SOME MEAN GENES; STEVENSON BROTHERS IN SYNC FOR HIGHLAND.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

It was the kind of pass Gabe Stevenson has thrown to his older brother many times on playgrounds from Inglewood to Palmdale.

Mike Stevenson gives older sibling Gabe the eye contact required to set up the play. On cue, Mike cuts for the basket and jumps as high as he can to tap in the lob pass from Gabe for an easy field goal.

This is the luxury that two brothers, one a junior, the other a sophomore, take advantage of as Highland High teammates.

But on this day, during a victory at the Bulldogs' holiday tournament, everything worked except for Mike getting his layup to fall. Instead, it bounced off the rim, providing Gabe a chance to rub it in on little brother.

``I throw it and he's supposed to dunk it. I just threw the ball around and you missed it Michael. Bad, bad, bad,'' Gabe said.

``It was a good pass,'' Mike admitted. ``I just missed it.''

The Stevensons enjoy picking on each other, but they love playing basketball together and are considered the Bulldogs' future backcourt having at least this and next season to play on the varsity.

Though they both alternate between starting and coming off the bench, Gabe and Mike Stevenson have developed a telepathic chemistry when on the court at the same time.

They've spent endless hours playing pickup games and in youth basketball leagues when the family lived in the Inglewood area.

The Stevensons settled in Palmdale three years ago and, after Mike spent last season on the junior varsity and Gabe played freshmen basketball, they both performed well enough in the spring and summer to earn spots on Highland's varsity.

``We just got a hoop at our house and we don't miss a day where we're shooting,'' Gabe said. ``We're always going to the park and playing.''

Highland coach Lyn Boop has confirmed this. In the offseason, Boop remembers few times when he's driven past Marie Kerr Park and not seen Mike and Gabe running up and down one of the outdoor courts.

The Stevenson brothers always make sure they're on the same team and they've learned how to communicate with each other. Gabe knows almost instinctively when and where Mike is and where he wants the ball.

``We've been playing together for a long time. It's become really easy for us to play together because I know his game and he knows my game so much,'' Gabe said. ``I always know where he's going to be and he knows what I can do.''

What they both can do is still something of a mystery.

Gabe, 5-foot-8, plays point guard but has a deadly outside jumper that extends well beyond the 3-point line.

Mike, 5-10, is listed as a shooting guard but has the point-guard mentality and ability to slash to the basket, giving him the options of pulling up for a running jumper, continuing on for a layup off the dribble or kicking the ball out for an outside jumper.

Such a role reversal has both its negative and positive side effects for the Bulldogs.

``Gabe has that tendency to shoot a little too much,'' Highland assistant coach Scott Merrill said. ``Gabe still has kind of a loose cannon.''

And sometimes Mike admits their asphalt background gets both himself and Gabe in trouble in the more organized setting of varsity basketball.

``In Inglewood they taught us to run and I definitely like to go out on the court and have fun,'' Mike said.

But Boop and Merill will trade a little flamboyance for potential, and that's what both Stevenson brothers have.

Merrill said Mike Stevenson could be a Golden League MVP candidate by the time he reaches his senior season in two years.

And Mike and Gabe also have their priorities in order. Gabe's grade point average is 3.7, and Mike's is 3.5.

Their parents, Bernard and Harriet, have taught their sons to take academics seriously and won't accept a slip in schoolwork when it comes to participating in extracurricular activities such as basketball.

``Gabe came up to me the day before the opening game of our tournament and told me, `Coach, I can't play the first game because my mom told me I couldn't. My progress report grade wasn't high enough,' '' Boop said. ``And he's still way above a 3.0, too. . . . They're both good kids with good parents.''

STEVENSON FILE

Names: Gabe and Mike Stevenson

School Highland

Vitals: Gabe is a 5-8 junior point guard; Mike is a 5-10 sophomore shooting guard

Quote: ``They're not playing as much as they would like to be, but I'm hoping that they see the light that they're going to do OK this year and they'll be even better next year.''

- Highland coach Lyn Boop

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

PHOTO Brothers Mike and Gabe Stevenson have a big future on the Valencia High boys' basketball team.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

BOX: Stevenson file (see text)