The JoJo McGlaston mystery is solved

Derrick Jones tweeted: "Want to welcome @j2smooth_24 to DVC as a redshirt for 15-16 season. He will be pursuing his AA degree in order to return to the D1 level!"

The road less traveled

So who spent the spring and summer in this manner?

* Sought out a quality, pull-no-punches skills evaluation

* Noted pluses but especially appreciated the minuses

* Worked like the dickens on those minuses by seeking out someone (coach, trainer) whose training could help in those areas

* Sought out a travel team opportunity offering a solid opportunity to earn playing time, one that actually practiced during the week and ran an offensive and defensive system

* As a result of all the above, returning to the high school team as a more skilled, higher IQ player -- a more attractive prospect

An Aaron Gordon update

Fran Blinebury writes about the connected increase in Aaron Gordon's comfort level and skill levels.

The 2015-16 Diablo Valley College Vikings

Coach Steve Coccimiglio is back once again with a new version of his DVC Vikings.

Below is the alphabetized roster from the July Nor Cal JUCO Summer Jamboree:

* Damien Banford, 6-foot-7, sophomore, Newark Memorial High

* Damien Coleman, 6-foot-8, sophomore, Freedom High

* Geo Carleton, 6-foot-5, sophomore, El Cerrito High

* Jacques Carraway, 6-foot-7, sophomore, McClymonds High

* Spencer Clark, 6-foot-5, sophomore, Concord High

* Kevin Crosno, 6-foot-5, freshman, College Park High

* Steve Daly, 6-foot-5, freshman, College Park High

* Remy Dillard, 6-foot-3, freshman, Reno

* John Dong, 6-foot-1, freshman, Northgate High

* Mohammed Gilchrist, 6-foot, freshman, Averroes High

* Jerell Handley, 6-foot-1, sophomore, De La Salle High

* Reggie Mixon, 6-foot-3, sophomore, Capital Christian High

* Robert Tarvins, 6-foot-4, freshman, Seventh Day

* Will Phillips, 6-foot-3, sophomore Kipp King High

The 2015-15 San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs

Coach Rich Ressa returns minus his Big Three of Jordan Belasco, Dwayne Lee and Troy Anderson but the Mustangs program is resilient and Ressa's guys will play their their style of ball regardless of what an opponent attempts.

Here's the alphabetized July roster which may or may not be the one in November:

* Christian Allen, 6-foot-2, freshman, Franklin High

* Mike Anderson, 6-foot, freshman, Lincoln High

* Corey Demourelle, 5-foot-9 sophomore, Ben Holt College Prep Academy

* Mark Dewitt, 5-foot-9, redshirt freshman, Millennium High

* Lonnie Ellis, 6-foot-4, freshman, Stagg High

* D.J. Gentry, 5-foot-9, freshman, Chavez High

* Jamel Kelley, 6-foot-4, sophomore, Edison High

* David Lerma, 5-foot-9, freshman, Elliott Christian High

* Trey Merriwether, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Vacaville Christian High.

* Justin Nieto, 6-foot, sophomore, East Union High

* Nick Obazuaye, 6-foot-3, freshman, Lathrop High

* Hector Silva, 5-foot-9, freshman, Delano High

* Benjamin Simi, 6-foot-4, sophomore, Lodi High

* Alex Smith, 6-foot-4, freshman, St. Mary's High

* Shamar Swanson, 6-foot, freshman, Weston Ranch High

* Zach Zeyen, 6-foot-4, sophomore, St. Mary's High

The 2015-16 Contra Costa College Comets

Contra Costa College Coach Miguel Johnson has some quality additions heading into the new season but, as is mandated at this time of the year, keep in mind that a July roster is not necessarily a November one.

Here are the Nor Cal JUCO Summer Jamboree Comets in alphabetical order:

* Jeremiah Alston, 6-foot-4, freshman, San Lorenzo High

* Karjuan Brown, 6-foot, freshman, DeAnza High

* Horace Carter, 6-foot-1, freshman, Lincoln High

* Jalen Dominique, 6-foot-3, freshman, Mt. Eden High

* Maurice Hanks, 6-foot-3, freshman, Will C. Wood High

* Rae Jackson, 6-foot-1, freshman, El Cerrito High

* Tristan Lacy, 6-foot-2, freshman, Nevada

* Pekelo McKenzie, 5-foot-9, sophomore, Hercules High

* Brandon Seals, 5-foot-11, freshman, Castro Valley High

* Donte Smith, 6-foot-7, sophomore, International Studies Academy

* Anthony Sullen, 6-foot-2, sophomore, El Cerrito High

* Bobby Syvanthong, 5-foot-11, sophomore, El Cerrito High

* Danzell Walker, 5-foot-11, sophomore, Fairfield High

* Larry Wickett, 6-foot-4, sophomore, Vallejo High

* Dwight Wilson Jr., 5-foot-8, freshman, Newark Memorial High

Brown with Bruins offer

Via Josh Gershon: "#UCLA has offered 2018 Roseville (Calif.) Woodcreek PF Jordan Brown."

When will he hit the national press?

Brown comes in #31 in Ronnie Flores' Las Vegas Top 50 rankings. He's the sole northern California prospect listed.

The Tigers offer Flynn

TEAM A.C.C.E.S.S. posted: "2016 PG Malachi Flynn receives D-1 offer from the University of the Pacific (of the West Coast Conference)."

Posted this on July 15 about UC Davis and Flynn.

More minutes available at San Diego State

Mark Ziegler authored "SDSU's Matt Shrigley tears ACL."

Wrigley is a wing/backcourter shooter and this appeared in the article: "...Junior wing Dakarai Allen has worked hard on his shot and is said to be showing noticeable improvement as well. There’s also 6-4 junior walk-on Parker U’u, an excellent shooter who is recovering from his own reconstructive surgery last February..."

Golson officially announced

Cal State Dominguez Hills makes it official with former CCSF guard Vincent Golson.

A Walters Q-and-A

USF athletics serves up a Q-and-A with Coach Rex Walters. It's hard to understand why more programs don't do this, especially in the off-season.

A Zen Maki update

Monterey Peninsula College Men's Basketball has a new photo up of former Lobo and Sonoma State graduate Zen Maki starting up his professional career in Japan. Hit this link.

Good for him

Marc J. Spears broke this news: "The Rockets have agreed to terms with free agent center Chuck Hayes on a one-year veteran's minimum deal, sources told Yahoo Sports."

Bay Area Fall Classic - Events By Select

2015 Events by Select / 4th Annual "FALL CLASSIC"

EVENT FLIER   ///   REGISTER

Presented by "Events by Select"

SEPTEMBER 26-27 @ "JAMTOWN" (multi-court facility) Jack London / 31 4th St / Oakland CA 94607

PLUS ADDITIONAL COLLEGE CAMPUS LOCATIONS

COMMITTED ORGANIZATIONS:

- Team Select   - SF Rebels   - EB Swag   - EB Nets   - Vision   - Bay City   - BA Mambas   - Vipers  

- Pro City   - PLUS MANY MANY MORE

(9U-VAR BOYS & GIRLS / DIV 1 & DIV 2 / ALREADY 50+ TEAMS / DO NOT WAIT)

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY:

All Championship games for all divisions will funnel into one HUB @ JAMTOWN for "CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY" which will feature MUSIC / GRANT HS DRUMLINE ~ MR V / GREAT AWARDS / MULTIPLE VENDORS / GREAT FOOD / MEDICAL TRAINER / ETC.

(CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY GIVES THIS EVENT A RARE VIBE UNLIKE ANY OTHER)

CONTACT / REGISTER:

RUBEN GARCIA / 925) 367-3912

info@TeamSelectbasketball.com

www.TeamSelectBasketball.com

"Foundation for Excellence; On the Court, in the Class Room, in Life"

Diaz hoops retires

From Lester Diaz, Play Hard Play Smart coach: "Basketball is over and I'm officially retired! I will concentrate on getting a after school business program for our youth.  Keep it classy."

Santa Cruz Advanced Basketball Training August 10-21

ADVANCED BASKETBALL TRAINING IN SANTA CRUZ 

We are reaching out to each and every High School, Junior College and College basketball player in Northern California to announce our unique Advanced Basketball Training Program. Over 5 days, We will Show You Exactly What it Takes To Train For and Succeed at College Basketball. Whether you are a standout high school player with college hoop dreams, or a current college player looking for an edge, we will lay the fundamental groundwork for you to earn a spot within, or excel at, college basketball.

 SIGN UP NOW - ADVANCED BASKETBALL TRAINING

Over the course of one week working with our staff, you will spend 10 hours on the court with a former NBA coach, 10 hours in the weight room with a professional Strength Coach, 5 hours on the court with a collegiate shooting coach and 2.5 hours in the classroom with a mental performance professional. For those of you not yet at the college level, you will receive a 1 hour lecture from college coaches, detailing the recruiting process and how your grades, test scores and attitude can enhance your college prospects.

After attending our 5-day intensive and comprehensive program in our Santa Cruz training facilities, your work ethic and training habits will be elevated for years to come. Our integrative approach to basketball development will refine your ball handling, sharpen your shooting, optimize your footwork, improve your agility, strengthen your body and toughen your mind. Using our decades worth of experience working with athletes and teams at the Pro, College and High School level, we will show you EXACTLY what it takes to train for and compete at any level of college basketball.

WHAT DOES A DAY LOOK LIKE

OUR DAILY SCHEDULE:

9AM - On Court Training 

11AM - Nutrition Overview and Lunch 

12AM - Mental Training 

 1PM - Weight Room Functional Movement and Agility Training 

 3PM - Active Recovery, Stretching, Foam Rolling and Recovery Shake 

 4PM - Shooting 

 5PM - End of Training Day 

PRICING

15 Hours of Training with a former NBA Coach

(15x$80 = $1,200 value) 

10 Hours of Functional Fitness + Agility & Power Training with a Certified Strength Coach

(10x$65 = $650) 

3 Hours of Mental Training

(3x$125 = $375) 

5 Lunches in UC Santa Cruz Organic dining halls + Nutrition Seminars

(5x10 = $50) 

Registration for our Advanced Basketball Training will be open for a limited time. Our player centered and personalized style of training will limit enrollment numbers. Sign up now to reserve your spot. After working daily with our professional staff, and for less than $100 per day, your training habits and work ethic will be transformed for years to come. We have no age minimum or maximum. We ask that each player be comfortable competing at the high school varsity level of basketball or higher. This could include standout 8th-10th graders, Varsity, JUCO or College Players.

SIGN UP NOW - ADVANCED BASKETBALL TRAINING

Please contact us immediately with any questions you may have. We are available by phone, text or email. We look forward to enhancing your basketball futures,

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Advanced Basketball Training
707-318-3217 (call or text)
advancedbballtraining@gmail.com

The 2015-16 Cañada College Colts

Coach Mike Reynoso is back with the latest version of his Cañada College crew. A year after making a Final Four appearance, the Colts have a few returnees plus a number of new faces especially in the frontcourt.

Do keep in mind that this is a July roster and November's will be different as Frankie Ferrari will be one addition:

* Chris Bene, 6-foot-7, freshman, Sequoia High

* Case DuFrane, 6-foot-8, freshman, Half Moon Bay High

* Juan Ford, 6-foot-3, freshman, Ohio

* Brian Garrett, 6-foot-5, sophomore, St. Francis High

* John Mayuga, 5-foot-10, freshman Westmoor High

* Brian Montgomery, 6-foot-7, freshman, Terra Nova High

* Rodrigo Puliceno, 6-foot-5, sophomore, Burlingame High

* Andre Robinson, 6-foot-5, freshman, San Mateo High

* Paul Smoot, 6-foot-2, freshman, Serra High

* James Testa, 6-foot-3, sophomore, Carlmont High

* Khareym Watson, 6-foot-3, freshman, Tracy High

The Dons want Slater

Verbal Commits posted: "2016 Immanuel (CA) G Colin Slater has received an offer from San Francisco."

He would be a great get: outstanding young man and student, plays his role as a point and has always been a winner.

Here's an April feature.

HSU Coach Kinder nabs another recruit

Humboldt State signs L.J. Harrie, a 6-foot-3 southern California prep guard.

Here's an April feature on the young man.

Seaside's Finest triumphs

The Seaside's Finest squad won their 17U Boys Copper Elite bracket via four straight wins at the recent Big Foot Hoops tournament in Las Vegas. The Jason Hieb-coached crew topped Montana Select White team in the title game Sunday after turning back Dallas Showtyme Gold, Titan Varsity Rich and the Grand Rapids Storm Kings.

Killingsworth tripping to Morningside Heights

From Doug Benton/Nor Cal Preps: "Serra/@LakeshowAAU 2016 F Jake Killingsworth will officially visit Columbia on the weekend of August 15."

Coach Kyle Smith reaching out to the Bay Area of his roots once again.

Hewitt lands an Ivy offer

Peter Hewitt of St. Francis High tweeted: "Excited to announce I've received an offer from Brown University!"

Just a guess but the lure of the Ivies League will win out, whether it's Brown or another member.

Much gaining in popularity

Via AMHS Men's Basketball: Sebastian Much is collecting offers - the latest are from Sam Houston State, Portland and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Much is in the 2017 class and stands 6-foot-6.

McKinney to Belgium

From Hornet Athletics: Mikh McKinney will play in Belgium. What a great story his is so read some more.

Below is a video interview:


The path to becoming a division I basketball standout hasn't been an easy one for Bay Area native Mikh McKinney. With Sacramento State's best start since making the move to division I, McKinney talks to Sheila Mikailli about how his journey helped shape him into the leader he is today, channeling Klay Thompson in his outstanding performance against Weber State, and what it’s going to take to get his team to the championship this season.

William Jessup with another signee

William Jessup University Coach Lance Von Vogt has signed a 6-foot-6 foreign talent who played for Saddleback College, the 2014-15 state champion.

Johnson staying with Miami

Tyler (St. Francis High/Fresno State) Johnson's contract will be picked up by the Heat.

NBA coaches entering the college ranks

Avery Johnson, Mark Price, Chris Mullin and Eric Musselman have each reversed what was once the trend.

Back to school: NBA coaches return to college ranks
C.L. Brown, ESPN Staff Writer

Avery Johnson thumbed through a roster book at a recent recruiting stop, searching for a player's biography while the night's final game began. Tipoff was close to 10 p.m., a time when many of the players perform like they're in a hurry to get it over with, and bleary-eyed coaches are only staying courtside for appearance's sake.

Johnson knew very well there would be nights like this. He just sat through them two years ago while his son, Avery, auditioned for college coaches during the summer's live recruiting periods. Now he sits through them as the new head coach at Alabama.

"People talk about the grind of being on the road for July with these AAU tournaments," Johnson said. "There's nothing like the grind of an NBA season when you're playing four games in five nights -- and that's consistently all during the season. We're up for the challenge, and we're excited about it."

"In the past, at least in my experience, colleges have been a little reluctant to hire NBA guys simply because it's such a different deal," Price said. "I'm excited to see more schools are starting to look because I think you're getting really quality basketball people."

Price, who had his No. 25 jersey retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers, served most of his time as a shooting coach in the NBA before becoming an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets last season. Price has never been a head coach, and spent all of one season in the college ranks -- as an assistant coach for his alma mater Georgia Tech in 1999-2000.

Mullin answered the call of his alma mater having never been on the sidelines. He spent all of his post-playing career in front offices, in stints with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

These coaches got an authentic college welcome when they had to take and pass the NCAA compliance test before they were cleared to recruit. And as Price would attest, the recruiting experience is far different from what he remembered when he went through the process. "It used to be call the parents, call the high school coach," Price said. "A couple of kids that we've called, they give you this list of like five guys to call."

The list can include AAU coaches, personal trainers and other advisers, many of whom are cultivating players' NBA dreams. That brought Price to another big difference in recruiting. "Everybody thinks they're going to be a pro now," he said. "It doesn't matter who they are."

Despite being inexperienced in the college game, there's a noted advantage for the former pros in college coaching: instant credibility and recognition. Most of the players they're recruiting weren't born when Mullin played on the Dream Team in 1992 or when Price was still in uniform, but their parents know their credentials, and the players respect their NBA résumés.

"Having an NBA background is impactful to high school players, to transfers -- it's been a huge benefit," Musselman said. "The big thing for guys like Avery and guys that have been NBA head coaches -- that completely separates you from someone who has just spent time in the NBA."

Johnson and Musselman increased the list to 12 current college head coaches who are former NBA head coaches. The majority of that list -- including Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kentucky's John Calipari and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton -- established themselves at the college level before taking an NBA opportunity.

Musselman's approach was a bit different from his peers'. From 1989 to 2012 he coached in an assortment of pro leagues, including the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Rather than jump right into the college head coaching ranks, the former Warriors (2002-04) and Kings (2006-07) head coach first returned to campus as an assistant in 2012 with Arizona State. He spent last season at LSU before being hired at Nevada in March.

"Without having been an assistant coach, I think it would be really, really difficult -- at least for me -- to have gone from the pro game to the college game," Musselman said.

For starters, paperwork is almost a daily part of being a head coach in college. So is compliance, a word rarely heard in NBA front offices. Some coaches who have spent the majority of their careers on NBA sidelines might not be up for that challenge.

The NBA is about business. Nowhere is that more evident than in the relationships between players and management.

"Obviously in the NBA I think some coaches can get close with the players, but oftentimes you land in a city, everyone goes into their own hotel room in the Ritz-Carlton," Musselman said. "You see guys at practice, you see guys at games and then they go home. So the personal relationship is so much different in college when a person is going from a young man to an adult."

That's why Johnson figured the trend of professional coaches returning to the college ranks can only get so big. He said the supervision and guidance unrelated to basketball is a challenge not everyone wants. "College coaching is fathering," Johnson said. "It's teaching, it's mentoring.

"Not everyone wants the responsibility of having to recruit and check up on the academic side of things. That's why going from the NBA to college is all about finding the right fit."

Reporting, editorializing and the chasm in between

Jim Cavan writes about his reporting methodology.

Does objectivity exist? Can an article actually be written with such as its underpinning? Or is every utterance/word simply biased because it emerges from a human being?

Is a division between editorializing and reporting necessary? important? critical?

Is there nothing off limits? Is what Cavan writes about the play of Raymond Felton also applicable in describing the efforts of say a high schooler or junior high sports performer?

Lots of questions, not necessarily answers.

Team Rampage starting 8th grade squad

The Team Rampage Basketball Club, is now expanding to 8th grade (class of 2020) after only having a 17U Varsity team. Head Coach Brandon Bracy is looking for the top 8th Graders in Northern California, to come try out for the team on August 13th and August 20th at 7pm at the Mare Island Sportscenter in Vallejo, CA. For more information contact Coach Bracy at (707) 816-1196 or Brandondemetrusbracy@yahoo.com

Coach Bob Walsh and Las Vegas

Coach Bob Walsh doesn't leave in Vegas what transpired there for him and his coaches. Read it and you'll understand it's not all fun and joy especially for the mid-level and lower coaches. However, it's a different scene for Coach K, Roy Williams and the like as they only need to make appearances at a few games each day.

Looking at EWU

Joel Welser/College Sports Madness previews the 2015-16 Eastern Washington Eagles. The northern California connections:

"Enrico Nuno, a 6-8, 250 pound transfer from Diablo Valley College will add some experience to the frontcourt. Freshman Jesse Hunt, a 6-7 forward, should have time to develop his game."

Oklahoma forward receives Bronco offer

The Oklahoma Wizards tweeted: "2017 Brady Manek (@BradyManek | Harrah) has picked up offers from Creighton and Santa Clara."

Manek checks in at 6-foot-8, 185 pounds and currently holds offers from Oklahoma, Mercer and Tulsa.

Falls hearted by Weber State

Team Arsenal tweeted: "2017 combo guard Timmy Falls @TF1000_ picks up an offer from Weber State!"

There will be many more.

Longhorns looking at Young

Corey Evans modified one of his earlier tweets: "Now being told Texas offer to Solomon Young was premature. Longhorns have begun recruitment of 2016 big after solid week of play in Vegas."

To play for a quality individual like Shaka Smart would be a plus and the 'havoc' style brought over from VCU seems like a good fit for Young but the Big 12 just might be a bit high.

Love Young's demeanor and his physical play. He would be a biggest plus to a team as a wing and not a four but not yet seeing that face the basket, dribble-drive as part of his offensive arsenal.

SCU offers a 2017 backcourter

Jaizec Lottie: "I have officially received my third offer from Santa Clara University  thank you coach Keating and staff."

Rob Harrington provides a feature on the 2017 5-foot-11 point.

Here's more.

Arizona prep receives Aggie offer

Gregg Rosenberg: "2016 6'7" SF @brockboone30 from Tri-City received his 6th offer from #UCDavis."

No, Jim Les hasn't extended a set of sextuple offers to Brock Gardner -- just this new one. Dartmouth, Columbia, Air Force, Liberty and Central Arkansas are the other official suitors.

Here's a 2014 Gardner feature.

The Dons offer a 2016 point

Via Verbal Commits: "2016 Los Alamitos (CA) G Eyassu Worku has received an offer from San Francisco."

The 6-foot-1 point has offers from multiple Big West Conference teams plus Utah State, Rice, American and Montana.

From a 2014 event: "...Good ball handling skills, uses body to protect dribble, Floor leader, controls tempo when in game, quick in transition, shoots three well, needs to work on mid range game to be more effective..."

Here's video from 2014:

New coach at Vintage

Marty James reports that Jeff Sickler is the new Vintage High boys basketball coach.

Holt had a fine summer

Sam Falcone displays his membership in the Stephen Holt Marching and Chowder Society and there's nothing wrong with that.

ESPN radio

John Gorman writes about the elevation of ESPN Radio. Pardon me while I momentarily crawl out of my cave and ask, does any one really listen to radio of any sorts anymore?

Lowe's latest

The latest from Zach Lowe.focuses on the Charlotte Hornets. Any article that offers such an opening paragraph requires reading:

"No team knows how hard it is to draft a star with the ninth pick better than the Charlotte Hornets. That’s why the draft slot that produced D.J. Augustin, Kemba Walker, Noah Vonleh, and now Frank Kaminsky became the pivot point for two curious moves last month — one deal made, one rejected — that have rival executives questioning whether Charlotte has any plan beyond chasing the no. 8 seed this season...

Promising guard play

There are currently a large number of impressive underclassmen guard prospects sprinkled throughout northern California, kids with the potential to be very highly recruited. Despite the certainty of inadvertently leaving some names out, here goes with an alphabetical and eligibility rundown:

2017

*  Angelo Athens 6-foot-2 PG Top Flight Elite/Bellarmine College Prep

* Jamaree Bouyea 6-foot-1 PG Seaside's Finest/Seaside High

* Joey Calcaterra 6-foot-2 SG Lakeshow/Marin Catholic High

* Elishja Duplechan 5-foot-10 PG Team Superstar 16 Elite/Sheldon High

* Youssef Eshra 5-foot-9 PG Top Flight Elite/Oakwood High

* Austin Fadal 6-foot-3 SG Team Superstar/Monte Vista High

* Tim Falls 6-foot-2 SG Golden State Arsenal/Dublin High

* Niamey Harris 6-foot-2 Golden City/Mission High

* Jade' Smith 6-foot-3 PG Team Superstar/St. Joseph's Notre Dame High 

2018

* Zachary Chappell 6-foot-3 PG Team Superstar/Capital Christian High

* Naseem Gaskins 6-foot-3 SG Golden State Arsenal/Bishop O'Dowd High

* Elijah Hardy 6-foot-2 PG Golden State Arsenal/Bishop O'Dowd High

* Derrick Langford 6-foot-3 SG Team Superstar/Salesian High

* Damari Milstead 6-foot-2 PG Oakland Soldiers/Moreau Catholic High

2019

* Jovon McClanahan 5-foot-8 PG Team Superstar/Salesian HighB

DVC fans need to practice the 'Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi' chant

Derrick Jones tweeted: "Welcoming Elliott McParland to DVC for the 15-16 season from "down under" #dvchoops @ Diablo Valley… https://instagram.com/p/5i5j0ptaiG/"

McPartland is a 6-foot-6 guard. Here's an Aussie feature on his signing.

Below is video:

Ashley guaranteed some $$$

Shams Charania tweeted: "Dallas has reached agreement with undrafted Arizona PF Brandon Ashley on a partially guaranteed multi-year deal, league sources tell RealGM."

Bobby Marks added, "As @ShamsCharania reports Brandon Ashley to DAL on a partial. Good chance he finds his way to the Texas Legends for development."

Important date for Tyler Johnson

Via Barry Jackson: "Next looming deadline for Heat: Half of Ennis' and Tyler Johnson's $845,000 salaries became guaranteed if on roster next Saturday."

Plus, Tyler Johnson isn't forgetting his Valley roots -- he was in Las Vegas this weekend:

Jennifer Johnson posted: "Thanks @RealTJohnson for giving some pointers to @TopFlight16uRed during #adidasUprising tourney... #miamiheat8."

Kiwi registers 40

David Astramskas serves up video and more on Kiwi Gardner pouring in 40 points in a game held in China.

All American JUCO Showcase Elite 80 in Las Vegas

The All American JUCO Showcase Elite 80 took place July 24-26 in Las Vegas, adding yet another attractive event for college recruiters to check out. Haven't seen any reports as yet.

Those invited with a northern California basketball connection are:

* Donald Mims Midland College (at CRC last season)

* Jarrell Tate East LA CC (at Feather River College last season)

* Vasilije Saraba Yuba College

* Jos'af Zamora Yuba College

* PeeWee Gardner Mt. San Jacinto

* Uchenna Iroegbu College Of Southern Idaho

* Justin Claus College of the Redwoods

Hawaii in 2015-16

Ben Gainsboro/College Sports Madness previews Hawaii for the upcoming 2015-16 season.

His projected starting five:

* Roderick Bobbitt, Senior, Guard, 8.9 points per game
* Isaac Fleming, Sophomore, Guard, 9.5 points per game
* Aaron Valdes, Junior, Guard, 13.7 points per game
* Mike Thomas, Junior, Forward, 7.1 points per game
* Stefan Jankovic, Junior, Forward, 10.6 points per game

About Bobbitt:

"...Senior guard Roderick Bobbitt may not be the most talented player on next year’s roster, but his value is well, invaluable. One of three seniors on next year’s roster and the only one that saw significant minutes, his leadership on and off the floor is going to be a huge telling of this team’s success. The team’s leading assists man from a year ago (5.3 apg), Bobbitt is always looking up and surveying the floor. He’s not going to lead the team in scoring next season, but he may just lead it in minutes (33 mpg last season)..." 

Manning: baseball, basketball, both?

From Friday in Vegas: "Lakeshow 17 Elite remains undefeated as they beat Colorado Chaos 84-44. Matt Manning (10) lead team with 30 points."

Committed to Loyola Marymount in baseball, Capital Christian's Manning should, if at all possible, give that and basketball a go in college.

Davis offer Henn

Left Coast Recruiting tweeted: "UC Davis has offered 2016 Mikey Henn (Bellevue HS)." I

Idaho, Cal Baptist and Cal State Dominguez Hills have also recently offered.

Henn is a 6-foot-7 forward out of Washington. From a June 2015 tournament report:

Mikey Henn (2016) FOH Team LaVine – Big body 4 that uses his strength on both ends of the floor. His high IQ makes him a great rebounder both offensively and defensively. Has a good looking jump shot and can step out to 15′.

Flores transferring

Guard Sebastian (Bishop O'Dowd) Flores has departed the San Francisco State basketball program.

Wooten making people notice

Ronnie Flores tweeted: "Kenneth Wooten (@DreamVisionAAU ) 6-8 2016 really impacts on the defensive end with his energy & jumping ability. Nice long term prospect."

So does Wooten go high level and wait his turn while developing (especially his offensive skills set) or lower and get on the court sooner?

Manteca High will be major this coming season -- that team is LOADED.

The Corey Joseph saga -- wise beyond his years

Cory Joseph could have chose to pout, to complain, to be a negative influence. He didn't and now: "Cory Joseph and Toronto Raptors agree to four-year deal worth $30 million."

Here's the background to his finally becoming an integral component with the Spurs -- it all began with a phone call requesting to be sent to back to the D-League.

How many people his age have such maturity?

Writing about graduate transfers

Coach Bob Walsh takes a very fair look with his latest piece: "Graduate Transfers."

FRC lands a Chicago talent

From Feather River College Men's Basketball:

"The FRC Golden Eagles preparation is just around the corner with school beginning mid-August. "I've been here for sixteen years and I haven't been this excited to begin another journey with the kids coming in this year," said head coach Randy Rick. "With the commitment of Dee Randolph, a high major D1 prospect the Golden Eagles will have one of the best back courts in the state. Dee was a starter and on the Mac Irving Fire, one of the the nation's premier AAU teams."

New Bronco assistant

Evan Daniels: "Former NBDL & Findlay Prep coach Mike Peck has accepted an assistant coaching position at Santa Clara, a source tells Scout."

Here's a May 2015 article on Peck.

A Popovich interview

Kurt Helin writes about an interesting interview done by Tom Tolbert with Gregg Popovich.

Here's the transcription.

Haile to Regis

Top Flight Elite AAU tweeted: "S/O to Elias Haile 17uRed-Valley Christian HS on committing to Regis University in Denver, NCAA D2 Rocky Mountain Conference."

Haile is a 6-foot-3 guard who earned Honorable Mention All West Catholic Athletic League honors this season.

DeCuire still has it

Here's a short feature on former Cal assistant coach Travis DeCuire who is entering his second season running the Montana basketball program.

Guess the late July tournaments were disappointing

Rice Head Coach Mike Rhoades offers some advice: "Attention players: when July period ends go to gym & learn how to shoot!!!! It's good 4u, ur game, ur team! Seriously! Make a shot!"

Street ball in NYC courtesy of The New Yorker (of all magazines)

In The New Yorker, Thomas Beller writes about the street game in The Big Apple. The crux:

"...Street ball in New York is in decline. I have observed, in the past decade, one playground after another—where, once, you could have shown up in the mid to late afternoon and found a group of fairly skilled players of different ages battling—become depopulated. I am not talking about a mass extinction. There are still lots of playgrounds with lots of good players—but fewer playgrounds, and fewer players, and the ones who show up seem older..."

Johnson to Menlo College as assistant coach

Menlo College Coach Kaniela Aiona tweeted: "So proud to welcome @JOHNSTON_DJ to the Menlo Basketball family. Tremendous person, family man & dear friend."

That's Dustin Johnson, new assistant coach for the Oaks.

He's coming over from St. Leo University where his bio read:

"Dustin Johnston joins the Saint Leo men's basketball staff in 2014-15 for his first season on the Lions' sideline.

Johnston comes to Saint Leo from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., where he had been a graduate assistant and then assistant coach since 2012. In addition to assisting with practice planning, travel, recruiting and video for the Trojans, Johnston served as the programs head junior varsity program coach during the 2013-14 campaign.

He also served as an analyst with Krossover Intelligence, a basketball video analysis company, during the 2013-14 season, and interned with the Harlem Ambassadors charity basketball team.

Johnston began his career at the prep level, coaching at St. Croix Preparatory Academy in Stillwater, Minn., (2011-12) and Riverdale High School in Muscoda, Wis. (2010-11).

"Dustin has a great basketball mind and impeccable value system that will help develop our young men as players and people," said Randall. "He has great recruiting connections in the Midwest where, where he has been an assistant high school coach in Minnesota, a graduate assistant in Chicago and a varsity assistant at the college level. Dustin, his wife Jenny and their son Klayton are tremendous additions to the Saint Leo family."

A 2010 graduate of Trinity International with a degree in sports and wellness management, Johnston also holds a master's degree in leadership from TIU."

Tripp graduate assisting at Regis

From Regis University men's basketball: "Kenny Tripp begins his first season as a graduate assistant for the men's basketball program at Regis. His main duties will include camps and fundraisers, assisting in post player development, and external relations.

A Sacramento, California native, Tripp has spent the last four seasons as a student manager with the University of Nevada. At Nevada, the Wolfpack captured a Western Athletic Conference Champion title in 2011-12.

Tripp earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Nevada and plans to pursue his master's in Business Administration from Regis.

"Kenny is a hard-working, young coach who has earned the respect of his mentors. He will bring a good deal of energy to our staff," said Coach Bergeson."

Tripp played basketball and baseball at Rio Americano High.

Meet Will Freedman

Talk about  a fast-climbing coaching career. New Lassen College Head Coach Will Freedman will be heading an NBA team soon if he keeps his current momentum up.

The former assistant took a chance, moving from the southern California high school coaching ranks to Lassen College a year ago and now he's running the show.

"I came here as a volunteer coach, not even knowing where I would live," Freedman recalled. "But I was going to school, learning how to be a junior college coach because I believed the more you sacrifice early on, the more you reap the benefits."

He continued, "I wanted to learn from Devin [Aye, who recently accepted the head coach position at Cosumnes River College]. He coached me when I played at Cal State East Bay. It was a very, very informative year because he allowed me to be hands-on, working on admissions and compliance. Devin let me be a fly on the wall with everything he could. He definitely groomed me."

Freedman was also part of a substantial turnaround. "Lassen won one game the year before Devin came here and last year we had 22 wins. People have now heard of the school. We're the biggest show in town. Fans pack the gym and our players get a spark from having so many people in the stands. There's something unique here, real cooperative environment, Our school president, Dr. Hall, used to coach basketball. I understand I have big shoes to fill with Devin leaving."  

So now being charge, what offensive and defensive systems will people see from Lassen? "A lot depends on the guys we can get but I want to keep our play fast, with the foundation being defense."

Freedman see the chance to attend and play at Lassen as "a chance to get out of the city and focus on basketball and school" which fits the needs of some basketballers. "You can put yourself in position to start over with good habits. People sometimes have to get out of their comfort zones."

Right now it looks like four returnees will be playing plus three former junior college talents joining up: 6-foot-8 Josh (Downey High) Allen formerly of Modesto Junior College, 5-foot-10 Damion (Cordova High) Trujillo who was at American River College earlier and 6-foot-2 Caleb Wood out of Galena High in Reno who formerly played at Monterey Peninsula College.

"We don't shy away from anybody," Freedman noted, "we had 19 pre-season games last season." Although no one thought all that much of it when the pairing was initially scheduled some time ago, Lassen will match up with Cosumnes River College in November in Susanville. "At the time, we didn't know Devin would be at CRC."

*** The student-athletes moving on from last year's Lassen team are:

* Sammy Allen III - Texas Permian Basin
* Leroy Anderson - Grace University (NAIA II)
* Abidjan "keme" Davis - Allen University
* Diondrey Holt Jr.- Cal State Dominguez Hills
* Wilson Markus - Grace University
* Juandrico Walker - Virginia Union University
* Marvin White - Southwestern Christian

The 2015-16 MPC Lobos

Coach Blake Spiering's roster will undoubtedly feature additional players on his 2015-16 roster as he had just eight talents at the Nor Cal JUCO Shootout. In alphabetical order:

* Jazz Bajwa, 6-foot-4, sophomore, Irvington High

* Isaiah Brown, 6-foot-5, sophomore, Fairfield High

* Ryan Donnelly, 6-foot-6, freshman, Central Valley High

* Isaac Clark, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Independence High

* Chris Evans, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Seaside High

* D.B. Gibbs, 6-foot-9, freshman, southern California

* Kyle Hieb, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Seaside High

* DeOndre Otis, 6-foot-1, sophomore, Sacred Heart Cathedral High

The 2015-16 College of Alameda Cougars

Coach Robert Bishop has close to a brand new team this season. In alphabetical order this summer:

* Abdul Abdullah, 6-foot-7, freshman, Lincoln High

* Lonnie Brewer, 6-foot-3, freshman, Berkeley High

* Rayshawn Copeland, 6-foot-3, freshman, Oakland Tech

* Chris Fontaine, 6-foot-7, sophomore, Wallenberg High

* Miles Garvin, 6-foot-4, freshman, southern California

* Da'Koda Lacey, 6-foot-5, freshman, Georgia

* Jordan Lee, 6-foot-2, freshman, Alameda High

* Benny Louong, 6-foot, sophomore, Oakland Tech

* Kyle Mahaffey, 6-foot, freshman, Reno, NV

* Ibraheem Muhammad, 6-foot-4, freshman, Marshall High

* Anthony Papelbon, 6-foot-5, sophomore, Colorado Northwestern CC

* Craig Saldmon, 5-foot-11, freshman, DeAnza High

* Doug Sallie, 5-foot-9, freshman, southern California

* Dejon Savage, 5-foot-9, freshman, Arroyo High

* Carlos Stevenson, 6-foot-4, freshman, Missouri

The latest on Brandon Ashley

Via Peachtree Hoops: "...Brandon Ashley - From an individual standpoint, no one impressed me with their on-court, when compared to my expectation level, more than Ashley. It is unfortunate that the Hawks are looking at a bit of a frontcourt logjam in the Fall, because Ashley is my favorite non-Muscala, non-Tavares option on the summer roster. He is a high-end athlete who showed some skills, and I'd like to see a training camp invite thrown his way for an additional opportunity to impress..."

Bruce Pascoe added: "...While T.J. McConnell created some buzz by signing a partially guaranteed deal with the Philadelphia 76ers last month, it may have been former teammate Brandon Ashley who helped himself more during NBA Summer League play among UA's undrafted players.

During recently completed summer league play, Ashley averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 50.9 percent for the Hawks, and might earn himself an invitation to their fall camp..."

STLB on the SoCal JUCO Shootout

Signal The Light Basketball offers analysis from last weekend's SoCal JUCO Shootout."

Merritt College and Fresno City College received some press as did 6-foot-8 Josh Sykes of the Rams.

Modesto Christian's Ellis en fuego

Via The Nor Cal Report: "2016 Christian Ellis (@1team1dream__ / @MC_basketball) lit up the board with 38 against Prodigy Elite (SoCal). 1team came up short, 78-75."

That's from early action in the Fab 48 tournament.

Morton to Arkansas Tech

From the College of Alameda Basketball site: "Aris Morton, COA 2015 graduate and 2013-14 COA basketball star, signing his letter of intent to attend Arkansas Tech University (Division II) on a full athletic scholarship." The school athletics nickname is one of the coolest around: The Wonder Boys.

Out of Antioch High, Morton averaged 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in his sophomore COA season.

Ulmer lands a 'ship

6-foot-1 point Aren Ulmer of St. Mary's High (Albany) has signed with D2 West Georgia. The Wolves finished 22-9 and 15-7 last season and tied for first place in the Gulf South Conference.

Kahlon with initial offer

Via Verbal Commits: "2016 City College of San Francisco (CA) F Jashandeep Kahlon has received an offer from NYIT." (New York Institute of Technology which is a private school on Long Island)

Out of Brookside Christian High, Kahlon averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds a game as a freshman this past season while shooting 58% and 77% respectively.

The Bay Area Warriors in Vegas

"Coaches,

We will be at the Bigfoothoops.com Las Vegas Classic this weekend. 

* Friday 2:30 pm
* Saturday time and location to be determined

We are adding a player to our roster for our Las Vegas trip. 

Jemeil King, Blue Ridge HS, WV, 2016  - 6'4" guard who is long and athletic with a great motor on both sides of the ball. Very good shooter too. Jemeil starred at Lincoln HS (San Francisco) in 2013-14 and played for us last spring and summer. He then spent his junior year at Blue Ridge Prep school in WV (top prep program) and is now back in SF for summer. He is a solid student 2.84 gpa. 

The guys are a combined 5-3 the first two wknds of July and showing well. Again if you have questions on any of guys feel free to contact me.

Randy Bessolo
Bay Area Warriors
415 418 4568"

The numbers game

Coach Bob Walsh's latest is "Nebraska hires Director of Analytics."

Introducing Don Manning-Fuimaono and Ground-Up

This is a feature ostensibly about Don Manning-Fuimaono, the Director of Basketball Operations for the Ground-Up Hoops organization, but any detailing about Ground-Up requires the inclusion of Jordan Webster as well as Shaun Manning and, most definitely, the late Charlie Paulk.

For background, Ground-Up is a travel team organization which, by design, has generally focused on working with younger kids, usually beginning around age nine and there are currently teams repping the name in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, New York and Hawaii.

So where did all this basketball affiliation start?

"I moved from Sacramento to San Diego for high school to play for my grandfather," Manning-Fuimaono said.

The grandfather in the equation was Charlie Paulk who enjoyed his own unique hoops history before passing in 2014. The 6-foot-9 Paulk came out of Northeastern State University in 1968 as the #7 overall draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks. In his career, he played for the Bucks, Knicks, Bulls and Royals and found himself being traded, along with Flynn Robinson, for Oscar Robertson at one point. He participated in the 1968 Olympic trials and later became the basketball coach at Lincoln High in San Diego. In his initial year of coaching, Paulk' s team beat Drake High 63-50 to take the 1994 D-IV state championship.

To offer a sense of Paulk's wholistic coaching philosophy, here's Mark Sanford, the star player on that 1994 Lincoln team: "“When I think of Coach P ... the thing that jumps out is his availability. He was the guy I turned to when times got hard. It was more than coaching, it was life. His style was not to reprimand but to teach. He was unique because he sincerely cared for us, for all of us. Whatever you needed, he’d get it for you.”

Keep that respectful and loving tribute in mind.

As for Manning-Fuimaono, his involvement with hoops came early on. "I was born into it, it came naturally. At age 5 or 6, I was running around high school, college and NBA gyms and locker rooms. Later, I started keeping stats, keeping book."

He added, "I became a high IQ, feisty point guard being the typical coach's kid who played the game the right way. On my ninth grade team, I was calling defensive and offensive sets and, as a senior, I coached a freshman team. I was always fascinated by the game and how it works, how you put puzzle pieces together."

Manning-Fuimaono then played in junior college before returning to Sacramento.

"I became burnt out of playing basketball. I was away from it even though I followed it. The people closest to me were still in it."

+++++

Manning-Fuimaono's brother-in-basketball-and-life is Jordan Webster and how that came to be in quite unique. "I'm originally from Louisiana," the 32-year-old Webster, who was a top prep player in the Bayou State. I moved to California when I was 16 and Coach Paulk took me in. He's was like my grandfather. I was misguided -- I didn't have any role models. Coach Paulk was the first black NBA player I ever met. It saved my life and I've been paying it forward ever since."

Webster added, "I started my basketball journey and played played JC ball but I fell through the cracks, going through struggle and strife."

Some time later, Webster returned to Louisiana, fielded a number of top tier teams and then started Ground-Up.

He later decided to depart the Pelican State, strongly influenced by life there.. "Louisiana has the highest black incarceration rate in country and one of my goals is to try to not let the kids become statistics. To help them figure it out every day."

He took eight of his players to California, initially to Long Beach.

Eventually, "I pulled Don back in because this is definitely our calling," Webster said.

Manning-Fuimaono is explicit on that matter: "Jordan Webster is my best friend, like a brother. He started coaching in Louisiana and was telling me that I needed to get back into coaching. But I was working, doing good. However, a friend at Delta High asked me to help him with coaching. I did and it got my passion back."

Say goodby to that sabbatical.

Continuing, he explained, "I also had a younger cousin at Natomas [High] and he and his friends asked me to work with them. Them, I had the opportunity to coach the Play Hard Play Smart 16U team for Brian Hamilton."

Now, he's all in with Ground-Up.

"It's about family first, working together to create a network of people because kids weren't being prepared to get to the higher level until it was too late," Manning-Fuimaono stated. "We make sure the kids are on the right track academically so they have options. 23 kids who have come through the program are currently playing at the collegiate level, including Dajuan Smith (UCSB) Dwayne Benjamin (Oregon) and Jalen Coates (Montana Tech)."

"Ground-Up is focused on basketball and life," according to Webster. "We create a family. It's very rewarding."

+++++

After his college playing days, Shaun Manning, Manning-Fuimaono's uncle, was helping out kids with basketball skills training and began assisting Paulk at Lincoln High in 1996. Of Paulk, Manning said, "he was so humble, all he cared about was everyone else's success. He deeply touched the lives of so many and I try to emulate the things he taught us."

"I've been in basketball all my life, either playing or coaching and I've tried to learn everything there is about the game." That and the human condition.

Manning said, "There is a simple way to be successful with what we do: love, patience and caring but there is no standard formula. You sit down with kid and explore who ther are and what do they need. It's a focus on their lives, looking back but moving forward. We house the majority of our kids, they live with us and we spend 24 hours a day with them. We also teach them to cook and clean. You don't have to be greatest basketball player because you're family to us. We're not perfect but we have a passion to keep them out of certain situations. People create labels for kids, like special ed, and when that happens there is a good chance a kid will eventually be incarcerated."

He continued, "we're successful because we get invested and we'll be part of the rest of their lives. Most importantly, we never allow the athletic part to exceed the personal and academic."

Jordan Webster is explicit in his endorsement of Manning: "Shaun is like my father."

Family creating more family, related by blood or not, created by need and big hearts.

Joiner to the Lone Star State

(Joiner defending against Butte College)

SJCC Basketball: "Congrats to 6'7" F Maurice Joiner who has committed to D2 Texas A&M International."

He averaged 11.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists a contest while shooting 51% and 80% respectively this past season.

Vieira to North Dakota

5-foot-9 Nate Vieira who played at Los Altos High and then DeAnza College is headed to Valley City State University, an NAIA school in North Dakota. He averaged 10.5 points plus 4.2 assists in the 2014-15 season for the Dons.

Luke Chavez in longform

Danny Schmidt catches readers up on the basketball doings of College of Marin's Luke Chavez.

Berry to Deutschland

Davion (Hayward High) Berry is now heading to Germany. Here's a feature from March 2014.

Mike Pickney located

Out of Newark Memorial High, 6-foot Mike Pickney II was at Georgia State last season as a walk-on but played little. It now looks like he is attending Antelope Valley College (a la the AVC grad Ismail Ali who is now at Bowling Green) and, in a 61-55 loss to Fresno City College as part of the SoCal JUCO Shootout, Pickney tallied 8 points and a trio of assists, going 3-for-3 from the floor.

Edmonds not at Montana

Jermaine Edmonds is absent from the 2015-16 Montana men's basketball roster.

The 2015-16 DeAnza College Dons summer edition

Below is the summer roster for Coach Jason Damjanovic's DeAnza College roster. As always, keep in mind that that July is not necessarily November.

In alphabetical order:

* Andrew Adams, 6-foot-6, freshman, Pacific Collegiate High

* Josh Bongers, 6-foot-3, sophomore, Oak Grove High

* Ifeanyi Ekechukwu, 5-foot-11, freshman, Prospect High

* Steve Garverick, 6-foot-6, freshman, Los Altos High

* Jon Hannah, 5-foot-10, freshman, Iowa

* Jeremy Ishimaru, 5-foot-8, freshman, Independence High

* Cole Lockwood, 6-foot-3, freshman, Santa Clara High

* Karl Mann, 6-foot-7, sophomore, Sobrato High

* R.J. McCune, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Willow Glen High

* Daniel Paulson, 6-foot-4, sophomore, Pennsylvania

* Toriano Stamps, 6-foot-3, sophomore, Central East High, Fresno

* Chris Turner, 6-foot-5, sophomore, Pioneer High

* Tony Turner, 6-foot-3, freshman, Wisconsin

*Cooper Wilson, 6-foot-3, sophomore, Willow Glen High

Credit Parsons for his perseverance

Joe Davidson fills in readers on the tough journey of former Grant High talent De'Sean Parsons who will be attending Portland State University.