BARRY FAULKNER:Bridging mind gap a problem

The alumni basketball tournaments held Saturday at Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools offer players a unique opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni.

But it’s the connection of another variety ? that of body and mind ? that becomes increasingly difficult for participants as the years roll on.

The problem is multiplied for those whose competitive juices never seem to wane. For these hard-charging relics, their mind continually writes checks their bodies can’t cash.

Popping back and forth between the two venues, I saw several of these ill-fated transactions, at which I alternately chuckled and cringed.

Amazingly, I heard no word of any significant injuries at either school, though diagnosing a damaged ego can be problematic.

Newport Harbor High Coach Larry Hirst, playing in the Sailors’ alumni event for the first time since 2000, was generally impressive in helping his team reach the title game.

But Hirst, a 1979 graduate of Edison High, said the physical toll was such that he might not leave the sideline again.

“I’m not sure it’s worth it,” Hirst said Sunday, the day after competing in five full-court games. “The [stiffness and soreness] is pretty bad ? much worse than I would have thought it would be.”

At Corona del Mar, a team led by graduates from the 1970s outlasted most of the field to reach the final, where they fell to a team of 2006 graduates.

But the physical toll was clearly evident, particularly on Mike Murphy (Class of 1975), who battled through cramps in virtually every muscle in his legs the last two games of the tournament.

Murphy, a highly successful and respected boys’ basketball coach at Sonora High, said it’s something he has come to expect from the yearly event. But, obviously, Murphy is willing to pay the price. Even if he can’t drive himself home.

With its 18th edition, the CdM tournament, named for the late Sea Kings Coach Jack Errion, is much more established than the Newport Harbor event, spawned out of jealousy for the tourney begun by the Sailors’ Back Bay rivals.

Thus, the historical relevance of tournament day at CdM is something Newport Harbor can, as yet, only hope to attain.

Those who spent an hour surveying the action on four courts at CdM on Saturday were likely to witness Casey Jones (Class of 1973), who played at USC, Jeff Fryer (Class of 1986), who helped Loyola Marymount reach the Elite Eight, Jon Upham (Class of 1991), Mike Hess (Class of 1981), Dennis Alshuler (Class of 1999), and many, many more.

At Newport Harbor, tournament director Jaime Holmes (Class of 1973), still has enough skill and fitness to keep up with his younger brethren.

Justin McIntee (Class of 1992), Brett Perrine (Class of 2005), Eddie Martinez and Paig Parrish (Class of 1990) are additional Sailors whom Hirst would love to have suit up next season.

Responding to the inevitable questions about an ultimate Alumni Battle of the Bay between the two schools’ tournament winners, Holmes said it’s an idea whose time may have come.

Holmes, good friends with several CdM old-timers, such as Jones, said he would likely broach the subject of a crosstown championship clash with his friends from across the bay.

But they had to step out for a few hours in the afternoon, to guide the Sea Kings in the semifinals of the Best in the West Tournament at Gahr High.

Schachter later reported the Sea Kings lost to Artesia by 20, then were thumped in Sunday’s third-place game by Central High from Fresno.

But Schachter said he has seen enough of his roster during the summer to project an exciting season in 2006-07.

“I think our parents and our players are starting to see the potential that we have,” Schachter said. “We could have a very, very good team.”

Schachter said 6-foot-8 center Stefan Kaluz, who will be a senior, is a Division I college prospect who may be a good fit for an Ivy League program.

“He has a 4.2 GPA with all [advanced placement] classes and some Ivy League coaches came to watch him play in an AAU tournament in Las Vegas,” Schachter said.

Schachter said returning point guard Erik Rask, who will be a junior, has been solid, while Ryan Anderson, who will be a senior, and Sean Donovan, who will be a sophomore, have emerged as promising newcomers.