Wolverines Endure Scrutiny

There will be new high school girls’ basketball coaches this season at Ventura, Harvard-Westlake, Alemany, Camarillo, Crescenta Valley, Littlerock, Burbank, Santa Clara, Kennedy and Taft, among others.

But few programs will receive the attention, or endure the scrutiny, that faces Harvard-Westlake, which hired away successful Coach Melissa Hearlihy from Mission League rival Alemany.

Last week, senior forwards Karina Siam and Nyasha Bralock left Alemany and were admitted to Harvard-Westlake, following the coach for whom they had played the last three seasons.

Siam and Bralock played in Harvard-Westlake’s summer league opener Monday at Simi Valley High.

A representative of Harvard-Westlake said both players will be eligible to compete as seniors through open-enrollment guidelines.

Rumor of the potential transfers swirled through basketball circles and Internet sites since early spring.

Some cried foul, alleging everything from a lack of loyalty by the players to preferential treatment for athletes by Harvard-Westlake.

The players say loyalty was the reason they transferred.

“These people don’t understand the bond that sometimes develops between people,” said Siam, a Times All-Valley forward. “[Hearlihy] is a mother figure to me, she’s a mentor and she’s always been there for me.

“It wasn’t like I was following just a basketball coach. I was following a very important person in my life.”

Said Bralock, an all-league forward: “She’s a mother figure to me, too. I couldn’t imagine spending my senior year without her.”

Both players also deny any special treatment by Harvard-Westlake, arguably the region’s most prestigious academic school.

Siam, who has a 4.3 grade-point average, and Bralock, a 3.7 student, met the May 15 deadline for applications.

They also passed the school’s entrance examinations and personal interviews with administrators.

Kayla Siam, Karina’s sophomore sister, also went through the process and transferred, but doesn’t play basketball.

“This was a parental decision,” said father Murad Siam, who will pay more than $31,000 for his daughters’ tuition. “We’re investing a significant chunk our net worth so they can have this experience, more academically than athletically.”

Harvard-Westlake was the only program in the region to reach the state girls’ basketball playoffs in each of the last three seasons, but lost All-Valley players Brooke Porter and L’Tanya Robnett to graduation.

To some, the perception will be that Harvard-Westlake is reloading with an all-star team, from Hearlihy to Siam and Bralock to any other high-profile players who might show interest in the school.

So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Sources said at least two other standout players from rival high schools applied to Harvard-Westlake. They were good students. They had recognizable names. They were turned down by the school.

“If I were going to recruit, I would have asked all the Alemany players to come over,” Hearlihy said. “I love them all. . . . This was a family and school decision that didn’t involve me.”

In 16 seasons at Alemany, Hearlihy won 350 games while being one of the region’s most outspoken coaches against athletic transfers.

She says she will remain outspoken.

“I’ve been the one to speak out in the past, and I stand behind that,” she said. “I just think this is different. This wasn’t about basketball.”