Tennessee Two-Step

Sometimes, talent alone isn’t enough.

That was the painful lesson learned last season by the Ventura Buena High girls’ basketball team.

Courtney Young’s transfer from Santa Monica Crossroads was supposed to put the Bulldogs over the top, giving the perennial Southern Section power three elite college prospects and catapulting them into the national spotlight.

Buena began last season ranked seventh in the nation by USA Today. But the presence of Young, a versatile and flashy swing player, 6-foot-3 center Kelly Greathouse and 6-2 forward Courtney LaVere couldn’t keep Buena from setting a school record for losses during a 22-6 season that ended with a third-round loss to Cerritos in the Division I-A playoffs.

Chemistry can be a delicate thing, especially on a team of stars. When everything blew up, it seemed Young was the one holding the beaker.

“I pretty much felt like I came in and ruined the team,� Young said. “It was hard for the girls to adjust to me, I had a hard time adjusting to them and I felt like I put a lot of pressure on Coach [Joe] Vaughan.�

Vaughan, the winningest girls’ coach in state history, isn’t about to pin everything on his 5-foot-10 playmaker.

“We win and lose as a team,� said Vaughan, in his 26th season. “A lot was put on her, a lot of it unfairly. But she has high expectations of herself as well, and I don’t think many people would be willing to stand up and take responsibility like she has. I admire that.�

Things are better now, although the pressure remains. Such is the case when you’re 22-0 and ranked No. 1 in three national polls, one of them USA Today’s.

Young has accepted a scholarship to powerhouse Tennessee, Greathouse is headed to North Carolina State and LaVere, a junior, will probably have her pick of Division I colleges next year.

On Saturday, they will host No. 3 Harbor City Narbonne (17-2), the defending national champion, in an intersectional game that has been sold out for a month.

Young will have the chance to play against guard Loree Moore of Narbonne, another Tennessee recruit.

“But this is not about me against her,� said Young, who is averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 assists, 3.5 steals and is shooting 44.3% from three-point range. “It’s about our high schools and we both want to win. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove.�

Except, perhaps, that she fits into a program with teammates who played together for several years on youth traveling teams.

As a sophomore, Young led Crossroads to the Southern Section Division V-AA final and state playoffs in 1999, many times single-handedly taking over games.

Observers say her game has evolved within a more structured offense at Buena.

“I think she’s made the adjustment this year,� Narbonne Coach James Anderson said. “This year, she looks like she’s fitting in and doing things within the context of their system.�

And, just as Young took much of the blame for the disappointment last season, she deserves her share of the credit for the Bulldogs’ national prominence.

Young is excelling even though she’s playing with a right shoulder that will require postseason surgery to drain fluid and repair stretched ligaments.

“Last year was a big learning experience for Courtney and all of us,� said Greathouse, averaging 22.1 points and 11.9 rebounds. “There was a lot of talent, but we never played together. Courtney has been a leader this year, as well as the rest of the seniors.�

Said Young, “We know what it’s like to be highly rated and to drop out. We know what it’s like to lose. You don’t understand why things happen sometimes until later. I’ve grown up so much as a player and as a person because of last year.�

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Girls’ Basketball

Who: Harbor City Narbonne (17-2) at Ventura Buena (22-0)

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Synopsis: Buena, led by Tennessee-bound Courtney Young, is ranked No. 1 in the nation by several polls. Narbonne, led by Tennessee-bound Loree Moore, is ranked No. 3. This is a likely preview of the Southern California Division I regional final of the state tournament. The game is sold out.