An Oakland Rebels update

The Oakland Rebels started slow this spring, with a lot of new players and testing of lineups. "We weren't looking good even though we went 4-1 in our tourney," Ryant Diew said.

Then it was off to Las Vegas where the Rebels dropped three of four.

After some juggling and more getting acquainted, the Rebels took third place at the Pangos event, won the championship in Mike Walker's Showtime event in Sacramento and went to the championship game at the Big Foot tournament where they lost to Friends of Hoop 71-70. Their record now stands at 19-7

"We've learned we play better when we play faster," Diew explained.

The primary components of the Rebel rebound on the court have been (descriptions provided by Diew):

* Leo Smith - "he's been real solid, running the team and being our most consistent shooter"

* Glenn Baral - "getting Glenn back from Connecticut makes us a different team and he is looking real good"

* Kiran Shastri - "Kiran's been lighting it up of late, scoring 33 points in one game, making seven threes"

* Ryan Diew (his son)- "we had a couple of stretches in games where we were in foul trouble, went small and he stepped up and played big, including a big three when we were down to Play Hard Play Smart Black"

* James Hadnot - "James has been extremely good. His versatility makes him a tough matchup for other bigs"

* Patrick Hawkins - "Patrick's been playing really well for us coming off the bench"

Regarding recruiting, it's still early and matters will seriously pick up come the end of July.

Diew offered, "Smith is getting interest from Cal State Bakersfield, Holy Cross is liking Baral, Hadnot has done an unofficial with Sacramento State and my son is headed to the Columbia Elite Camp June 14-17." The latter program is headed by former St. Mary's coach Kyle Smith.