BOYS'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: CONSTRUCTION CUTS A.V.'S COURT TIME.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

New Antelope Valley High boys' basketball coach Mike Vargas is looking at things on the positive side, even though it's tough not to dwell on the downside.

The good news is Antelope Valley is undergoing major facility improvements, including upgrades to the main gym and locker rooms.

The bad news is construction has severely cut into the Antelopes' practice time this summer.

``It's kind of tough to get in a new philosophy when you can't practice,'' said Vargas, laughing. ``Basically, we had to try to get it all in on the fly during games.''

It's not the way Vargas wanted to start his first year as the Antelopes' head coach. Vargas, an assistant under Tom Hegre last year and before that a middle-school coach, is changing the offense and defense. The lack of practice time put a serious dent in his plans.

``At least we got to play some games and get some court time together,'' Vargas said. ``I'm pleased with what I saw and how much we developed. We have a ways to go, but we're headed in the right direction.''

One of the intriguing aspects of coaching at Antelope Valley is all the athletic ability on campus, a surplus into which Vargas plans to tap as soon as possible.

``We want to be up-tempo, and you need athletic ability to play that way,'' Vargas said. ``But I think we've got that.''

--Big big man: The most promising player for the Antelopes - and one of the best in the area - is 6-foot-9 center Chawn Johnson, who has split the summer between playing with the Antelopes and a travel-ball team.

``He's really played well, he's getting better every day,'' Vargas said. ``He's got a very bright future.''

Johnson, like the rest of the Antelopes, needs to work on defense and rebounding, but he's a powerful big man with a lot of upside.

``He's definitely more of a power player at this point,'' Vargas said. ``We want him to be a little more finesse. But he has a lot of potential.''

--You can't fool coach: Lancaster coach Jesse Parker has a message for anyone who tries to slack off during the noncontact period the next month: Don't even think about it.

``You can really find out who wants it and who doesn't by what kind of shape they come back in,'' Parker said. ``And it doesn't take too long to figure out the ones who don't want it.''

They're the ones begging off at the midway point of the first day of conditioning. That's why it's best to follow Parker's conditioning program, the one he gave all his players when the summer period ended.

--Team player: Parker wants the Lancaster football team to do well under first-year coach Jeff Cortez, which is why he let basketball/football standout J.J. Guillory focus on football this summer.

``I just wanted him to get his time in with the new coach,'' Parker said. ``We all try to work together.''

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com