– King`s queen: It`s no surprise that a King High School player leads the area in scoring. But it isn`t Jamie Brandon or Johnny Selvie. She`s Kathy Fowler, who`s averaging 31 points per game for the Lady Jaguars.
”Kathy`s by far the best shooter I`ve ever had,” said eighth-year coach Lonnie Williams. ”I`m not stretching it when I say that outside of Jamie Brandon, she`s the best shooter in the whole school. And on a good day, she`ll give him a run for his money. Kathy Fowler is as good as any female player in this city. The fact of the matter is if you`re not from Marshall or Whitney Young, people (recruiters) are slower to recognize you. We play in the Blue Division, so it`s even harder in our case.”
”I grew up on the playgrounds, playing against my four older brothers,” said Fowler, a 5-foot-4-inch senior who didn`t play organized basketball until her sophomore year at King. ”They were always much bigger than me, and if I didn`t want to get my shot blocked, I had to shoot from the outside. I guess that`s when I started to develop my shooting touch.”
– Coaching: Simeon coach Bob Hambric hasn`t won nearly 80 percent of his games without coaching. But after getting accustomed to having veteran teams, Hambric has only two seniors this year. ”I`ve had to do more this year than in the last five combined,” he said. ”It hasn`t been easy. Nor has the increased work load necessarily been more gratifying for me. Maybe I`ll appreciate it more when we get to the level of some of our past teams and I reflect on how hard we worked to get there.”
– College watch: Bolingbrook graduate Lloyd Kerr is listed as the third-string quarterback for the University of Tennessee football team. According to Volunteer assistant coach Jack Sells, who recruits the Chicago area for Tennessee, Kerr (6-3 1/2, 217) is expected to compete for the starting job in spring practice. . . . Mike Diver, a 6-8 junior forward from Fenwick, is on the basketball team at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. . . . Marshall graduate Alex Robertson is a reserve guard for the Dayton basketball team. . . . Francis Parker graduate Brian Buchanan is a freshman forward for the basketball team at the College of Wooster (Ohio). . . . Whitney Young graduate Richard Thomas has been starting at guard for the Illinois State basketball team. Other Chicago-area players on the Redbird roster include South Shore graduate Scott Fowler, North Chicago`s Jarrod Coleman and Lake Park`s Jon Pemberton. . . . Entering this week, Naperville North graduate Lynda Kukla was 12th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage for Valparaiso. Kukla, a sophomore, made a school record six three-pointers against Pepperdine earlier this season. She is the team`s no. 2 scorer, with a 10.1 average. Other Chicago-area players on the Valparaiso roster include freshman Cheryl Wildbrandt of Dundee-Crown, junior Amy Cole of Naperville North and freshman Amy Stock of York. . . . Maine West graduate Tom Stancy is a starting forward for the junior varsity basketball team at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
– Help wanted: Hales Franciscan High School is looking for a head track coach and for two assistant baseball coaches. For more information, contact Ron Schwartz at 285-8400.
– Winter Carnival: The Villa Olivia Ski resort in Bartlett will hold its Winter Carnival Saturday and Sunday. It begins with a barbecue at noon Saturday. On Sunday, the carnival will resume at 9 a.m. Those wearing costumes will receive a $5 discount on lift tickets. For more information call 708-289-5200.
– Three-peat? :Defending Class AA champion Providence is rested and ready to start the road to a third straight dual team championship. The Celtics, whose only dual loss in 18 meets was to Conant, will be in the Bolingbrook regional. ”Nobody is banged up,” said Providence coach Mike Polz. ”I`m just crossing my fingers and hoping nobody gets sick. You can control injuries by conditioning, but sickness you can`t deal with.”
Ken Gerdes, Providence`s returning state champion, finished the regular season with a 33-1 record at 130 pounds, and Polz thinks the best is yet to come. ”He hasn`t peaked yet,” Polz said. ”He`s been wrestling some better matches, but he hasn`t wrestled his best yet. You want to wrestle your best in the next three weeks.”
– Lyons battle: The battle at the Lyons Township regional will be intense between the host Lions, Proviso East and Morton. Only two teams will advance to the dual-team tournament, and all three have been considered among the top teams in the state. ”You can flip a coin,” said Proviso East coach Bill Cartwright. ”Maybe we could have a better chance to be state champion than LT because of our big pin points. Morton is there, too. In a regional, a lot depends on the other teams, so who knows?”