Did you catch this? (Damian Lillard)

From the Weber State athletics site:

 Damian Lillard's two free throws with six seconds left, lifted the Weber State Wildcats to an 82-81 victory Saturday afternoon over Drake University in the third place game of the 33rd Annual Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska.

The two free throws came on a bizarre call. Drake took an 81-80 lead with 20 seconds left on a driving lay up by Rayvonte Rice. The Wildcats called time with 15 seconds left to set up the potential winning basket, but Damian Lillard was called for an offensive foul driving to the hoop with eight seconds left giving Drake the ball.

But Drake's Aaron Hawley grabbed the ball in jubilation and slammed it to the floor. Hawley was called for a technical foul. WSU coach Randy Rahe put Damian Lillard on the line and he calmly sank both shots giving him a game, and season high, 31 points.

Drake then inbounded the ball and Kurt Alexander drove the lane throwing up a driving lay up which bounced off the rim.

Davion Barry performing well

In two games so far this season, former Hayward High star Davion Berry is averaging 18 points a contest. The other highlights for the sophomore at Cal State University Monterey Bay: 20-24 at the foul line plus five assists and five rebounds a game.

Will Cherry nabs POW honors

The leader on his Grizzly team, former Mack star Will Cherry -- just a sophomore -- has earned a league honor:

Cherry picks up player of week award
Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference
November 24, 2010

Montana guard Will Cherry has been selected as the Big Sky Conference player of the week for games for games played between Nov. 16-22.

Cherry, a 6-foot-1, 177-pound sophomore from West Oakland, Calif., averaged 18 points, 3.7 steals and 3.7 rebounds and one block per game as the Grizzlies earned victories over Idaho and Montana Tech, and lost by nine points at Utah.

Cherry capped his week Monday night with a career-high 24 points, four rebounds and three steals as the Grizzlies dismantled Idaho of the WAC 75-33. Cherry made 9-of-12 shots from the floor, was 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Cherry helped a Grizzly defense that limited Idaho to just six made field goals out of 50 attempts. The UM defense forced 16 turnovers.

Cherry scored nine points with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in a 78-51 win over Montana Tech on Friday.

In an 80-71 loss to Utah on Nov. 17, Cherry scored 21 points with three steals two assists and two blocked shots.

In the three games, Cherry shot .559 percent from the field, .429 percent from 3-point range and .813 percent from the free-throw line. As a freshman, Cherry shot .434 percent from the field and .603 percent from the free-throw line.

Diablo Valley College basketball receives some good press

Matt Schwab of the Contra Costa Times offers a lengthy feature on Coach Steve Coccimiglio's Vikings, with an emphasis on newcomer Brian Goins:

Diablo Valley College men's basketball team, helped by well-traveled point guard Brian Goins, off to a perfect start
Matt Schwab
Contra Costa Times
11/29/2010

The Diablo Valley College men's basketball team is a perfect 10 thus far.

Vikings coach Steve Coccimiglio's balanced 10-player squad remained unbeaten with three victories in the DVC Chevron Invitational last week. The Vikings beat Merritt 58-46 in Sunday's championship game, after dusting Feather River 67-64 and Solano 74-55.

Diablo Valley (6-0) is ranked No. 1 in the state in the JCscores.com coaches' poll. Chabot (5-1) is ranked seventh, Las Positas (5-2) eighth, and Merritt (6-3) 11th.

"We're not overwhelmingly talented, but I think the chemistry is good," said Coccimiglio, in his 21st season, who has a 488-189 career record. "If we stay healthy I think we'll have a good season..."

Go here for the remainder.

A Damon Powell sighting

Many thanks to Alex Freeman for discovering this -- former McClymonds star Damon Powell has surfaced with the Halifax Rainmen.

18 players are in camp and 10 will make the team -- head here for the story.

Here's Damon with an assortment of dunks and get-that-xxxx-out-of-here rejections.

Here he is besting Drew Gordon and others in a dunk contest -- fasten your seat belt while watching.

The Rainmen are based in Nova Scotia, Canada as members of the Premier Basketball League. Pre-season games begin December 10.

We will follow up to see if Damon makes the roster, thereby beginning his pro career.

Travis Farris makes America's newspaper

To Create a Star, Add Hip-Hop to Hoops and Post to YouTube
Sam Laird
November 27, 2010

The Super 100, a basketball camp last month at El Cerrito High School, brought together dozens of budding local prep stars. As the event began, a row of sneaker-clad counselors addressed the players, who were seated in rows on the gym floor.
The Bay Citizen

One man looked out of place. Dressed in a white T-shirt, baggy jeans and black Chuck Taylors, he held a small video camera. His face was framed by a crew cut, a patch of chin hair and large studs in each ear.

“Travis Farris,” he said, introducing himself to the players. “ ‘Yay Area’s Finest’ is here today, so if you do something good ... ”

The players nodded in recognition. They knew Mr. Farris well. A 25-year-old Bed Bath & Beyond employee, he doubles as the unofficial kingmaker of Bay Area hoops...

Go here for the remainder.

Remember E.J. Farris?

E.J. Farris was a top talent at Newark Memorial Memorial High a few years back -- 20.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game as a senior --  and after a year at the College of the Sequoias and a redshirt season at Utah State, he got into his first game of this young season and performed quite well. Check out this game report.

The latest on Las Positas basketball

Here are early season game reports for Las Positas College and Coach Tony Costello. One player, center Tim Thomas, has already signed a letter-of-intent to play for Pacific next season.

Plus, here are the stats so far this season for LP (and we thank them for having such at the athletics site).

Here's the CCSF roster

Here's Justin Labagh's CCSF roster this season:

* COLLIN CHIVERTON G S 6'5 200 Mitty High School
* DARYL COOPER PG S 6'1 175 Sacred Heart Cathedral
* IVAN DORSEY G F 6'0 165 Riordan High School
* ANTHONY GREEN G F 6'4 200 Grover Cleveland High School (Los Angeles)
* DeEND PARKER PG S 6'5 215 Lincoln High School
* JaVAUGHN SHANNON G F 6'1 175 Mission High School
* JONATHON WILLIAMS G S 6'5 225 Richmond High School
* DANIEL WINN G S 6'5 215 Santa Cruz High School

* HAMILTON CHANG F S 6'5 210 Notre Dame High School
* TREVON KING F F 6'5 215 Teaneck High School (NJ)
* GARRETT MOON F F 6'5 190 Wallenberg High School
* MYRON RESPRESS F F 6'8 220 Niagara Falls High School
* FRED STURDIVANT F S 6'7 200 Brainerd High School, TN
* YOAN ZOLA F S 6'7 230 St. Martin de France Academy

For the early season game reports on the Rams, go here.

A handful of regional high schoolers at the area community colleges

In the Coast North Division of junior college hoops, Cañada's Peter (Burlingame) Pappageorge currently leads in scoring with 19-3 points per game. Colin (Archbishop Mitty) Chiverton of CCSF is right behind at 18.3 followed by Skyline's Art (Hillsdale High) Fodor at 17.3.

CCSF's Jonathan (Kennedy of Richmond) Williams checks in at 13.3 with teammate Ivan (Riordan) Dorsey at 11.3.

Eric (Cupertino High) Heslin of DeAnza tops the Coast South Division at 18 points per game. Chris (Archbishop Mitty) Weber is supplying 15.3 a contest for West Valley College.

The Sac Bee's big basketball edition

A major tip o' the hat to the Sacramento Bee -- Bill Paterson in particular -- for the high school basketball saturation coverage in today's Bee. Many, many thanks.

* Sheldon eyes state championship

* Top 20 boys basketball poll

* Top 20 players to watch

* Five Games to Watch

NorCal teams in the Cal-Hi Sports pre-season rankings

Cal-Hi Sports has quite a number of northern California basketball teams listed in it's Pre-Season Top 40:

* Bishop O'Dowd #4
* Sheldon #7
* Castro Valley #10
* Sacramento High #11
* Oakland #14
* Newark Memorial #20
* De La Salle #21
* Franklin High #30
* St. Mary's #32
* Salesian # 34
* San Ramon Valley #39

Diablo Valley College doing well

Early on in the season, Diablo Valley College is on top:

"Diablo Valley's men's basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the North Division and No. 2 in the state by the JCScores.com Coaches Poll. Chabot (fifth NorCal, ninth state) and Las Positas (11th, 19th) are also ranked in the state"

A Yuba College update with an amazing game by Julian Welch

Coach Doug Cornelius' Yuba College squad took the consolation game against American River College in the recent Shasta tournament. Backcourter Julian Welch totaled 37 points, including an amazing 22-22 from the foul line. He is going to generate extremely high interest from recruiters.

Kevin Galloway located

Thanks to IHOP at the NorCalPrep's MB, the current location of former Sac High star Kevin Galloway has surfaced. He is at Texas Southern in Houston.

In four games so far this season, Galloway is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game, with 33 assists versus 25 turnovers. He is shooting 36% from the floor, 29% on treys and 77% on free throws where his 22 attempts easily lead the team.

Galloway is also averaging 39 minutes a game.

John Green signing his LOI

It was set and now it's official -- former Castlemont star John Green, now at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, will be residing at UC Santa Barbara next season.

Green made the decision to first go the prep route based on dual purposes: to provide his body more time to mature as he just turned 18 on August 22 and to have more experience playing at the two and three spots.

Why did he choose Westwind? Because the schedule is a challenging one, featuring matchups with national juco power College of Southern Idaho, a bevy of Arizona and elsewhere junior college teams, renowned Findlay Prep, Stoneridge Prep and also a venture back east to take on powers Bridgton Academy and Notre Dame Prep.

What's fascinating is that a Boston College assistant coach expressed regret not signing Green for this season, saying he would have been getting heavy minutes.

As for next year, Gaucho stars Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally will be seniors. Coach Bob Williams' offense run through this duo and Green is being groomed to play a similar role.

One little-noted fact: Green's father, Reggie, won a league championship at Castlemont High in 1973, going 10-0 in Oakland Athletic league play. The younger Green and his Knight teammates did just the same, taking the ring by downing Oakland Tech 88-73, then McClymonds 68-53 and finally Oakland High 67-65. In the latter game, Green scored 25 points (10-10 at the foul line) and grabbed six boards. He put up a double-double of 30/10 against Mack plus 17/8 in the opener.

Julian Welch impressing early on

Here's a feature on Yuba College's latest game, one in which former Franklin High and UC Davis guard Julian Welch heavily impacted the game. Coach Doug Cornelius doesn't rebuilt, he reloads.

Former Sac High frontcourter Will Davis keeps on impresing

Here's Cody Hatt once more on Will Davis' performance in the National Prep Showcase:

:...with Penn-bound Will Davis posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an impressive double-double performance..."

"...Will Davis (New Hampton Prep)- In an impressive double-double performance against Nia Prep on Sunday, recent Penn-commit Will Davis flashed a brand of athleticism that should allow him to make an immediate impact next year in the Ivy League.  The 6’9” big-man caught a one-handed lob in transition, skied for a powerful, two-hand, put-back dunk, and showed quick bounce finishing around the rim..."

 

"Play Their Hearts Out"

If there was such an authority, George Dohrmann's book "Play Their Hearts Out" should be required reading for all parents and college basketball prospects. It's the story of Demetrious Young, now redshirting at New Mexico, chronicling his life from middle school onward. He was once the highest-rated-in-his-age-group prospect in the country (yes, there are some adults who stoop to such a level of rankings) and his fall, along with many others including adults, from grace is starkly depicted. The book contains a lot of good, bad and ugly but ultimately is extremely informative and a great read.

Here is an excerpt from Dohrmann's book.

Here is another lengthy excerpt.

Here is one Q-and-A with Dohrmann.

Here is a second one.

Here is a strong endorsement of the book with the last line reading "It'll make you sick."

Here is another related article.

Cody Hatt again on Kiwi Gardner and John Green

Here's another excerpt from Cody Hatt's latest at the New England Recruiting Report:

"...Gardner led Westwind with 26 points and six assists, but the electric guard shot just 4-16 in a second half that saw his efficiency level drastically decrease..."

"...Kiwi Gardner (Westwind Prep)- Gardner’s 26-point, six-assist effort against Notre Dame may not have been enough to win the game, but it was enough to recognize his ability to dictate the pace of a game to best suit his style of play. Opposing defenders had absolutely no chance of staying in front of Gardner with his quickness and creativity with the ball, and, although his lack of size and inconsistency from the perimeter limits his efficiency at times, his superior athleticism should give him the opportunity to be a dynamic playmaker at the next level..."

"...[John] Green, who had a pair of spectacular dunks in the second half,  recorded a solid double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds..."

Rivals' Eric Bossi evaluates former Castlemont star John Green

Rivals' Eric Bossi is at the National Prep Showcase and zeroes in on John Green with an evaluation:

"John Green, SF, Westwind Prep: UCSB has stolen a nice-looking wing in the 6-foot-5 slasher. He gets to the rim and finishes in traffic, rebounds his position very well and looks like he'll be able to develop into a very capable jump shooter. He went all 40 minutes for Phoenix-based Westwind and was good for 30 points and 11 rebounds"

Cody Hatt on John Green and Kiwi Gardner

Cody Hatt at the New England Recruiting Report (NERR) has an article up on the highlight players so far in the National Prep Showcase back east. Two Bay area talents receive play:

"...Westwind’s Kiwi Gardner was equally impressive pushing the ball in transition off missed or made baskets, as the 5’7” lead guard flashed sensational end-to-end speed resulting in a series of mid-range pull-ups and pin-point passes to teammates running to the rim or spotting up for open shots. Behind strong scoring from Utah-bound George Matthews (15 points) and UC-Santa Barbara recruit John Green, Westwind would take a 45-38 edge into halftime...

...After Bridgton battled back to take the lead, at 57-56, with 10:50 left to play, Gardner would spark his team’s offense with a pair of deep, pull-up threes that would give Westwind a 66-60 advantage with seven minutes remaining...

...Green finished with a game-high 30 points for Westwind, to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists. Gardner followed with a strong 19-point, six-assist performance...

Go here for the full article.

Freshman Hayden Lescault against St. Mary's

It wasn't close -- Saint Mary's 101, Point Loma Nazarene 69 -- but the former Vista Del Lago made an impression:

"...Hayden Lescault made 9 of 13 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and scored 22 points to lead the NAIA Sea Lions..."

Here's a signing article on Lescault.

Michael Lizarraga enjoys career night

He came to play. Michael Lizarraga posted a career night in his return to the Bay Area with his Cal State Northridge teammates. Check it out here.

TJ Taylor and his national letter of intent

TJ Taylor, an Oakland High and Oakland Rebel point, recently made it official and cast his lot with UC Santa Barbara and Coach Bob Williams. Here is TJ at Oakland High after formally signing his national letter of intent.

Dom Taplin and his national letter of intent

Oakland High and Oakland Rebel backcourter Dom Taplin recently aligned himself with UC Riverside and Coach Jim Wooldridge. Here he is at Oakland High after signing his national letter of intent, making him a Highlander next season.

Mark Tollefsen signing his national letter of intent

Here is Lakeshow and San Ramon Valley star frontcourter Mark Tollefsen signing his national letter of intent, making him a USF Don next season. He remains the best outside shooter in the NorCal prep ranks and his defensive effectiveness is underrated. Like Angelo Caloairo a few years before him, Tollefsen is going to provide Coach Rex Walters an inside-outside game offensively.

MPC wins Tip Off tournament

In the San Jose City College Tip Off tournament, Monterey Peninsula College first took down Napa Valley 79-77 in overtime, then topped DeAnza College 88-81 and took the finals versus Merritt 84-73. Check out the specifics and details here.

Coach Blake Spiering's squad now faces road games against Chabot and then Ohlone, followed by hosting the Monterey Bay Classic Decemhber 2-4.

Here's the 2010-2011 MPC team

Dominique Lee to redshirt

Former St. Mary's High star Dom Lee has yet to appear in any of the Utah games so far this season and the word is that he will redshirt this season for the Runnin' Utes. He is also listed as a guard on the roster.

The 2010 Nor Cal Tipoff Classic

Clear your calendar, grab the family and definitely bring a pad to sit on:

2010 Nor Cal Tip Off Classic Press Release

The fourth annual Nor Cal Tip Off Classic will be held Saturday November 27, 2010 at Newark Memorial High School in Newark.

The event is designed to promote/showcase Northern California basketball to college coaches, media/scouts and the general public.

There will be seven games on the day beginning at 11:00 am. (The schedule is enclosed.) High profile programs such as Franklin of Elk Grove, Newark Memorial of Newark, Oakland High, Berkeley High and San Leandro High will be featured. The event will culminate with the marquee matchup at 8:30 pm between Castro Valley and Sheldon of Sacramento (in a rematch of last season’s double overtime playoff game.)

Approximately thirty Division I prospects will be playing in the event. There are currently six student-athletes that have committed to Division I schools that will be participating: 6’4 senior Jabari Brown of Oakland (Oregon), 6’1 Dominique Taplin of Oakland (U.C. Riverside), 5’8 senior T.J. Taylor of Oakland (U.C.Santa Barbara), 6’7 senior Juan Anderson of Castro Valley (Marquette), 6’6 senior Darius Nelson of Sheldon of Sacramento (UTEP) and 6’8 senior Ramon Eaton of Sheldon of Sacramento (Pepperdine).

Seniors of note include: 6’4 Chris Read of Castro Valley, 6’7 Juan Anderson of Castro Valley, 6’2 Roderick Bobbitt of Castro Valley, 6’4 Jabari Brown of Oakland, 5’11 Jalen Headspeth of Oakland, 6’1 Dominique Taplin of Oakland, 5’8 T.J. Taylor of Oakland, 6’6 Darius Nelson of Sheldon, 6’8 Ramon Eaton of Sheldon, 6’2 Hameed Ali of San Leandro, 6’1 Quincy Smith of Deer Valley, 6’5 Andre McPhail of Deer Valley, 6’3 Chuks Iroegbu of Franklin.

Prominent juniors are 6’0 Olajuwon Garner of Deer Valley, 6’4 Langston Morris-Walker of Berkeley, 6’1 Casey Norris of Newark Memorial, 6’3 Kyiron Thomas of Sheldon, 6’4 Jamil Brown of Oakland, 6’2 Tajai Johnson of Vallejo, and 6’6 Theo Johnson of Franklin.

Highly regarded sophomores are 5’7 Keymonte Gardner of San Leandro, 6’7 Marcus Lee of Deer Valley, 5’11 Kendall Smith of Deer Valley, 6’7 Eric Nielsen of Dublin, 6’0 Jason Webster of St. Patrick-St. Vincent, 6’0 Ike Iroegbu of Franklin, 6’3 Darin Johnson of Franklin, 6’1 Rae Jackson of Rodriguez, 6’2 D’Erryl Williams of Sheldon, 6’4 Dakari Allen of Sheldon, and 6’5 Ryan Manning of Sheldon.

Freshman to watch are 5’9 Demoriaye Hart-Spike of St. Patrick-St.Vincent and 6’0 Joey Frenchwood of Newark Memorial.

For further information/media credentials contact event director Gerry Freitas at 408-998-1327 or via email: gerryfreitas@hotmail.com.

4th Annual Nor Cal Tip Off Classic Schedule

Saturday November 27, 2010 at Newark Memorial High School

Game 1: 11:00 am     - San Leandro vs. Deer Valley (Antioch)

Game 2: 12:30 pm     - Dublin vs. Vallejo

Game 3: 2:15 pm     - St. Patrick’s-St. Vincent’s (Vallejo) vs. Manteca

Game 4: 3:45 pm    - Analy (Sebastopol) vs. Franklin (Elk Grove)

Game 5: 5:30 pm    - Berkeley vs. Rodriguez (Fairfield)

Game 6: 7:00 pm    - Newark Memorial (Newark) vs. Oakland

Game 7: 8:30 pm     - Castro Valley vs. Sheldon (Sacramento)

Desmond Simmons to redshirt

Former Salesian High star Desmond Simmons has decided to redshirt this season due to a slower-than-expected recovery from a knee injury:

Desmond Simmons on decision to redshirt: "It's bittersweet"
Percy Allen
Seattle Times
November 14, 2010

Caught up with freshman Desmond Simmons on Saturday and we talked about his decision to redshirt this season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee before training camp and the recovery has set him back in terms of learning Washington's system and fighting for minutes on a talent-laden roster.

Coach Lorenzo Romar said the decision was made Saturday to have Simmons sit out this season so he can concentrate fully on healing his knee...

Go here for the remainder.

Vinnie McGhee and Michael Lizarraga return 'home" as Northridge visits Cal

On Tuesday, Cal State Northridge travels up to Berkeley to face the Bears and Mike Montgomery. There are a pair of human interest stories connected to this matchup -- go here.

Two Nor Cal JUCOs get mentioned

The Juco Junction site has issued its National Top 150 basketball player rankings for the 2010-2011 season and a couple of northern California talents are among those listed:

* Former Eureka High star Greg Allen, a sophomore at Navarro JC in Texas, comes in at #26.

* Collin Chiverton, formerly of Archbishop Mitty and now at CCSF, is listed at #114. 

A call for Bill Cartwright to take over at USF

The timing seems strange and 2+ seasons is nowhere near the time needed to turn around a basketball program not too long ago mired in a bizarre professional death duel between coach (Jesse Evans) versus AD (Debra Gore-Mann) but here's something in the Sacramento Bee from Victor Contreras who is wishing for Bill Cartwright to take the helm at USF:

Mark Samuels impresses

Former Berkeley High backcourter Mark Samuels, now at Cal State East Bay, put up some impressive numbers in a recent game against Cal Poly:

"...Cal State East Bay guard Mark Samuels, a sophomore from Berkeley, had 11 points, 11 rebounds and a team-high five assists in the Pioneers' 70-63 exhibition loss to Division I Cal Poly on Nov. 6..."

To call or not to call coaches you turned down

Josiah Turner is featured here, among other national recruits, in an interesting article about relationships continuing even after a high schooler decides to play at another college. Then there is one player who declined to call the other coaches who were pursuing him. Check it out.

Much more on Will Davis committing to Penn

New Hampton Big Man Heading Ivy
New England Recruiting Report
November 12, 2010

UPenn comes to New England to land highly coveted prep product.

New Hampton post-graduate Will Davis made a verbal commitment to the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday night, giving head coach Jerome Allen a highly athletic and active six-foot-nine big man.

The Sacramento, California native committed to the Quakers despite having scholarship offers in hand from multiple CAA schools and preliminary interest from more than one high major.  Davis also saw recruitment from a variety of other Ivy League schools.

“I took a visit up there about two weeks ago and I just liked the campus, liked the coaches, liked the players,” Davis told the New England Recruiting Report.  “I felt that it was a great fit for me to go there and I talked it over with Coach Hutchins and my parents and they also felt it was a good fit...”

Go here for the remainder.

Will Davis commits

Former Sacramento High frontcourter Will Davis has committed to Penn of the Ivy League. He's currently playing a prep season at New Hampton School in New Hampshire -- here's the news.

Go here for a January, 2010 ESPN evaluation of Davis

Las Positas College basketball to date

Coach Tony Costello and his Las Positas squad are doing well and one Hawk has already signed a letter-of-intent. Go here for the updates on the season.

Westwind Prep falls to College of Southern Idaho

John (Castlemont High) Green and Kiwi (Manteca High) Gardner led the way for Westwind in the 109-95 loss on the road to College of Southern Idaho but Kiwi must reduce the miscues if the expectations are that a high level D-1 coach is gloing to hand him the reins.

"...Green finished with 26 points and 10 boards for Westwind..."

"...Gardner, who tallied 25 points and 15 assists, but had 12 turnovers..."

Here's the complete game report.

The Draft Express site evaluates Damian Lillard

Weber State sophomore Damian Lillard is evaluated by the folks at the Draft Express site:

Top NBA Draft Prospects in Non-BCS Conferences, Part Five (#26-30)
Kyle Nelson
Draft Express
November 11, 2010

Point guard Damian Lillard did little to stand out as a freshman at Weber State, but he emerged as one of the nation's top scoring guards as a sophomore. The Big Sky Conference MVP also performed well in front of NBA scouts at the 2010 adidas Nations Camp. His solid performance against elite collegiate players boosted his draft stock and drastically increased expectations for his junior season.

At 6'2 with a decent 180-pound frame, Lillard has average size for the point guard position at the next level. Athletically, however, he is a mixed bag. While he does have a better than average first step and is quick in the open floor, he is not particularly explosive and lacks ideal strength to compensate...

Go here for the remainder.

Jimmy Durkin covers the Bay Area basketball signees

Jimmy Durkin/Contra Costa Times has an article up today covering the various Bay Area-based letter-of-intent basketball signees -- head here.

Josiah Turner signing article

Bill Paterson in the Sacramento Bee has an article today on Josiah Turner's signing a letter-of-intent with Arizona. Teammate Robert Garrett, headed to Santa Clara, is also featured.

An Adam Eakles update

Former Woodland High star Adam Eakles redshirted at Seattle last season but since transferred to Fullerton College for this season and now the 6-foot-8 frontcourter has just signed a letter-of-intent with Pacific. Go here.

Locals, regionals on San Diego area community college rosters

Skyline High's Greg Brown is a 6-foot-5 sophomore at Imperial Valley College

Skyline High's Donald Gaines is a 6-foot-6 sophomore at Southwestern College.

6-foot-5 frosh Blake Turner, out of Las Lomas, is at San Diego Mesa.

Danny Teisher, Castro Valley High, is a 6-foot-4 soph at San Diego City College.

Lynbrook High grad Andy Meunier is listed as a freshman on the basketball roster at San Diego City College. He played football at a small college in Minnesota.

Buzz Williams on Juan Anderson

Here's Marquette Coach Buzz Williams on his latest prize: "He is another guy who I think in time will be able to do multiple things for us on both ends of the floor."

Quintin Daily passes

Ex-Gibbons star Quintin Dailey dies at 49
Kevin Van Valkenburg
Baltimore Sun
November 10, 2010

Quintin Dailey, who was widely regarded as one of the best high school basketball players in the history of Baltimore, died Monday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 49.

The Clark County Coroner's Office told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Dailey died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Dailey, a college star at the University of San Francisco who spent 10 rocky years in the NBA, had been working as a supervisor at the Parkdale Community Center in Las Vegas, helping at-risk kids...

Go here for the remainder.

Update on Chabot College hoops

From the Chabot basketball site:

11/7/10 Chabot (3-0) faced off against rival Las Positas (2-1) Sunday evening in the championship game of the Las Positas tournament, and came out ahead 74-66. Las Positas had difficulty adjusting to the Chabot defense as Chabot went into the half up 8. Las Positas came out to take a lead in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half before Chabot calmed down and got their rhythm back to retake the lead and secure the hard fought victory. Chabot was a stellar 26-29 from the charity stripe in the win. Chabot was lead in scoring by Randy Newell (17), Jacob Noisat (13), Jourdan DeMuynck (11), Kurtis Ong (10), Howie Manzo (8) and Josh De La Torre (6).  Congratulations to tournament MVP Randy Newell, and All-Tournament performers Jacob Noisat and Howie Manzo. Howie Manzo finished the weekend with 43 points in the 3 games.

11/6/10 Chabot (2-0) men fought off a very tough, talented and athletic Mendocino College (1-1) 91-80 on Saturday night in the semifinals of the Las Positas season opening tournament. Chabot led by a few baskets at half and held off a furious rally by Mendocino to finally pull away and secure the game in the last 5 minutes of action. Howie Manzo and Jourdan DeMuynck had great games with 22 points a piece. Fellow freshman Tobias Royal and Josh De La Torre were also in double figures for the Gladiators. Jacob Noisat had a good defensive game and pulled down a handful of rebounds inside. Randy Newell once again did a great job handling the ball and applying non-stop ball pressure on the opposing guards. Chammar Grissom had another great defensive game and contributed in many ways to the win. The Gladiators will take on Rival and tournament host Las Positas College tomorrow at 5pm @ Las Positas College.

11/5/10 The Chabot Gladiators (1-0) opened the season today vs. Columbia College (0-1) at the Las Positas College tourney in Livermore. The Gladiators came out and showed their superiority in the paint with 6 dunks and dominated the game from start to finish. Leading scorers were Jacob Noisat (15), Howie Manzo (13), Tobias Royal (12), Kyle Luckett (10), Josh DeLaTorre (9) Randy Newell (8) and Jourdan DeMuynck with (5). Chammarr Grissom came off the bench to play great defense and Colin Chadwick made his presence felt in the paint with his physical play, solid defense, and rebounding. Jason Silsdorf played a great all-around game with multiple rebounds, blocks, and great passing. Jason also had the highlight of the game with his two handed tip dunk! Kurtis Ong did a great job handling the ball and showing leadership on and off the floor. Chabot plays a very talented Mendocino College tomorrow at 7pm @ Las Positas College for the right to play in the Championship Game Sunday.   

Follow the Gladiator here.                                                                
   

Marc Isenbertg isn't wishy-washy about letters-of-intent

Since the national letter of intent sign period for basketball opens up tomorrow (and runs through the 17th), here's an article about the unfairness of the process:

The National Letter of Intent Sucks!
Marc Isenberg

This Wednesday, November 10th, is National Signing Day for college basketball and several other sports. Accepting an athletic scholarship is a huge deal. Unfortunately, the hype and media attention surrounding National Signing Day overshadows the actual agreement, the National Letter of Intent.

Most athletes (and their families) are thrilled to end the recruiting process and accept a guaranteed (or so they are led to believe) 1-year athletic scholarship.

College sports can be great in many ways, but the NLI shows just how lopsided the relationship between athlete and institution really is.

There at least 10 reasons why the NLI sucks. Reading the NLI and listening to the decades-old spin from the NCAA community, it reminds me of the fraternity initiation (er, whipping) from Animal House. "Thank you, sir! May I have another?"

Go here for the remainder.

Three northern Californians get Best in the West honors

Josiah Turner, Jabari Brown and Juan Anderson are the locals/regionals out of northern California on the Frank Burlison/Long Beach Press Telegram annual Best of the West list.

Here is the list, along with bios.

News on Yuba College games and CCSF too

Yuba College topped Fresno City on Friday night but fell to City College San Francisco on Saturday. The Appeal-Democrat has some notes on the games here and on the alumni contest here.

A few Yuba College basketball updates can be read here.

De-commiting explored

Dave Telep has an interesting article exploring very early commitments who eventually decided to go elsewhere and:how this can be 'predicted' if you will:

How to spot the signs
Decommitments don't just happen, players and programs offer up tells constantly
Dave Telep -- ESPN
October 26, 2010

In this business of scouting, you're taught to look for markers. They can be large, like the athleticism of John Wall, or small, say an innocent comment that sticks with you. Over time, you learn to keep your radar up for players whose pledges might not be on solid ground.

Ryan Boatright's decision to decommit from West Virginia isn't the first of the year, and it probably won't be the last. By our count, 31 players out of the roughly 900 prospects we evaluated have changed their pledges, with Austin Rivers, who traded Florida for Duke, being the highest-ranked player to do so.

While 31 might not seem like an enormous number considering a few thousand players are signed each year, but it's 31 non-binding covenants between a player and school that, for whatever reason, were broken before signing day. And try to explain that it's no big deal to the jilted party sometime. They're all big deals, including Boatright's decommitment from WVU.

It all started last week when Jabarie Hinds became the second point guard to commit to West Virginia. Did Bob Huggins really convince two highly-regarded senior point guards from a weak national crop to attend the same university? Plausible, but definitely the kind of commitment that gets you thinking...

Go here for the remainder.

The Monterey Peninsula Lobos

Ah, Monterey. Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Carmel next door and 17 Mile Drive nearby. Add Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) basketball to the list.

Sure, the latter doesn't appear on the glossy tourist brochures but it's the most exciting offering in the area November through March.

Coach Blake Spiering heads the Lobo program. A football, track, basketball and baseball participant in high school, the latter was actually his best sport. But upon entering Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, it was hoops -- his actual first love among activities -- for Spiering.

 Coach Spiering

After two years, he made his way to Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) in Belmont, playing for Coach Pat Fulscado, who now heads the program at Sonoma State. At both Cuesta and NDMU, it was Spiering for the defense, having earned "Mr. Defense" honors at both locations.

His coaching bonafides include a season an Notre Dame de Namur, four years at Sonoma State and another four at San Jose City College.

 Alex Brandon

Spiering's take on his squad this season? "We're pretty solid, with a strong group of sophomores. There's Alex Brandon. Quinczy Spencer is our starting off guard. Mitch Philp is a great kid and being highly recruited. [6-foot-7] Ryan Stanley is a great shooter and Josh Caldwell is our starting center." Plus, Spiering has fellow second-year talents Cam Johnson, Pat Kilty and Dominic Zanella at his disposal.

 Mitch Philp

He also sports sophomore Julian Demalleville, the former county player of the year in San Luis Obispo and "the heart and soul of our team," per Spiering.

Julian Demalleville

 Additionally, Shayne Perryman, the co-county player of the year in Santa Cruz is a Lobo newcomer.

 Dom Zanella

"We have seven freshman and a couple of redshirts," he said.

MPC finished 15-13 last season in the always tough Coast Conference, a residence also inhabited by CCSF, San Jose City College, Ohlone, Chabot, and Foothill.

"In the last eight years, all my guys have transferred -- that's my goal," Spiering explained. "We've had nine D-1 signees in eight years, heading to schools such as Arkansas, Tulsa, Hawaii, Weber State and Sacramento State."

He sees the small size of his school plus "our students get a lot of support" and being two blocks from the beach and also the weather as working in his favor.

Spiering listed his biggest basketball influences as Fulscado, the late Paul Rundell (the longtime coach at San Francisco State who was also affiliated with Stanford hoops), Rodney Tention (currently assisting at Stanford) and Patrick Sandle (an assistant at Pittsburgh) but "all my coaches have had a hand in molding me."

Here's the 2010-2011 Lobos, alphabetical and by position:

* Conor Byrne G 6'2 170 SO Arcata High/Arcata, CA
* Niccolo Bongioanna G 6'4 185 FR Pacific Grove High/Pacific Grove, CA
* Alex Brandon G 6'2 165 SO Hayward High/Hayward, CA
* Julian Demalleville G 6'2 195 SO San Luis ObispoHigh/San Luis Obispo, CA
* Cameron Johnson G 6'2 185 SO Eaglecrest High/Aurora, CO
* Brandon Moore G 6'1 170 FR St Mary's High/Stockton, CA
* Mitch Philp G 6'2 185 SO TCC HS, Rockhampton High/Queensland, Australia
* Quinczy Spencer G 6'3 185 SO North Salinas High/Salinas, CA

* Josh Caldwell F 6'7 210 FR Eaglecrest High/Aurora, CA
* Shaun Hall F 6'7 235 FR Monterey High/Monterey, CA
* Patrick Kilty F 6'6 220 SO North Monterey County High/Prunedale, CA
* Shayne Perryman F 6'5 205 FR St. Francis High/Capitola, CA
* Ryan Stanley F 6'7 235 SO Gig Harbor High/Gig Harbor, WA
* Dominic Zanella F 6'5 215 SO San Benito High/Hollister, CA

A Demetrius Lee update

Here's former St. Mary's backcourter in his new uniform as a member of the Casper College Thunderbirds. He went for eight points in one of his recent games.

Recruiting questions from Philippe Doherty

There are countless more but here's a great series of questions compiled by Philippe Doherty, a former D-1 assistant at USF who played at Santa Clara and is one of the top basketball skills trainers in northern California.

* What majors do the players have on the team?

* How many scholarships do you have available for the year 2010-11 year?

* Do you want my son to sign in the early period?

* Where have your players gone on and worked in the work field after finishing eligibility?

* Do your players have to live on campus?

* What are your goals for the program and my son?

* What position will my son play?

* What other players do you see competing at that position?

* Is there a possibility to redshirt ­ determined by whom?

* What is your coaching style?

* When does the head coach’s contract end?

* Who do you play in pre-season for the next 3 years?

* What games are you trying to schedule?

* Who are some of your recruiting targets for that class - 2011?

* Do you have a strength and conditioning coach (if so is he only for basketball)

* Does the athletic department have a nutritionist and does he/she work with the team?

* What do you think my son has to work on?

* What do you think he does well?

* What is the biggest area that he will need to address before his freshman year?

* Do scholarshipped athletes need health insurance or does the school provide it or both?

* If a scholarshipped athlete is seriously injured while competing who will pay for surgery?

* What happens if a scholarshipped athlete wants to transfer ­ will you or the AD release him? (Maybe ask)

* Can your academic adviser help the scholarshipped athlete with the NCAA clearinghouse steps?

By the way, here's an earlier post we did on Philippe.

Stuart Wesonga heads south

As first reported by NorCalPreps, here are some details of San Marin's Stuart Wesonga's decision to move to southern California for college.

San Marin's Wesonga to play at Cal State Northridge
Dave Allen
Marin Independent Journal
11/03/2010

San Marin High basketball standout Stuart Wesonga has verbally committed to accept an athletic scholarship from Cal State Northridge. He plans to sign a letter of intent to play for the Matadors on Nov. 10.

What won me over was how honest and caring everyone on the staff is," said Wesonga, who is preparing for his senior season at San Marin and would begin attending classes at Northridge in the fall of 2011. "Coach (Bobby) Braswell is a teacher first and foremost and that means he really cares. I could tell that right away."

Go here for the remainder.

Northern CA well repped in pre-season community college poll

The pre-season community college team poll is out and the northern part of the state is well represented.

CCSF occupies the #2 spot.

Yuba and Ohlone are ranked #4 and #5.

Diablo Valley is 7th and Foothill 8th.

SJCC owns the 13th spot and Sierra holds down #17.

Remember Ignas Pavilonis, Juan Pablo Alvarez and Drew Raher?

Ignas Pavilonis played for Woodside Priory, Juan Pablo Alvarez for Terra Linda High and Drew Raher for St. Ignatius Prep and all three are basketballing for Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

A transfer from Cañada College, the sophomore Pavilonis stands 6-foot-5.

A 6-foot-4 junior, Alvarez  was a Second-Team All-Marin County honoree.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore Raher was a First-Team All-West Catholic Athletic League selection.

Whitman is headed to the South Bay on Saturday, September 6 to face San Jose State so expect some ;locals' to be in the stands cheering for the visitors..

The 2010-2011 Ohlone College Renegades

Guess who won the Coast Conference North Division last season?

City College San Francisco? To mix sports metaphors, that's a fastball on the corner for strike one. Foothill? A curve that catches the inside part of the plate, and strike two. Chabot? A change-of-pace and a whiff so grab some pine, yer out!

It was Ohlone College based on an 11-1 league record, 24-5 overall. The Renegades won league, then went on to beat Shasta and Yuba early in the playoffs before falling to eventual champion Saddleback in the state tournament. To measure the level of the  Bay Area competition Ohlone faced in 2009-2010, the Renegades and both aforementioned CCSF and Foothill all earned spots in the Elite Eight.

All this took place after Ohlone mustered a 10-2 and 25-9 marks in 2008-2009, finishing in a first place tie with CCSF and climaxing in a Sweet Sixteen finish.

Plus, it was 9-2, 20-11 for the Renegades in the season before that and yet another Sweet Sixteen finish.

2006-2007 brought a 28-4 final record and the first Elite Eight inclusion.

 There simply is something called the John Peterson effect at work in Fremont.

How so?

Try this: during Coach Peterson's tenure, the overall Renegade record in 10 years is 225-86, including a total of five conference championships, nine playoff appearances, five Sweet 16’s and a pair of Elite 8's. He is a five-time conference coach of the year and the 2010 co-State Coach of the Year. Ohlone had never won a league championship between 1967 and 2002, and only won one league game the year before Peterson took over.

So what's going on over in Fremont? Has Peterson filtered something into the water? The college on the hill not only looks over the surrounding community but is on quite the roll peering down at its regional basketball opponents.

First, some background. Peterson's a local, having grown up in Fairfield. He subsequently earned his B.A. at UC Santa Barbara and then a Master's degree from USF. He assisted Jim Brovelli for three years and Phil Mathews for two seasons on The Hilltop and followed that with three ultra successful seasons (a national championships season in 2000 and a loss in the title game in 1999) at Metro State in Denver. It was at the latter that Peterson worked with Mike Dunlap, who later moved on to the Denver Nuggets, Arizona, then Oregon and is now working with Steve Lavin at St. John's.

Dunlap is considered a coaching guru of sorts and Peterson views him as a mentor.

With Peterson heading Ohlone, it's often been the squad's sum being greater than the parts -- which is the ultimate sign of a team.

Care for an example? Look at who departed Ohlone after the season and their new collegiate homes:

* Jamaal Blalock to Virginia Union University
   .
* Scott Clark to Humboldt State

* Quaran Johnson to Metro State College

* Reggie Jones to CSU, Stanislaus

* Isaiah Moore to California Maritime Academy

* Ronnie Sawyer to Post University (CT)

* Simba Gwanyanya to Holy Names

* Demetris Love to St. Thomas (Florida)

Remember, this was a group that earned 11-1, 24-5  records and a February 21 spot as the top team in the state.

But Peterson doesn't credit any magic nor any mystical alchemy for the success since he took over. "Last season, we allowed only 58 points per game, tops in the state," he offered. "We have a focus on defensive ball pressure while utilizing a matchup zone. We will run -- call it being opportunistic offensively -- but when it works for us."

Another number that Peterson is extremely proud of is "we have 20 guys currently on four-year rosters including. Tim Bowman and Allen Hester at Oklahoma Baptist, Leon Hart at Dominican, James Hancock at Point Loma Nazarene, Frank Monge at Stanislaus State, AJ Flournoy at Metro State, Kevan West at Concordia (OR.), Brandon Lott at Wiley College (TX), Amarildo Matos at Cheney U. (PA), Matt Wittbrodt at Northwood U (MI), Carlos Johnson at West Coast Baptist and Alpha N’Diaye at Sacramento State. Also, Mychal Green and Willis Gardner [both former all-state guys and league MVPs] are playing professionally in Germany.

As for the talent at his disposal in the fast approaching season, Peterson mentioned:

* Lavon Gray: at 6-foot-5, "an all-conference player who is a great rebounder and passer and a good all-around player"

* Ring Ayuel: out of Sudan, "he's 7-foot-3 with a 7-foot-9 wingspan -- he moves pretty well north and south, not so great east and west but he certainly is a worker"

Peterson also offered former Pittsburgh High backcourter Charles Barnes, 6-foot-7 Caleb Burton out of Philadelphia and Bobby McCall, formerly of Newark Memorial and Cal State East Bay as players who will contribute heavily this season.

There also a veritable secret weapon of sorts bolstering the Renegade basketball program. Physical skills trainer Anthony Eggleton, known throughout the Bay Area for his results, works with the Ohlone basketballers.

Here's the 2010-2011 Ohlone roster, smallest height to largest. It's a veritable United Nations, appropriate considering the diverse demographics of Fremont:

Travis DeShazior 5'11" 175 So. Guilford Tech Comm./Fayetteville, NC
Bobby McCall 6'1" 180 Fr. Newark Memorial H.S./Hayward, CA
Charles Barnes 6'2" 195 So. Pittsburg H.S./Pittsburg, CA
Geoff Hartman 6'3" 200 Fr. Monte Vista H.S./San Diego, CA
Sharod Gandy 6'4" 210 Fr. Dwight Morrow H.S./Englewood, NJ
Scott Kenny 6'4" 180 So. Blinn College/Queensland, Australia
Or Steiner 6'4" 200 So. Israel/ Even Yehuda, Israel
Jason Bi 6'5" 180 Fr. Shanghai Jiaotong H.S./Shanghai, China
Lavon Gray 6'5" 200 So. Bellarmine College. Prep/Milpitas, CA
Shondell Lee 6'7" 235 Fr. Hudsonville H.S./Grand Rapids, MI
Cyleb Burton 6'7" 200 So. Friends Central H.S./Philadelphia, PA
Ring Ayuel 7'3" 215 Fr. Our Savior New American H.S./Sudan, Africa

Mikheal McKinney 6-0 G Washington High, Fremont and Michael McKinney 6-0 G Fairfield High are both redshirting.

Plus, in a world where community college athletics receive short-shrift, Ohlone basketball has one of the most impressive sites in the nation -- check it out here.

Tom Curtiss' shot science

Being a longtime subscriber to the school of you can either shoot or you can't, we now believe improvement is possible. Not to say approaching Ray Allen-level if you currently are a rimbreaker or backboard smasher with your heaves but at least moderate improvement.

If you are in the Santa Cruz or Monterey Bay area, Tom Curtiss and his Shot Science enterprise are worth checking out. He even offers on-line videos that are of benefit. Go here.

An interview with former Tracy basketballer Jordan Richardson

Jordan Richardson played a season at Tracy's West High after transferring in from Texas. He landed a scholarship with Weber State and one of the Wildcat fan sites just interviewed him. Go here.

Remember Zach Andrews?

Born in Oakland, Zach Andrews came out of Cordova High in Sacramento, played two years under Coach Doug Cornelius at Yuba College and then went to Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference. He's been playing overseas since college, currently in Japan.

Zach just won a game for his Japanese team:

"Zach Andrews nailed a buzzer-beater as the Niigata Albirex defeated the visiting Saitama Broncos 68-67 on Sunday. Andrews, a Bradley University product, had 14 points and 15 rebounds a day after a 17-point, 18-rebound effort..."

While at Bradley, one of his dunks earned kudos from ESPN and rightly so. 

Here's a revealing 2009 interview in the Rancho Cordova Post. Here's another.

This is a guy everyone should be cheering for.