A HARRIS DILEMMA.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Like any good team, the Harris family has a playbook, which it utilizes at least twice a week during basketball season. But instead of diagramming screens and cuts, the Harris' playbook features freeways and major intersections.

This winter, two members of the Harris family will play important roles on their respective varsity basketball teams at Newbury Park High, which results in both pride and headaches for their parents.

This year, the girls' and boys' teams will play their Marmonte League games on the same day, but at opposite sites. Bridget Harris, a junior, will start and play guard and forward, and John Harris, a senior, starts at forward.

``I'm a little hurt by it,'' said Mark Harris, their father. ``But what's really painful is that they don't get to watch each other, because they have such a deep respect for each other.''

Since John is a senior, his parents will likely attend the majority of the boys' games, and have already requested that Newbury Park coaches provide them with game film of the girls' games. In the past, Mark and Barbara Harris have left during the third quarter of the girls' game and driven to the boys' game in time to make the later tipoff, and may do so again this season.

``I feel really bad for them,'' said Bridget Harris. ``I tell them not to feel bad, that they should watch John because it's his last year, but they still feel guilty.

``It makes me upset too, because I want to watch John play.''

Both Harris siblings will be ones to watch this season. John, at 6-foot-4, will step into a starting role and can play both forward positions for the Panthers, who will challenge for a playoff spot.

Bridget Harris, at 5-9, is a natural point guard but also has the strength to play under the basket. A third-year varsity player who also plays volleyball, Bridget leads a Newbury Park team that returns nine players and is one of the favorites for the league title.

``I'm very excited for this season,'' Bridget Harris said. ``All during volleyball season, I was anxious to start playing basketball, because I knew that we were going to have a good team.''

Even though she is a year younger, Bridget is poised to be the standout player in the Harris family. She averaged 11 points and eight rebounds per game last season as a sophomore starter, and coach Nori Parvin is pleased with her defensive development.

``She has matured greatly as a player,'' Parvin said. ``She is now very defensive-minded, and she knew that was something she needed to work on.

``You can run and gun all you want, but you have to get the ball first. That's my thing, because defense is going to win you games.''

Harris' play should help Newbury Park to a successful season, and her career with the Panthers has been a few years in the making. As a sixth-grader, she served as a ball girl when Newbury Park won the Southern Section title in 1995.

``I was at a Newbury Park game with one of my friends, and I remember they were asking who wanted to be ball girls,'' Harris said. ``We just did it for the rest of the season, and it was a lot of fun.''

Harris ``rejoined'' the varsity team as a freshman, and although she didn't see much playing time, the experience was invaluable.

``If I would have played JV I would have gotten a lot of playing time, but being on varsity was much better for me,'' Harris said. ``I had already played against a lot of the girls who were playing JV, so I already knew their games. Playing varsity exposed me to a different level.''

A point guard throughout her youth, Harris arrived in high school and found that she fit in between the traditional sizes for guards and forwards. Parvin began playing Harris at forward last season, and Harris expects to play either position during the course of a game.

``It's kind of fun when I get to play different positions,'' Harris said. ``I have a lot of experience at point guard, so if they need me to go in there, I have the confidence to do it.

``It just depends on what situation we are in, but I'll do whatever is necessary.''

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Photo

PHOTO Newbury Park's Bridget Harris, left, and brother John, right, will be playing at different sites.

David Crane/Staff Photographer