Salesian's Jabari Bird can fly

Al Attles III was feeling a little melancholy, and who could blame him?

The Rodriguez-Fairfield boys basketball coach - the son of the former Warrior - was watching his former star pupil, sophomore Jabari Bird, warm up with Salesian-Richmond before Friday's nonleague game in Fairfield.

Attles coached Bird at Benicia last season, but when Attles left - "the school wasn't ready for a big-time basketball program," he said - so did Bird, transferring to Salesian, the CIF state Division IV champion in 2009.

"He's good enough to be one of the best talents in the Bay Area the last 25 years," Attles said after Bird scored 18 points in a 60-58 victory. "I'm going to miss coaching him, but I'll be there to support him as his young life continues to soar."

And, as YouTube highlights attest, Bird can fly.

With big hops, the 6-foot-5 wing plays well above the rim and loves to slash to the basket. He's the son of former Cal player Carl Bird, a 1976 fifth-round draft pick of the Warriors who played overseas.

Jabari Bird wears No. 23 and Michael Jordan is his idol.

Jabari "can hang and he can float and he can definitely dunk," Salesian coach Bill Mellis said.

There's much more to this five-star recruit than flash and flush. Bird is grounded off the court and fundamentally sound on it. That's why Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was at Salesian's shootaround Friday and why Mellis already has heard from some of the biggest programs in the country.

"Before he could dunk, he developed a really strong midrange game," Attles said. "The best I'd ever seen at that age. He's also an excellent offensive rebounder."

Salesian's 2009 state championship team was led by another 6-5 sophomore wing, Jabari Brown, who since has transferred twice and now, as a senior at Oakland High, is one of the top 15 recruits in the country.

Mellis said Brown and Bird are "very similar in how advanced they are as players and scorers," but that Brown was "a better shooter and passer at that state," and Bird is "more athletic and active around the basket."

Bird had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 63-61 victory over Castro Valley on Monday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Classic at Haas Pavilion. Heading into the game, he led the second-ranked Pride in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (8.5).

Last season, Bird averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Thankfully, Mellis said, Bird isn't into numbers. His transition to the team has been as fluid and fast as a Salesian fastbreak.

"He's extremely coachable, hungry to learn and has meshed in beautifully with the team," Mellis said.

Said Bird: "I knew a lot of the guys (on the team) before I transferred in. It's been a great fit. The guys are great. The team is great. I couldn't be happier."

Other MLK Classic results: Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland (12-3), The Chronicle's top-ranked team, blew a 44-31 halftime lead, losing 86-85 in double-overtime to Sacramento (12-4). The game was a rematch of last year's Division III Northern California final, won by O'Dowd. Anders Haas led O'Dowd (12-3) with 21 points, but Brandon Ashley, one of the nation's top-ranked juniors, fouled out at the 3:05 mark in regulation with 10 points and six rebounds. ... Host and No. 7 De La Salle-Concord (13-2) trimmed Sheldon-Sacramento, getting 19 points from Travis Pacos in a 48-45 victory. ... In other games, Monte Vista-Danville defeated San Leandro 64-53 and No. 10 Newark Memorial prevailed over St. Mary's-Berkeley 46-39. In the only girls game, No. 3 St. Mary's-Berkeley gave defending DIII state champion St. Mary's-Stockton a scare before falling 58-53.

Feeling a draft: Former Deer Valley-Antioch football player and track and field state medalist Taiwan Jones declared for the NFL draft Friday. The 6-1, 200-pound running back rushed for 1,742 yards and 14 touchdowns this season as a junior at FCS national-champion Eastern Washington.

Most scouting agencies project Jones, who has been plagued by injuries, as a third- or fourth-round pick.

At Deer Valley, he rushed for 1,466 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior and placed fourth in the 2007 CIF state meet 100-meter dash (10.58 seconds) and sixth in the 200 (21.50).

Harold Abend contributed to this report.

Mitch Stephens is a national columnist for MaxPreps.com. E-mail him at mstephens@maxpreps.com.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle