SMALL SCHOOLS NOTEBOOK: PARACLETE BOYS' TEAM CHANGES DIRECTION SPIRITS FINALLY PICK UP SPEED AFTER SLOW START.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - After a slow start, the Paraclete High boys' basketball team is beginning to jell.

The Spirits (5-11, 2-0) are coming off Alpha League victories over Marshall of Los Angeles and Village Christian of Sun Valley.

``We had a tough preseason (schedule) and it took a while to get a lot of our football players into basketball shape, we're starting to play a lot better,'' first-year coach J.R. Chatman said.

With experience and a deep bench (a 14-player roster with eight returnees), Paraclete figures to contend for the league title.

Senior shooting guard Drew Gill and junior small forward Matt Marquez are the team's primary scoring threats. Gill is averaging 18 points per game, and Marquez is averaging 14.

The Spirits' strength is their backcourt. They have three players who share playing time at point guard - juniors Phil Vargas and Tommy Caton and sophomore Marquis Chapman.

Paraclete's most significant weakness is its lack of height. Senior Josh Hiley and junior Andy Watts, both 6-foot-5 forwards, are the tallest players who get significant minutes. Junior center Dan Garwacki is 6-7, but is a relative newcomer to the sport and is learning to adjust to varsity competition after spending two years with the junior varsity team.

``He's got potential,'' Chatman said of Garwacki, ``but he definitely needs a lot of work.''

Watts is among several football players who joined the team late because the team reached the Southern Section Division XII title game, which it won. Eric Jackson, Neil Toepfer and J.T. Taylor were on the football team as well.

The Spirits play host to L.A. Baptist at 7 p.m. Friday.

--New coach: Chatman, who took over for longtime coach Andrew Gavel, is a former Paraclete basketball standout. He graduated in 1989 and played at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Chatman was playing professional summer league ball in the Los Angeles area in 1995 when he suffered a career-ending ankle injury.

His coaching career includes one year as an assistant at University of Maine and two summers at the Say No Classic, one of just two officially sanctioned NCAA summer leagues, at Cal State Los Angeles.

Chatman recently returned to the Antelope Valley to take a teaching job at Cactus Elementary School, and spent the past two seasons as an assistant to Gavel.

--Critical juncture: The Antelope Valley Christian boys' basketball team has won three consecutive Agape League titles, but extending that streak will be a formidable challenge, Eagles coach David Nurse said.

``The league is much more competitive this year,'' said Nurse, noting that A.V. Christian's next three games will likely determine the team's season.

The Eagles (10-5, 2-0) play host to Joshua Springs tonight at 7. They visit Hesperia Christian on Friday, and Apple Valley on Jan. 22.

A.V. Christian is coming off two impressive victories - 62-32 over Bethel Christian and 75-55 over Victor Valley. Philip Okanma scored 18 points against Victor Valley and had 15 in the Bethel Christian game. Tony Uebelhardt and Jeremiah Nurse each scored 16 points against Victor Valley.

--Versatile: The Desert Christian girls' soccer team took advantage of opportunities to try several players at different positions in lopsided victories last week.

Freshman forward Angela Shoemaker played sweeper and senior midfielders Joy Gilliland and Chelsea Acuff, who normally play wing positions, were moved to center midfield positions.

They held their own at their new positions in the Knights (9-4, 4-1) dismantling of Vasquez, 13-0, and Desert of Mojave, 8-0.

--Road trip: The Desert Christian boys' basketball team will take an overnight trip to the Eastern Sierra later this week. The Eagles visit Lone Pine at 7:30 Friday and then play Mammoth at 4:30 Saturday night.

Desert Christian (8-3, 1-0), which is coming off an 84-31 victory over Lucerne Valley on Jan. 15, plays host to Silver Valley tonight at 6:30.