McKenzie Moore's 2012-13 season

Sophomore McKenzie (College Park High) Moore became eligible in December for UTEP and here's how he performed in this season:

* 24.4 minutes per game
* 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds a contest
* 45%, 35%, 73% shooting
* his 34 steals led the Miners
* he finished second on the team with 20 blocked shots

Santa Clara's Nor Cal frontcourters in 2012-13

Santa Clara has a trio of frontcourters from northern California -- here's how the Bronco threesome performed this season:

 Robert (Sacramento High) Garrett, sophomore

10.8 minutes per game, 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds a contest, shooting 53% overall and 41% from the foul line

 Niyi (Bellarmine Preparatory) Harrison, senior

9.7 minutes per game, 2.0 points and 2.6 rebounds a contest, shooting 57% overall and 53% from the foul line

 John (De La Salle High) McArthur, junior

13.1 minutes per game, 1.9 points and 2.4 rebounds a contest, shooting 41% overall and 81% from the foul line

Barnes garners MVP honor

Bill Paterson reports that Joseph Barnes' 21 points paced the South team to a 113-105 victory over the North in the Optimist All-Star boys basketball game last night.

Weber wins again

Weber State took down Northern Iowa 59-56 last night in the Hawkeye State to head into the CIT championship game versus East Carolina. The Wildcats are now 30-6.

Davion Berry posted 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Frank Otis enjoyed a 13/11 double-double.

More on the pitfalls of promises

Ed Fletcher fleshes out the sad tale that hit the news earlier this year about young basketball prospects being abused at a so-called prep school. Bless the Gordons.

Thomason and Nunez honored

The Stockton Record has selected Scott Thomason and Guillermo Nunez as Coach and Player of the Year respectively.

Drew Gordon departing from Partizan

Drew Gordon has announced he is leaving his professional team.

Dev Manley's 2012-13 season

Devareaux Manley's sophomore season has concluded at Kent State and the 6-foot-4 backcourter out of Castlemont High played 11 minutes a game in averaging 4.8 points an outing.

He shot 45% from the floor (107 attempts overall), 45% on 87 three-point attempts and 81% from the foul line.

Jordan Brue's 2012-13 season

6-foot-5 Jordan (Bishop O'Dowd High) Brue has finished his athletic eligibility at UC San Diego and the senior averaged 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds a game this season in just under 26 minutes of playing time per contest. He shot 49% and 72% respectively while leading the Tritons with 20 blocked shots. Brue is majoring in structural engineering.

The Nor Cal talents on St. Mary's

A trio of student-athletes from Nor Cal territory dotted the Gael roster this season and below is how each performed:

 * Brad (Ponderosa High) Waldow, sophomore

22.6 minutes per game, 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds an outing, 62% shooting overall, 54% from the foul line. a team-leading 30 blocked shots

* Beau (De La Salle High) Levesque, junior

23.0 minutes per game, 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds an outing, shooting 50%, 45% and 76% respectively

* Jordan (San Ramon Valley High) Giusti, freshman

16.5 minutes per game, 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds an outing, 43/20 assist-to-turnover ratio, 27 steals

Scott Romuk named MVP

Bill Paterson presents the Sierra Foothill League honorees with Granite Bay's Scott Romuk as the Most Valuable Player.

Terrance White selected MVP

Bill Paterson presents the Tri County Conference honorees with Inderkum High's Terrance White selected as the Most Valuable Player.

DRinCA's JC honors & honorees

Here's DRinCA with his top teams and players, based on the 70 games he saw in 2012-13. he calls it DR’s Season Superlatives.

DR lauds Santa Rosa JC guard Bobby Sharp with "Consensus opinion was that Sharp was the best shooter in California this season."

Smoke, fire or just dreaming?

From Husky Haul: "Funny to see the UCLA fans now assuming Steve Alford can grab Aaron Gordon. Not in 4 days..."

From Joel Francisco: "Just when I thought I knew where Aaron Gordon was headed..then this....could be an interesting next few days, especially if Gordon delays it"

From AG: silence (and he's the one who matters)

However, Drew Gordon did play for Alford.

New Mexico is a Nike school but UCLA is Adidas.

Artis goes out strong

Oregon gave it a go last night but Louisville was just better in too many categories and won 77-69. Freshman point Dom Artis went for 12 points, including 2-2 from long distance.

The number of people who saw Artis' freshman season with the Ducks coming when the young man was a high school frosh wouldn't be enough to field a starting five. He was always diminished by others because of his size. Goes to show you how hard work on the court and in the classroom opens up opportunities and now Artis is living large in Eugene and known to the college basketball world.

SCVAL De Anza Division honorees

Mike Barnhart writes about the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division basketball honorees. 

A learning opportunity

Coach Bob Walsh has a great look at the last seven seconds of last night's Ohio State - Arizona game. Food for thought for all involved in basketball but especially so for high schoolers who should be discussing this article.

Scouting is more than eye-balling nowadays

Scouting for talent ain't what it used to be (what is?) -- here's a great read on what is involved now and how it will only become bigger.

Lakeshow takes showxase

Lakeshow 56, IEBP 2013 54
Dave Rogahn

Ali Faruqbey (San Lorenzo) scored the game-winning lay-up with about two seconds left for Lakeshow, which rallied from a 12-point deficit to in the last six-plus minutes to nip IEBP 2013 at the finish line Sunday at the 4th Annual Southern California Senior Showcase at Cerritos College.

A Rivals sub is required to read the complete article.

Faruqbey led all scorers with 16 points on 7-for-10 from the floor, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

On the non-serious side...

We have it on good authority that a dozen or so Archbishop Mitty science students are at work in an on-campus laboratory attempting to clone Aaron Gordon.

The 2013 Nor Cal Spring Tip Off is fast approaching

The 2013 Nor Cal Spring Tip Off is being held Saturday, March 30 at City College of San Francisco. The matchups will involve 40 teams, runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and opens the spring club team season prior to the live recruiting period events.

The purpose of the event is to kick off the spring AAU season and give teams a chance for some game experience prior to heading into the live period events in mid-April. There are teams from age groups 15u, 16u and 17u matched competitively in a shootout format (not a tournament). 

Hoop review.net will be doing a report on the event which will be sent to college coaches and various internet sites in order to give the participating teams some exposure before the live events begin.

Some of the familiar teams involved are Lakeshow, 707s Finest, Oakland Rebels, Play Hard Play Smart, Team Sage -- go here for the schedule.

Among the players to watch:

* Cade Alcorn - 6-foot-6 - 2015 Buchanan High - Lakeshow

* Shon Briggs - 6-foot-6 - 2014 Heritage High - Team Select

* Modesta Britten - 6-foot-3 - 2014 Del Campo High - Team Sage

* Aaron Cameron - 6-foot-2 - 2013 Sacramento High - Lakeshow  

* Pierre Carter - 6-foot-3 - 2013 Heritage High - Nevada Wolverines

* Josh Daniels - 6-foot-2 - 2016 Oakmont High - PCBA Pride

* Kody Eckert - 6-foot-0 - 2013 McQueen High NV - Blueprint

* Ali Faruqbey - 6-foot-1 - 2013 San Lorenzo High - Lakeshow

* Demoriyea Hart-Spikes - 6-foot-1 - 2014 Fairfield High - Rise  

* James Herrick - 6-foot-20 - 2014 Douglas High - Nevada Wolverines

* Malik Huff - 6-foot-0 - 2015 Drake High - Lakeshow

* Tyler Jacobs - 6-foot-2 - 2016 Folsom High - PCBA Pride   

*  Kameron Johnson - 6-foot-0, 2015 Granada High - Lakeshow  

* De Jante Kennedy - 6-foot-3 - 2014 Pittsburgh - Team Select

* Rafe King - 6-foot-4 - 2013 Carson High - Nevada Wolverines  

* Davis Kyle - 6-foot-6 - 2016 Reno High - Nevada Wolverines

* Erik Mack - 6-foot-2 - 2017 Whitney High - PCBA Pride   

* Armando Madueno - 6-foot-1 - 2015 Woodland High - WDLD

* Derek Novsek - 6-foot-2 - 2015 Bishop Manogue High - Nevada Wolverines   

* Enrico Nuno - 6-foot-6 - 2014 Half Moon Bay High - Coastside  6’6”

* De Andre Otis - 6-foot-0 - 2014 Sacred Heart Cathedral High - Rise  

* Benson Osayande - 6-foot-7 - 2014 Franklin High - Team Sage

* Deshawn Patterson - 6-foot-7 - 2013 McQueen High NV - Blueprint

* Greg Polosky - 6-foot-9 - 2015 San Ramon Valley High - Lakeshow   

* EJ Poulsen - 6-foot-9 - 2013 Galena High - Nevada Wolverines

* Deshawn Pugshley - 6-foot-0, 2014 Wooster High - Nevada Wolverines

* Anthony Salerno - 6-foot-8 - 2013 Bishop Manogue High -Nevada Wolverines

* Cody Sheldon - 6-foot-20 - 2014 Irvington High - Saints  

* Kellen Simpson - 6-foot-2 - 2014 Sacramento High - Team Sage  

* Chris Snyder  - 6-foot-9 - 2014 Ponderosa High - Play Hard Play Smart Black

* Teante Watts - 6-foot-1 - 2014 Inderkum High - WDLD  

* Trae Wells - 6-foot-2 - 2014 Reed High NV - Blueprint  

* Terrance White - 6-foot-1 - 2014 Inderkum High - Team Sage 

* Sam Williams - 6-foot-7 - 2013 Hug High NV - Blueprint  

The best basketball players up Sacramento way

The Sacramento Bee honors the top basketball talents in the area, plus the top coaching effort in the area.

Here are photos of some of the honorees.

A bigtime honor for Dakarai Allen

Joe Davidson announces the Player of the Year in Sacramento.

CHS POY finalists

Ronnie Flores/CalHiSports has the list of names for Player of the Year -- it has to be AG versus SJ as the final two so will winning the state championship be the determining factor?

Rabb will be repping the Bay Area

Jimmy Durkin has the details of Ivan Rabb's latest honor.

Weber wins again

Steven Peake reports on Weber State taking down Oral Roberts 83-74 last night, pushing the record of the Wildcats to 29-6. Davion Berry exploded for a 29 points/10 assist double-double and also grabbed six rebounds while Frank Otis posted a nine rebound, four point, two assist line. Point Jordan Richardson enjoyed a eight point, three assist night.

Now it's on the the semi finals of the CIT versus Northern Iowa.

More kudos for Butterfield

From a Shawn Harrison Utah State season review article:

"Now to my annual awards and memorable moments from the 2012-13 season.

Most Valuable Player: He started the year coming off the bench, but by the end was a vital part of the Aggies’ game plan.

Junior Spencer Butterfield became the heart and soul of this team. The 6-foot-3 guard ended up starting 24 games and averaging 29.3 minutes a game. He flirted with a triple-double on several occasions and had a streak of five games with a double-double.

For the season, Butterfield had seven double-doubles. He had a season-best 20 rebounds against Texas State and scored a season-high 23 points against UT Arlington. 

He averaged 12.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.7 apg. His 83.5 percent shooting from the foul line was among the best in the WAC and he led the team with 48 3-pointers, while making 49.8 percent of his shots from the field."

An interesting angle

For Robert Cartwright, small is big as he takes advantage of the best of both worlds. As is written in the article:

"...In 2013, that has become the norm for many small-school players and helped lead to an exodus of top players from public schools. They play for travel teams in the spring and summer, prove themselves against elite players, work on their academics, and then it doesn't matter whom they're playing for during their high school season..."

When is a foul a foul?

Cincinnati Coach Mick Cronin says no major changes are needed in college hoops -- just call fouls fouls, simple as that.

Lies, damned lies and statistics -- the latter is en fuego

Decades ago in "The Graduate," the advice was "plastics" but nowadays, at least as far as basketball is concerned, it's statistics -- Myron Medcalf writes.

The Glove opens up

Holly MacKenzie serves up a Q-and-A with Gary Payton.

Poole on Russell

Monte Poole was at a ceremony involving basketball legend Bill Russell and he notes that the former McClymonds High graduate was a leader in other important facets of American life and history.

Verlin was the one

Jagdip Dhillon writes that Don Verlin was THE choice for the Pacific position as no other individuals were interviewed.

Meet Don Verlin

Below is new Pacific Head Coach Don Verlin's press conference.

Jordoun DeMuynck in 2012-13

Jourdan (Chabot College) DeMuynck finished his senior season at Prairie View A&M as the leading scorer and rebounder for the Panthers at 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. He shot 40% overall, 32% from three-point range and 71% at the charity stripe. DeMuynck also averaged 1.5 assists and steals an outing.

Collin Chiverton's senior season

Collin (Archbishop Mitty) Chiverton completed his eligibility in 2012-13 at Eastern Washington, a season that was interrupted by family concerns.

He played in 24 games at 17.3 minutes a contest, averaging 10.8 points and 2.0 rebounds an outing. Chiverton shot 40% overall, 33% from long distance and 69% from the foul line.

Meet KP

Kelvin (KP) Potts has led since he could dribble, maneuvering the ball being his forte. Yeah, residing in The Big Show or hoopin' overseas is the primal quest of most ballers but when those doors weren't ajar, Potts found another way to lead. He is teaching others.

There are those so-called trainers to the stars but that's glitzy Hollywood Hills and 180 degrees away from the grit of the East Bay.

Potts' approach is training guys to become better, star or not and now there is a 17+-minute video documenting his upbringing with his time on the court as a player and also now as the proprietor of a basketball skills training enterprise. Call it the past and present true story of KP and in it he lays out the future.

Check it out.

Familiar Bay area hoops figures and players such as Frank Otis Sr., Anthony Eggleton, Travis Farris, Kiwi Gardner, T.J. Wallace and Kendall Jackson appear in the film and each offers their respective takes on KP and his work.

The KP written bio

"I was playing for Coach Frank Knight at Fremont High [Oakland] and my dream was to go D-1," according to Potts. "Even at that age, guys looked to me and I was leading workouts. "I've always been a student of the game, paying attention to detail."

He ended up at Clark University, a D-2 school in Atlanta, earning Freshman of the Year and All American honors.

But the Clark coach was fired.

Potts returned to California, attending Chabot College in Hayward and playing for veteran Coach Denny Aye.

Then it was off to College of Idaho as the combined classes at Clark and Chabot negated Clark accepting any of the four D-1 offers extended to him.

It was an easy on-court transition but far from anything he had ever experienced.away from basketball.

"The different culture and environment were quite an adjustment but I looked at it as a place where you grow up and become a man or fold," Potts explained.

Next was a short stint playing-for-pay in Ireland.

Potts returned to the Bay Area as "it wasn't what I expected."

Now it was time to turn an avocation into his life mission.

He began working as a skills trainer at The Triple Threat Academy in Hayward.

"A lot of people wanted to work out with me," Potts offered and soon he went out on his own, starting the KP Project, based on basketball skills development but also life mentorship.

Soon, he stable of trainees included Jabari (Missouri) Brown, Kiwi Gardner, Dominic (Oregon) Artis, T.J. Wallace, Elisha Davis, Brittany Boyd,Jabari (California) Bird, former UCLA backcourter Malcolm Lee and many others.

According to Potts, "These are many of the people I've grown relationships with, on and off the court."

He added, "I wanted to provide the atmosphere, the energy and the positive momentum to get players ready for the big stage. I don't work out everybody -- you need to buy into what we are trying to achieve."

The many sides of Wendell McKines

We don't even want a finder's fee -- just having it happen would be enough. 'It' being former New Mexico State star Wendell McKines, once his playing days are over, taking over the chair of Charles Barkley (he has to retire some time, right?) in performing NBA and college basketball television analysis. Talk about a merger of opportunity and talent.

That's something suggested to McKines during a recent interview with him. Let's just say he was amenable to such a step.

Currently playing for the SPO Rouen Basket, members of the Ligue National de Basketball in France, McKines is represented by the Bay Area-based Pensack Sports Management Group.

He was named the Player of the Month for February and McKines is performing quite well in March too so a second award could be in the offing.

What confounds some, especially those in and around Logan, Utah, is he and former Utah Stater Tai Wesley have paired up in Rouen as teammates. This, after mixed martial arts battles during their respective days in the Western Athletic Conference.

As McKines described his collegiate mano-a-mano minuets with Wesley: "I hated him and he hated me but we always respected each other's playing."

Plus, both had an inkling once it became known that the enemies would be pairing up -- "We knew we would play well together."

That they have.

In McKines' league, the top eight teams make the playoffs and SPO Rouen Basket is currently sixth in those rankings.

What has helped in his transition overseas is his wife and child are with him.

"They came over a couple of weeks after I got here," McKines explained. His team has supplied them with a car and a two bedroom apartment. SPO Rouen Basket also has a translator for basketball games and practices but some things are universal.

As McKines said, "you pick up key words as time goes on."

Asked about his toughest individual college opponents, he named Tai Wesley and former Nevada star Luke Babbitt.

With the former, "anytime a shot went up he faced guarded me and boxed me out." It was as if Wesley had but one task in their matchups and that was use a laser-like focus to stop McKines.

 It was different with Babbit.

"He's a legitimate 6-foot-9, lefthanded and he got quicker off the floor and added ruggedness his sophomore year," McKines recalled.

Regarding his time in Las Cruces, which included Big Dancin' in 2010 against Michigan State in a No. 12-seed/No. 5 seed pairing that involved a controversial late call which led to a Spartan 70-67 victory, he has a soft spot in his heart for Coach Marvin Menzies.

"He's my guy," McKines said. "Going into Las Cruces, I was fresh out of Richmond and raw. He let me learn from my mistakes and let me become a man. He helped me a lot as a person." 

McKines' game has also continued to develop. 

"I'm more balanced, with more finesse and I'm a lot more fluid with my shot. I can make more moves on the court."

But off the court, there's a side of McKines that shouldn't but would probably take some by surprise.

To a query about his child playing basketball, he responded, "I didn't have a choice. If up to me, I'm pushing becoming a doctor, a teacher or an entrepreneur."

He is also reflective and philosophical, someone who has witnessed a lot despite his youth and given a great deal of thought to his experiences.

"I take life really seriously. Every breath every day is a blessing. I really focus on being positive because a lot of kids in my community grow up not really cherishing life."

McKines continued with his counsel: "It's not all about fun. Do the hard things so that your life can be easier in the long run. Listen to people who care about you -- listen, listen, listen. You don't know everything as a teenager."

Asked what he would offer as recruiting advice to up-and-coming athletes, he said, "School should be your #1 priority. Take care of your responsibilities and listen to the people who have your best interests in mind."

He remains in contact with fellow Bay Area basketball stars. Among them are Tim Pierce, Drew Gordon, Diamon Simpson, Justin Graham, Frank Otis, Adrian Oliver, Quentin Thomas -- "I have a nice network of friends."

Posed with the question of how his friends would describe him, he tendered this label defying treasure: "it depends on the day. One day, I'm Wendell, the next day it's Wens-day. I don't want to be figured out."

McKines is bound for big things post-basketball. He is a man of many facets who to this day is inexplicably under-the-radar to many, but not for long.

Moor and Artis teaming up

Above is Aalim Moor III welcoming his "Lil Brah" Dominic 'DA' Artis, to San Jose (the Fairmont Hotel Lobby) after Oregon beat Oklahoma State University in the NCAA tournament last weekend.

DA's line in the victory was 13 points on 4-5 shooting, plus four steals.

The pair have been close friends and competitors for years as the photo above -- Moor's senior year and Artis' freshman season -- is from the old Civil War days of St. Mary's versus Salesian.

Did Howland's loyalty violation eventually cost him his job??

George Dohrmann pinpoints the factors that led to Ben Howland's firing at UCLA. A shift in loyalty, an element preached incessantly as a prerequisite by coaches, is presented as precipitating Howland's downfall.

Irvine falls to OR

UC Irvine was on the road last night to face Oral Roberts and lost 76-62 in a second-round CIT game. For the Anteaters, Will Davis went for 15 points, five boards and a pair of blocked shots. Teammate Chris McNealy posted an 11 point, five rebound line out of the backcourt.

The Broncos keep adding Ws

Santa Clara took win No. 23 on the season last night, downing the host Boilermakers of Purdue 86-83 as part of the CBI tournament. Senior backcourter Kevin Foster led the Broncos with 34 points while Niyi (Bellarmine Preparatory) Harrison posted an 11 rebound, five point, two blocked shots line.

Sharp lands D-1 scholarship

Michael Coit reports that current Santa Rosa Junior College sharpshooter and former Cardinal Newman High backcourter Bobby Sharp is Rose City bound.

Behind the Pleasant Grove headlines, many make it happen

Joe Davidson lauds one of the unsung figures behind Pleasant Grove High's run to the state championship.

The correct decision has been made in Stockton

Bob Highfill reports that the new head coach of Pacific basketball is moving over 18 inches from where he sat last season.

Congrats to Coach V as the family now has two D-1 head basketball coaches in its tree.

A look at the seasons for the Nor Cal talents on the Hornets

Sacramento State finished 14-15 overall, 8-12 in the Big Sky Conference this season (plus a marvelous 10-4 record at home) and Coach Brian Katz has a number of talents from northern California on his squad.

Here's a rundown on who achieved what:

* John (Fairfield High) Dickson, senior

29 starts/29 games, 27.4 minutes per outing, a team-leading 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, each time out, 40%, 30% and 76% shooting, plus a team-leading 27 blocked shots

* Konner (Placer High/UC Riverside) Veteto, senior

21 starts/28 games, 23.4 minutes per outing, 10.2 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds each time out, shooting 49% and 61%

* Mikh (Washington High/Ohlone) McKinney, sophomore

29 starts/29 games, 30.5 minutes per outing, 12.3 points and 3.3 rebounds each time out, shooting 40%, 37% and 81%, his 34 steals led the Hornets

* Cody (Pleasant Grove High) Demps, freshman

One start/29 games, 13.8 minutes per outing, 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds each time out, shooting 41%, 25% and 56% (but all of his shooting numbers improved during conference play)

Khion Sankey's 2012-13 season

So how did Khion (Newark Memorial High) Sankey perform this season as a junior for the Lipscomb Bisons of the Atlantic Sun Conference (the home of Florida Gulf Coast University)?

* 29 starts in 30 contests
* 29 minutes a game
* 8.3 points
* 7.0 rebounds (second on his team)
* 2.8 assists
* 1.4 steals (a team-leading average)
* shooting 51%, 50% and 32% respectively
* his 869 minutes of court time was second on the squad

Hunt chosen as top player

Drake High's Liam Hunt has been honored as the 2013 Marin Independent Journal's boys basketball player of the year.

Thomas honored

Jimmy Graben writes that Lindhurst's High Cedrick Thomas has been selected as the Appeal-Democrat's 2012-13 All-Area Player of the Year.

Who is next in Stockton?

Bob Highfill covers the big question hovering over Pacific basketball nowadays -- who follows Bob Thomason as head coach?

The Aztecs fall

San Diego State fell to Florida Gulf Coast University 81-71 yesterday, knocking the Aztecs out of the Big Dance. Senior Chase Tapley finished with 17 points while Xavier Thames concluded his junior season with eight points plus six assists.

Johnson nabs an offer

Heritage High's George Johnson recently took an official visit to San Francisco State University and that resulted in the 5-foot-10 backcourter's initial offer.

The Gators, led by Coach Paul Trevor, finished 16-12 overall, 13-9 (including a sparkling 9-2 at home) in the D-II California Collegiate Athletic Association in 2012-13. Other northern California members of the CCAA are Chico State, Humboldt State, Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay.

Below is Johnson in the 2013 Bambauer Classic in which he was named the most valuable player:


Below is Johnson's 2013 season mixtape: 

O'Neal gets offered

Freedom High's James O'Neal has received his first offer -- this from Chaminade University in Hawaii, a D-II school in the Pac West Conference. The 6-foot-3 backcourter averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists this past season with the Falcons. The league includes northern California members Notre Dame de Namur, Holy Names, Academy of Art University and Dominican University.

Miramonte High's 6-foot-5 Kiran Shastri and 6-foot-1 De'Von Boyd of Sacramento High signed with the Silverswords back in November.

The opening at Pacific

In Jagdip Dhillon's look at the open Pacific head coaching position, he writes: "...[Don] Verlin was the lead recruiter and signed guards T.J. Wallace and Raymond Bowles of Modesto Christian, and received verbal commitments from 6-foot-10 center Gabriel Aguirre of City College of San Francisco and 6-foot point guard David Taylor from Germany."

Didn't know that Aguirre had given a verbal.

Ambrosini honored

Per the Times-Standard, Fortuna High junior Nate Ambrosini has been named the Big Five Most Valuable Player.

Weber romps

Weber State grounded Air Force 78-57 last night despite no game-changing performances from its northern California guys. Frank Otis finished with five rebounds, four points (2-2 shooting), three assists and a pair of blocked shots while Davion Berry totaled seven points, six assists and five rebounds.

The results of tonight's championship prep games

* D-II Redondo Beach 54, College Park 47

Mitch Stephens, Bill Paterson, Glenn Reeves all game report.

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* D-IV Pacific Hills 58, Cardinal Newman 52

Mitch Stephens (scroll down a bit), Bill Paterson, Bay Preps and Phil Barber all game report.

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* Open Division Mater Dei 50, Archbishop Mitty 45

It was 24-22 in favor of the southern Californians at the half. Aaron Gordon finished with 22 points and 20 boards -- a double-double-double?

Darren Sabedra, Mitch Stephens, Joe Davidson, CalHiSports and Bay Preps game report.

Eli-SeanSmith serves up game reports on each of the matchups.

More on Will Cherry

Jimmy Durkin focuses on Will Cherry, and rightly so. When you put your stamp on a program, you will always be an icon in the lore of that school's basketball history.

Offer Cole Nordquist

From Philippe Doherty: "2013 6'5 Wing Cole Nordquist of Pleasant Grove HS is one of the most underrated players out West. Does everything on court. D1 CA State Ship"

Less is more for Love

Phil Barber features Cardinal Newman's Kenny Love.

San Diego State advances in Big Dance

San Diego State topped Oklahoma last night 70-55 with northern California talents Xavier Thames producing six rebounds, five points and four assists and Chase Tapley totaling 10 points, three boards and twp assists.

Who gets the opening at Pacific?

Bob Thomason is done with college coaching -- talk about a life change. So when will the next-in-line drama end?

'The Shabazz Muhammad Experience'

Ken Bensinger has an article up on what we will label 'The Shabazz Muhammad Experience' which contains all the good, bad and ugly of the life of a top college prospect. It is what it is -- the spectrum of American capitalism -- and what it will always be.

Game reports on Friday's prep games + previews for Saturday's contests

* Sacred Heart Cathedral falls 59-52 in overtime to St. Augustine

Bill Paterson, Bay Preps and Mitch Stephens game report.

* Pleasant Grove handles Santa Monica 73-57 to win the D-I state championship. 

Bill Paterson game reports.

* Horizon Christian by one, 47-46, versus St. Joseph Notre Dame

Bill Paterson, Bay Preps and Mitch Stephens (scroll down) game report.

Eli-Sean Smith/Nor Cal Preps is all over the trio of matchups.

CalHiSports covers all three games (it will take some scrolling down)

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For Saturday:

Bay Preps previews Mitty versus Mater Dei, with audio interviews

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Bay Preps preview the College Park - Redondo Union matchup, with audio interview

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Bob Padecky writes about Cardinal Newman High boys basketball, a program that sounds like the Duke of Sonoma County hoops in generating opposing fan reaction.

BobP also profiles Cardinal Newman Coach Tom Bonfigli in a tremendous human interest piece.

Kudos to Jagdip Dhillon

Jagdip Dhillon writes about Jordan (Bishop O'Dowd High) Turner and Thomas (Archbishop Mitty High) Peters, Aaron (Del Oro High) Hendricks and Reed (San Rafael High) Kamler - basketball walk-ons at Pacific who are part and parcel of the Tiger success this season. Good for him to offer recognition to all the human components making up Coach Bob Thomason's final season.

The Aztecs are well-repped by Thames & Tapley

Bill Paterson writes about the Thames and Tapley court firm leading San Diego State.

The prep basketball roundup

Call this opinion geographically biased but nobody is the California Gatorade Player of the Year other than Aaron Gordon.

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John Foletta reports that AD does NOT have Cal among his final schools (a Rivals sub is required to access the full article).

Mitch Stephens writes about AD and the Mitty - Mater Dei matchup.

Joe Davidson completes the AG trifecta with his article.

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Darren Sabedra covers the Mitty surrounding cast.

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Joe Davidson provides more press on the Pleasant Grove squad being "nurtured" by its "village" of sorts.

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Bay Preps serves up a superb roundup.

You might want to think about this

A Michael Clay tweet: "Just got off the phone with a Division 1 Asst. who told me he would no longer be recruiting a kid due to the content of some of his tweets"

Granted, you can bet the kid wasn't 7-foot-2 but this is something for youngsters to keep in mind.

Is a new job better than the one you have?

Scott Howard looks at the elements to consider in changing jobs as a coach.

ErnieD & Marvin -- not Nor Cal related but have tho throw this in here

ErnieD was my guy. Thick, short, lost races to statues but oh could he thread needles, even on wraparound passes. He was geometry in action. Yeah, well, I couldn't do any of that, except the statue thing, so he was me out there.

The great Charles D. Pierce salutes certain members of a Providence College team.

Can't miss posting the best Marvin Barnes anecdote: "There is the legendary story about the St. Louis Spirits getting ready to depart on a flight that left Louisville, Ky., at 8 p.m. and would get into St. Louis at 7:56 p.m. due to a time-zone change. Upon looking at the schedule, Barnes said, "I ain't getting on no time machine,'' and rented a car for the trip."

UC Davis' Nor Cal talents

A number of northern California talents dot the UC Davis roster -- here's how they performed during the recently concluded season:

 

* Ryan Sypkens, junior

14.1 points per game on 45%, 46% (106-230 on treys!) and 74% shooting plus 3.3 rebounds an outing -- the Davis SID needs to be beating the drum for Sypkens to be included on any national long distance markmen preview lists for next season.

 

*  J.T. Adenrele, sophomore

12.6 points per game on 56% and 66% shooting plus 5.9 rebounds a contest and a team-leading 46 blocked shots.

* Josh Ritchart, junior

7.8 points per game on 45%, 36% and 72% shooting plus 3.6 rebounds.

* Paolo Mancasola, senior

5.2 points per game on 39%, 29% and 65% shooting plus a team-leading 121 assists

Desmond Simmons' season

With the Washington Huskies season over, let's take a look at sophomore Desmond Simmons' production:

In 34 games with 14 starts, he averaged 4.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game, shooting 39%, 35% and 69% in an 18-16, 9-9 UW season.

A Malik Thames spring/summer update

A tweet from West Coast Hoops: "2013 Pleasant Grove HS Malik Thames will play this spring with Team Superstar as he awaits a qualifying test score"

Oregon wins

Oregon bested Oklahoma State 68-55 last night with a boost from point Dominic Artis. The freshman point totaled 13 points and four steals in 17 minutes of court time.

It's on to the second round of the Big Dance for the Ducks.

Meet the late Michael Smith

So many people who achieve great things go unheralded, some by choice. Michael Smith was one of them.

More press for Will Cherry

Jimmy Durkin features the Bay Area return of Will Cherry.

Bay Preps' previews

Bay Preps peeks at a pair of the upcoming prep matchups:

* Cardinal Newman versus Pacific Hills

* St. Joseph Notre Dame versus Horizon Christian

CalHiSports Miss Cleo-ing for Saturday's matchups

CalHiSports looks at Saturday's pairings (predicting 1-2).

CalHiSports all about tomorrow's games

The CalHiSports folks serves up their takes (the predictions are 2-1) on Friday's contests.

PG is having fun

Joe Davidson writes about Pleasant Grove hoops enjoying the ride.

It's SHC hoops coming at you

Mitch Stephens covers both of SHC teams (the boys content will take some scrolling down) reaching for state titles.

Cardinal Newman's opportunity

Phil Barber is all over Cardinal Newman's going after a state championship on Saturday.

Weber rolls

Weber State manhandled Cal Poly 85-43 (45-18 in the first half)  last night in Ogden. Davion Berry totaled 12 points and two board while Frank Otis filled the stat sheet via seven rebounds, six points and two assists. The Wildcats will host Air Force next in the CIT.

Davis goes 'en fuego'

Will Davis exploded for a career high 32 points to power UC Irvine to an 80-71 CIT victory last night over High Point. He also contributed 14 rebounds. Chris McNealy went for 11 points and a trio of rebounds. 

Manley aids latest Kent State victory

Host Kent State got past Fairfield 73-71 last night with Devareaux (Castlemont High) Manley making the most of his 10 minutes of playing time: five points, two rebounds, two assists in an opening round CIT contest..

Cherry and winning

Remember those who sneered when Will Cherry left the Bay Area for Montana? It was like that Pace salsa commercial dissing New York City. Well, check out this Jimmy Durkin tweet: "In #Montana's @willcherry5's last seven seasons, his teams have combined to reach three #NCAATournaments and three #CIF state title games"

No, it isn't true that Cherry's middle name is Winner.

A prodigal son returning?

Might Eric Musselman desire to return to the Bay Area? San Jose State University has opening. Adam Green reports on what Arizona State AD Steve Patterson is saying.

April training with Jeremy Russotti

Skill Training U is coming back to the Bay Area

Nationally Recognized Skill Development Trainer, Jeremy Russotti, is bringing back his Skill Training U event back to the Bay Area. Jeremy travels the world putting together Professional Development Skill Development clinics for various countries, federations, colleges, and for the public.

Skill Training U is 14 hours of on court training, covering every facet of individual skill development. It also includes a 32-page curriculum syllabus that all participants receive. Says Jeremy, "all too often coaching clinics just focus on Xs and Os and mask the real reason your team isn't successful - your players are just not skilled enough. Skill Training U will change any program once implemented within the first season/off-season. There is more info passed along for a coaches career in one weekend."

The local event will be in Solano County Area (Vallejo) April 27th-28th. Please visit Skill Training U for more details. Also, the event can be viewed LIVE or ON DEMAND via the internet (Web Streaming) for those that want to stay at home. We limit the event to 35 spots and currently have over 25 guaranteed spots taken by three different local AAU Teams. This event will sell out, just like our last event in the Bay Area.

Below are other dates of Skill Training U events:

* March 30-31: New Zealand, NZL
* April 19-21: Vancouver, Canada
* April 27-28: Bay Area (Vallejo)
* May 17 - 19: Los Angeles
* July (TBA): University of Memphis
* August 3-4: Colombia, South America
* Fall 2013: University of Alabama
* Fall 2013: University of Washington
* Fall 2013: Indiana

For information, email info@skilltrainingu.com, or sign up at Skill Training U , or call Jeremy at (707) 849-1212

The 2012-13 Coast Conference North honorees

2012-13 Coast Conference (North) honorees:

Coach of the Year - Justin Labagh (San Francisco)

MVP: Delon Wright, San Francisco

First Team

* Stephen (Serra High) Grosey, Foothill

* Chris (Castro Valley High) Read, Ohlone

* Quincy (Deer Valley High) Smith, San Francisco

* Gabriel Aguirre, San Francisco

* Henry McCarthy, Ohlone

* Dulani (McClymonds High) Robinson, San Francisco

* Daryl (Mills High) Wong, Foothill

* Joe (Jefferson High) Scott, Skyline

* Jacob (Amador Valley High) Contreras, Las Positas

* Greg Brown, Chabot

Honorable Mention

* Marquis (Fremont High-Oakland) Glenn, Cañada

* Suhail (Carlmont High) Mohammadi, Foothill

* Casey (Newark Memorial High) Norris, Ohlone

* Fredrik Boehn, Ohlone

* John (San Leandro High) Darwin, Chabot

* Brandon (Mills High) Berkovatz, Skyline

* Brendan (St. Lawrence High) Carroll, Foothill

The 2012-13 Bay Valley Conference honorees

The 2012-13 Bay Valley Conference honorees are:

Coach of the Year - Doug Cornelius, Yuba College

MVP - Akachi (Jesuit High) Okugo, Yuba College

First Team

* Chris (Center High) Smith, Yuba College

* Jaysen Williams, Yuba College

* Achoki Moikobu, Yuba College

* Davion (Salesian High) Mize, Contra Costa College

* Larry (Vallejo High) Wicket, Contra Costa College

* Joshua (Berkeley High) Amey, Merritt College

* Eric (El Cerrito High) Nelson, Merritt College

* Kevin Charles, Mendocino College

* LeQuan (Fairfield High) Gomes, Solano College

* Nick (Freedom High) Blount, Los Medanos College

* Joey (Casa Grande High) Rodriguez, College of Marin

* Rashaad (Rodriguez High) Allen, College of Marin

A look at a trio of Fresno State Bulldogs

With the Fresno State basketball season over, it's time to look at the output of a trio of Bulldogs with northern California ties:

* Tyler (St. Francis High) Johnson, junior

Just under 30 minutes a game as a starter, 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists an outing, shooting 46%, 40% and 71% overall

* Jerry (Sacred Heart Cathedral) Brown, junior

Just under 25 minutes a game, 5.3 points, 4.3 points and 1.2 steals an outing, shooting 40% and 62% overall

* Tanner (Windsor High) Giddings, freshman

Just over 14 minutes a game, 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds an outing, shooting 41% and 46% overall

A trio of Nor Cal Highlanders

With UC Riverside's season having concluded, it's time to take a look at three Nor Cal-connected Highlanders and their accomplishments:

*  Josh Fox, freshman

In just under 27 minutes a game, he averaged 9.3 points and 6.5 rebounds an outing, shooting 46%, 64% and 36%

* Taylor Johns, freshman

In 21 minutes a game, he averaged 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds an outing, shooting 49% and 63% plus a team-leading 26 blocked shots in 24 contests

* Lucas Devenney, junior

In 15 minutes a game, he averaged 1.8 points and 3.8 rebounds an outing, shooting 45% and 35%

Hail St. Mary's

Patrick Stevens has St. Mary's as a Big Dance Cinderella.

Frank Otis' classy move

Big Sky Basketball has an interesting post involving a classy act by Frank Otis.

St. Mary's advances

St. Mary's met up with Middle Tennessee in Dayton and the result was a 67-54 victory for the Gaels and advancement into the Big Dance. Matthew Dellavedova went for 22 points and Stephen Holt 18 as Coach Randy Bennett's guys won both 20-minute segments, 29-20 and 38-34.

Now it's on to Auburn Hills, Michigan to face Memphis.

Santa Clara moves on

Host Santa Clara took down Vermont 77-67 last night to advance in the College Invitational Tournament. It was a senior night of sorts for the Broncos as guard Kevin Foster went off with 23 points and frontcourter Marc Trasolini finished with 20. Coach Kerry Keating's crew shot 51% overall and 22-28 from the foul line.

The California Community College All State honorees

Here you go:

North Coach of the Year: Justin Labagh  (San Francisco)

Player of the Year: Delon Wright (San Francisco)
 
First Team:

* Alex Perez (Fresno)
* Colin (Harbor High) Gruber (Cabrillo)
* Akachi (Jesuit High) Okugo (Yuba)
* Bobby (Cardinal Newman High) Sharp (Santa Rosa)
* Charles Jackson (Lassen)
* Charles (Capital Christian High) Standifer (Cosumnes River)
* Bill Borekambi (Sequoias)
* Stephen (Serra High) Grosey (Foothill)
* Chris (Castro Valley High) Read (Ohlone)
* Quincy (Deer Valley High) Smith (San Francisco)
      
Honorable Mention:

* Gabe Aguirre (San Francisco)
* Devon Bay (Lassen)
* Drew Brandon (Sierra)

+++++
+++++

South Coach of the Year: Jeff Klein (Chaffey)

Player of the Year: Corey Allen (Mt. SAC).  

First Team:

* Zalmico Harmon (Ventura)
* David Nwaba (Santa Monica)
* Justin Long (Chaffey)
* McKay LaSalle (Saddleback)
* Anthony Holliday (Cerritos)
* Joe Vaz (Palomar)
* Garret Nevels (Mt. Sac)
* Gerry Blakes (San Bernardino Valley)
* Jaylen Bland (Canyons)
* Demetrius Thomas (Hancock)

Honorable mention:

* Josh Smith (Saddleback)
* Dejaun Ervin (Palomar)
* Michaelyn Scott (Antelope Valley)
* Jaree Crawford (East LA)

The all-tournament team from the State Community College Final Four

Here is the All-Tournament team based on play in the State Community College Final Four:

*Garrett Nevels, Mt. SAC (MVP)

* Quincy (Deer Valley High) Smith, CCSF
* Marcus (Bishop O'Dowd High) Green, Merritt
* Ryan Nitz, Chaffey
* Justin Long, Chaffey
* Corey Allen, Mt. SAC

A recap of the JC Championship game

Mt. San Antonio State Champs
by Robert Schmidt 
March 18 2013

Mt. San Antonio College tallied the highest score in California Community College Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship Game history Sunday afternoon to win its first title, defeating Chaffey College of Rancho Cucamonga, 102-88, at the Cosumnes River College Community and Athletic Center.

Garrett Nevels (out of Palisades Charter High School) had 32 points and Corey Allen (St. Louis-Ritenour) had 25 points and eight assists to lead the Mounties in scoring. Forward Cliff Sims (Compton High) pulled down a game-high ten rebounds. All are Mt. SAC sophomores. Nevels, a 6-2 guard, was the tournament MVP and the 6-2 Allen also made the all-tourney team.

Chaffey (27-7) was led by all-tournament guards Justin Long, 23 points, and Ryan Nitz, 15 points – both sophomore guards from Rancho Cucamonga High School.

Mt. SAC (29-3) led by as many 23 points, 58-35, with 15:22 left in the game. But the Panthers came back to close to within eight points at 83-75 with 3:35 to play on a three-point play by Long. A seven-point run by the Mounties then led to the victory.

Mt. San Antonio led, 41-29, at the half and then scored the first three baskets after the intermission to quickly increase the margin to 19 points.

Chaffey had led early, 11-7. Mt. SAC took the lead for good at 15-13 with 13:12 left in the half on two technical foul shots by Allen following a game tying dunk by Chaffey’s Adom Jacko, who was called for hanging on the rim.

Mt. SAC shot nearly 70 per cent (37 of 53) from the field – and 86.4 per cent in the second half.

The 190 points were the highest two-team total in a state final. The only previous 100 point score was Bakersfield 100, City College of San Francisco 85 (for a thenrecord 185 points) in 1978.

This was the time the Mounties had reached the state finals since 1955 — their only previous appearance — when they lost to Fresno, 88-85. It was Chaffey first state title game appearance.

Gill & Waldow featured

Pacific's Tony Gill and St. Mary's Brad Waldow get the feature treatment from Joe Davidson.

Gill, out of Cosumnes River College, was named the Most Valuable Player in the Big West Conference tournament.

The Nor Cal teams are the underdogs

Mitch Stephens has news and notes on the upcoming Nor Cal - So Cal prep championship pairings, focusing on how the southerners are favored.

Here's the schedule.

More on PG's defeat of DV

It's a little dated by now but Brandon Tatera goes long on Pleasant Grove's victory over Deer Valley High on Saturday.

The Humboldt - Del Norte prep basketball honorees

Arcata High's Will Taylor has been named the Times-Standard's boys basketball Most Valuable Player -- Danny Penza reports, and he has all the other honorees too.

Meet Brian Bhaskar, a Gonzaga Zag

Embele Awipi writes about a Stevenson High graduate, how he came to walk-on to the Gonzaga basketball team and his experiencing March Madness first hand.

Multiple honors for Brian Goins

Former Diablo Valley College star backcourter Brian Goins, now at Cal State University San Bernardino, was honored thrice recently. From the CSUSB athletics site:

"The Concord native was a first-team All-California Collegiate Athletic Association choice and named the conference's Newcomer of the Year. He averages 15.7 points a game and has scored in double figures in 22 of his 26 games and scored 20 or more points in eight games"

Plus, Goins was named to the:

"Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region Men's Basketball second-team"

He scored 23 points in the West Regional tournament opening game on Friday to lead the Coyotes to a 75-69 victory over Dixie State.

CSUSB plays again on Wednesday.

Casey Arent is Big Dancin'

 (From left, Oklahoma's Casey Arent, Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger react after learning their NCAA college basketball tournament assignment during a Selection Sunday viewing party in Norman, Okla., Sunday, March 17, 2013. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Nate Billings)

After attending Del Oro High and then Sierra College, 6-foot-10 Casey Arent headed off to Oklahoma. Now a senior, he and his Sooners are playing San Diego State on Friday as part of March Madness.

The 2012-13 Golden Valley Conference honorees

The 2012-13 Golden Valley Conference basketball honorees:

MVP - Charles (Grant High) Jackson, Lassen College

Coach of The Year: Devin Aye, Lassen College

First Team

* Devon Bey, Lassen College
* LeRoy (Castlemont High) Anderson, Lassen College
* Devon (Foothill High) Crisosto, Feather River College
* Andrew Lotts, Feather River College
* James (Enterprise High) Williams, Shasta College
* Stevonte (Hayward High) Young, Shasta College
* Josh Rolls-Tyson, Butte College
* Kenneth (Chico High) McMillian, Butte College
* John Bigelow, College of the Siskiyous
* Beau (Cloverdale High) Gastineau, College of the Redwoods
* Garrick Wilson, Lassen College

Honorable Mention

* Jon (Ferndale High) Losa, College of the Redwoods
* Watkins Williams, College of the Siskiyous
* Aaron Brown, Feather River College
* Monte Luenen, ShastaCollege
* Justin McBride, Lassen College

The 2012-13 Big Eight Conference honorees

The 2012-13 Big 8 Conference basketball honorees:

* Charles (Capital Christian High) Standifer, Cosumnes River College

* Chris (Laguna Creek High) Carvin, American River College

* Ryan (Oak Ridge High) Mastella, Sacramento City College

* Bobby (Cardinal Newman High) Sharp, Santa Rosa Junior College

* Max (Analy High)Fujii, Santa Rosa Junior College

* Mitch (Harbor High) Postle, San Joaquin Delta College

* Alex (St. Mary's High) Simmons, San Joaquin Delta College

* Chad (Center High) Haysbert, American River College

* Connor Gillett, Santa Rosa Junior College

* Drew Brandon, Sierra College

* Gabe Finley, Sierra College

Najee honored

Former Berkeley High talent Khufu Najee, now a sophomore at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, was named a Western State North Division First Team honoree for his performance this season.

Aronis breaking out his Big Dance shoes

Howard Senzel serves up a feature on former Santa Rosa Junior College backcourter Kevin Aronis going Big Dancin' with New Mexico State.

In fact, SRJC Coach Craig McMillan and his production line of guards also has other members in March Madness.

Mitty and Mater Dei redux

Darren Sabedra goes back to the future in Archbishop Mitty - Materi Dei matchups. It's a facinating history between the teams.

Santa Clara versus the Catamounts

Santa Clara will roll out the welcome wagon Tuesday night for Vermont as part of the College Basketball Invitational tournament.

It's Cherry time on Thursday

Montana (meaning Will Cherry) is in the Big Dance and facing Syracuse on Thursday in San Jose. Any chance there will be a Cherry-designated fan section?

St. Mary's gets a play-in game

It's Tuesday versus Middle Tennessee State for the Gaels and the winner then faces Memphis on Thursday.

Pacific versus Miami

Hey, it's Pacific going up against Miami of the ACC on Friday.

Don't even want to think of this now but the next Tiger coach will now be finding extra large shoes to fill.

More on Chaffey - CCSF

Mel Grussing checks in on the Chaffey - Sity College of San Francisco game.

The 2012-13 Coast Conference South honorees

The Coast Conference South 2012-13 honorees are: