Court Report D.C. High School Basketball Notebook

When William West was stationed in Japan while he was in the Navy, he coached a semipro men's team. Back stateside, he coached AAU boys' teams. So when he was offered to coach McKinley's girls this season, he was hesitant.

"I'd never coached girls, so I was worried about how we would relate to each other," West said. "It's so easy to say, 'Let's go out and play basketball,' but it takes more than that. They've bought into the system, and it's working."

After winning just four games last year and eight in 2006-07, McKinley opened the season with an impressive 67-44 victory over Theodore Roosevelt and is off to a 6-3 start heading into Tuesday's game against Anacostia.

"I told them that before we even stepped on the court, 'We will win,' and they believed it," West said.

The Trainers are getting terrific performances from two players who were seldom on the court last year. Junior power forward Kiara Rice is averaging team highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds per game after missing most of last season due to academic ineligibility, West said. She scored a season-high 32 points in a 66-33 victory over Potomac (Md.) on Dec. 30.

"She's a flat-out garbageman, doing all the things nobody else wants to do," West said, "like diving on the floor, chasing after loose balls."

Senior point guard Saquita Simon, who played just one game last year before tearing her ACL, seems back to the form she showed when she led the team in scoring as a sophomore.

The unquestioned team leader, according to West, Simon scored a team-high 23 points in a 68-51 victory over Word of Life on Dec. 29.

Fit for the Long Run

It was late November, and Cardozo needed a boys' basketball coach. The school had posted the vacancy but didn't like any of the candidates. Then some colleagues told first-year assistant principal Greg McCants that he should give it a shot. When he saw senior Rafiel Guthrie at practice, McCants didn't waste any time accepting the job.

Behind Guthrie (averaging 31 points per game), Cardozo, which has been a slow starter the past few years, won five of its first six to begin the season. Guthrie, who has started for almost all four of his varsity seasons, seems to be having the breakout season McCants's predecessor William Davis had long felt was coming.

"He's hitting jumpers, taking the ball to the basket, he's doing everything for us right now," McCants said. "He's realizing right now his high school days are coming to an end. We need to try to get the other guys to help support him, too."

Junior point guard Illarion Bonhomme has. Senior power forward De'Andre Carter has defensively locked down the post, and senior guard Milton Scott has been terrific guarding the perimeter.

"We had a different approach; it's all about conditioning," McCants said. "We just run some very basic sets and basic plays, but I want them to be in condition for late in the games and late in the season. My philosophy is that that will take you a long way."

'This Day Was Coming'

Little by little, Maret point guard Darian Hooker has enhanced his leadership role within the Frogs' offense in his four varsity seasons. The slow progress stopped this year. Now, it's his show.

"He's doing it all for us," Maret Coach Kalin Taylor said. "He has this extremely strong will, to where it seems like he wills his shots in. His shooting has really improved since his sophomore year. It's all a product of all the hours he's put into his game. This day was coming for him."

Maret is reaping the benefits. Hooker is averaging 25.6 points per game, leading the Frogs to a 5-3 start heading into last night's game against St. Andrew's. Maret is just one victory from matching last year's season total and is seeking its first winning season since 2004-05.

Even though Hooker led the Frogs in scoring the past two seasons, Taylor, who took over for longtime coach Butch McAdams last year, said Hooker is showcasing a more complete game this season.

The 6-foot Hooker runs the point for Maret, but Taylor said that is just a way to make sure the ball gets into his hands as much as possible, not that Maret wants to isolate him from the rest of the team. In fact, it's quite the opposite. For senior small forward Jamielle Williams, whose 12.5 points per game put him second on the team, "we try to look for him as much as we do Darian," Taylor said.