prince times

SoCal High School & Prep Report

LA Times Story on Tayshaun
Prince and Dominguez--(January 16, 1998)

In preparation for the MLK Challenge (gee do you think this event is getting enough attention?), the LA Times on Thursday ran a story on Tayshuan Prince and his Dominguez team, which will match up in game that everyone is calling the "headliner", the "unofficial State Championship" against No. 1 ranked Westchester, which plays in Division I-AA (but in the City Section, which calls it Division 4A--confused yet). Dominguez is a Division II-A (not AA), so these teams will definitely not meet for the Southern Section Champinoship, nor will they meet at the State level, although they could if Dominguez chose to move up. And there is a bit of precedent for that, but it comes from Northern California, not SoCal.

It seems that every year Alameda St. Joseph/Notre Dame, which is a Division II or III school, (it may actually be a III or IV school) moves up to Division I, to compete against the likes of Crenshaw in the State Championship. Gordie Johnson, the current coach of St. Joe's explained the rationale to us earlier this season. He told us "Frank La Porte, our longtime coach, always thought that if it was worth winning, it was worth winning at the top." So each year, first when he was at Bishop O'Dowd, and then at St. Joe's (for something like 15 or 16 years), he would enter his team in the playoffs only in the highest division offered. Sometimes they'd do well, sometimes not. With Jason Kidd and a few others, they won it two years in a row. This last September, Frank passed away, and Gordie does not intend to change the tradition at all.

So even though Westchester can't play down to Division II-A, many are considering the game Monday between Compton Dominguez and Westchester as an early state Championship. At least it's considered the SoCal Championship. No doubt about it, these two teams are tough and exciting, and there are few who are better, whether in SoCal or anywhere else for that matter.

Tough teams, but with low key, low profile personality players, with gigantic games. Shy, young Tyson Chandler. 7'-0" Freshman, and he's about the most modest, nicest young kid you'll ever meet. Tony Bland of Westchester: quiet, unassuming, consummate game, will attend Syracuse. Eric Knight of Westchester: Quiet, deadly accurate three-point artist, brother of UCLA's Billy, another unassuming character off the court.

And as the Times reminded us on Thursday, Dominguez' Tayshaun Prince also likes to keep a low profile, whether he's just in the stands watching a game, or when he's on the court for Compton Dominguez. "I'm a laid-back person," Prince told the Times. "There are some guys who try to be known and try to be seen. That's not my style."

When Prince is playing, however, there is no escape from the spotlight. Not this year. Prince, a willowy 6'-8", 185 lb., senior forward, is regarded as one of the top prep players in the nation and will attend Kentucky in the fall. But first he will try to lead Dominguez to its third consecutive Southern Section and Division II state championships.

The Dons began San Gabriel Valley League play this week. But Prince, and the rest of his team are looking forward to the Westchester game. "We've been talking about the Westchester game since August," Prince told the Times. "Everybody has been looking forward to that game. They're the No. 1 team in the City and we're No. 1 in this area. We just have to go out there and play like it."

Last year, Dominguez and City Section Crenshaw went at it, and again, it was another "unofficial" State Championship. At least it was a battle of eventual State Champs: Crenshaw ultimately won the Division I State Title, while Dominguez won the Division II title. And for you trivia buffs, Harvard-Westlake with the Collins twins won Division III. But in the Dominguez-Crenshaw game, the Dons beat the 'Shaw, 101-90, before 7,500 fans. The game made a big impression on Prince: "It's a different kind of feeling, playing in front of a big crowd like that," Prince said in the Times' article. "Last year against Crenshaw was really the first time it felt that way. It was a good experience because I'm going to have to get used to it at the next level."

For Prince, playing in Pauley will be somewhat ironic, considering all the rumors that floated around about how he was going to commit to UCLA during the early signing period. Ultimately, at a press conference called on the steps of Dominguez' library, Prince announce on the last day of the early fall signing period that he would not attend UCLA, much to the disappointment of SoCal fans, but would instead attend Kentucky. Prince described for the Times in the Thursday article just what it was like for him to attend Kentucky's "Midnight Madness" last October: "There were people standing at the door waiting to get in four hours before it started," Prince said. "They were acting like it was the NCAA championship game. I was like, 'Wow.' "

Prince, a lefty, has a very understated, quiet manner of play as well. Observers have compared him to former UCLA All-American and NBA all-star Jamal Wilkes, an intelligent, quiet player with a reed-like body and nontraditional shot who found a way to get the job done against more physically imposing opponents. Prince acknowledged that he may not seem like an imposing player. Describing his game, his coach, Russell Otis (who is also one of the organizers of the MLK Challenge along with Dinos Trigonis, Phil Gatton and others), told the LA Times, "There are guys who maybe shoot better, or pass better, rebound better and block shots better, but he does it all," Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said. "He understands how to get himself into position to do what needs to be done. He might not always be spectacular, but at the end of the game he has 28 points and 15 rebounds."

As a 6-6, 165-pound freshman, he spent much of his first year in the program overmatched by stronger, more mature teammates. "That's all they did--push me around," Prince said. "But that made me find other ways to get the job done." The turning point in his career, Prince said, came in a 1996 playoff game against Lakewood Artesia. Dominguez led for much of the game, but Artesia came back late in the fourth quarter to take control. Then Prince, a sophomore, took over. "I came down and hit a couple threes," he said. "One of them was a forced shot, but it went in and we won the game, so I'll take it. That game made me realize what I could do coming down the stretch."

Last year, his team won their second consecutive state championship in Division II. That team included Prince, point guard Kenny Brunner, who's now at Georgetown, and forward Jason Thomas, a senior now who is perhaps the best all-around athlete in the state, but who has not played yet this season due to an ankle injury suffered during football season. Thomas, who has committed to play football next season at USC, has recovered but is not playing basketball (yet, he reportedly will play Monday). "We miss Jason, but we're capable of winning again," Prince said. "The last two years, everything kind of fell into place, everything was going right. This year it's like everything is going right but obstacles keep coming up. We just need to work on some things and take care of business and we'll be fine. We'll be right there."

Again, you won't want to miss the MLK Challenge. Monday, January 19, 1998 at Pauley Pavilion. The games start at 9:30 am. Dominguez v. Westchester is at 6:30 pm. You won't want to miss it. Or any of the other games for that matter. See you there.