific Shores Tournament at Redondo Union High. The Dolphins played Long Beach Jordan yesterday but results were unavailable at press time. ‘We’re going to have to play hard without D’Andre,’ Counts said. ‘We need to do all the little things right, rebound, and play scrappy defense. If we do those things, we’ll be fine.’ Counts scored 19 points in the opener while Cassidy Nelson added 15’including the first eight points of the game. Crowley started and contributed seven points and five steals. Forwards Vertis Hayes (a 6-5 junior), Charles Bowles (a 6-5 senior) and Peter Schroeder (a 6-4 senior) add size and depth to the lineup while sophomore Brian Barner, junior Justin Goodman and senior Jared Cooper will rotate at guard. ‘Last year I think we relied a little too much on D’Andre,’ Paleno said. ‘This year I’ve gone back to an aberration of the triangle offense that [former coach Jerry Marvin] used to run. We’ll spread the floor a little more which will hopefully allow us to take advantage of our mismatches.’ Palisades travels to Washington, the 12th-ranked team in the state, for a nonleague game next Wednesday, then plays in the Top of the World Tournament December 17-21 against quality competition like Compton Centennial, Compton Dominguez, Lynwood and Woodland Hills Taft. ‘Our rebounding needs a little work, but I like the resiliency of this group and I think we have good chemistry,’ Paleno said. ‘Hopefully, not having D’Andre out there will give the rest of the guys more minutes so that when he does come back, we’ll be that much better.’ Palisades opens Western League play January 12 at Westchester.