DURSO GETS HELPING HAND AFTER INJURY, GRACE BRETHREN STAR FINDS SHOOTING TOUCH GOES BOTH WAYS.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Forget for a second that the leading scorer among area boys' basketball players spends his afternoons practicing here, in the tiny gym that doubles as an auditorium at Simi Valley Adventist School. Or that he plays for one of the Southern Section's smallest schools (enrollment 190) on a team coached by his father. Instead, just think about how much damage Grace Brethren High senior guard Eric Durso - averaging 27.8 points and 16.0 rebounds a game - could have done this season had he been able to play with his right hand. ``He actually shot better left-handed,'' his father and coach John Durso said, ``than most of our kids do right.'' Durso, the quarterback on Grace Brethren's football team, broke his right wrist in the second-to-last game of the season. He was making a tackle at safety when he landed awkwardly on his hand. But Durso didn't know the wrist was broken at first. He played in the Lancers' last game, a 45-0 loss to Poly of Pasadena in the Southern Section Div. XIII semifinals, then started basketball season the next day. It didn't take long, however, to realize something was wrong. ``I tried to shoot right-handed,'' Durso said, ``and there was just no way.'' So Durso went to see a doctor, who first had the wrist set in a cast, then placed in a brace. And Durso, the tallest player on Grace Brethren's team at 6-foot-5, went on to start the Lancers' first five games with one not-so-insignificant limitation. He had to shoot exclusively with his left hand. Either that, or Durso wouldn't have been able to play at all. ``I made a few outside shots,'' Durso said. ``I'd go to spot up for a (3-pointer) and realize I couldn't do it. I had to find other ways to score. (But) every once in a while, I'd hit a shot.'' A funny thing happened, though, to the one-handed star: Durso averaged more than 20 points a game with the injury, posting up on the inside and crashing the boards. ``I was amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. at how well he was shooting,'' senior point guard Myles Matsuno said. ``He could still find me on the inside. He was playing great.'' When he got the brace off, Durso picked up exactly where he left off, setting a school record by scoring 44 points against Rio Hondo Rio Hondo may refer to:
``I tried to encourage him to play left-handed,'' John Durso said. ``I knew in the long run it would help him.'' Now Durso ranks among the top scorers and rebounders in all of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . He also has taken steps toward realizing his goal of playing at a small college next year, possibly The Master's College History The Master's College was founded as Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary on May 25, 1927 to meet the need for a fundamental Baptist school on the West Coast. in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, or San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. Christian College For the university in Oregon formerly called Christian College, see . Christian College, is a school established by the Anglican Church in 1822 in Kotte, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest school in Sri Lanka. One of its masters, Rev. . ``He's a hustler hustler Sexology A ♂ paid to service–nudge, nudge, wink, wink–♀ or other ♂ ,'' said John Durso, who has coached Eric from the youth ranks through high school. ``He doesn't stop.'' Eric started playing with the local parks and recreation department and grew up sharing courts with current Simi Valley High seniors John Schock, Mark Wells Mark Wells (born September 18, 1957 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan) is a retired American ice hockey forward. He is best known for being a member of the Miracle On Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal. and Shane Shoemaker. John Durso said he considered enrolling his son at Simi Valley after eighth grade. But the family decided to keep Eric at Grace Brethren. John took over as coach two years ago, and Eric has become the unquestioned star on a small-school team. ``Sometimes I wonder how much better I'd be,'' Durso said. ``Maybe it would be different, some more colleges might be interested in me. But I don't regret it. I really like this school.'' Durso also would like to finish his career having led Grace Brethren back to the playoffs after a one-year absence. The Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. lost their first five games after football season - 10 of its 11 members played football - but since have regrouped. ``I think this is a talented team,'' Durso said. ``A lot of football players came out, and they're surprisingly good. I'm excited because we could go far this year. If we play our best, I'm excited to see how far we can go.'' Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Grace Brethren's Eric Durso was forced to shoot left-handed when he injured his right wrist. Surprisingly, he was equally effective. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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