A new basketball tournament courtesy of Gerry Freitas

Gerry Freitas (so you know it's going to be a good one) is starting up a new basketball tournament. Here are the details:

Bay Area Memorial Day Classic
May 28, 29, 30 2011
Presented by: Gerry Freitas of The Hoop Review Scouting Service
(which goes to over 200 Colleges/Universities Nationwide)

Location: The New Dream Courts in Hayward (16 courts)
*ALL GAMES IN ONE BUILDING*

- High School Division (Classes of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
- Junior High Division (Classes of 2015, 2016)

- 4 game guarantee – pool play format
- Cost is $450 per team (discount for 3 or more teams)
- Championship in junior high division and two high school divisions to be held on Monday, May 30
- Awards for Championship Teams – Raffle Prizes – Entertainment area
- Media in attendance will include: norcalpreps.com, westcoasthoopsreport.com californiapreps.com, sectionsports.com, hoopreview.net
- Post event reports will to sent to these and various other media outlets and websites in addition to college coaches nationwide
       
For further info: www.hoopreview.net

Questions: High school division: call Gerry Freitas at 408-998-1327 or email gerryfreitas@hotmail.com   

Questions: Junior high division: call Ron Christensen at 415-699-3171 or email Ronald.christensen@swipeusa.com

The upcoming Nor Cal Clash

The upcoming Nor Cal Clash (NCC) at Contra Costa College in San Pablo is an opportunity for some long-simmering arguments, suppositions, biases, you name it -- and this is just among prep basketball fans -- to be settled.

The Sunday, August 29 event pitting the top flight gladiators of the class of 2011 versus their upstart 2012 brethren should go a long ways towards answering the age-old question: does seniority rule?

This will also be the first local opportunity to see junior David Andoh back on the court as well as the initial time to witness -- at least for most -- what highly rated 2012 Fresno area prospect Robert Upshaw can do on the floor at 6-foot-10. 6-foot-6 senior J.T. Adenrele is also a newbie to most Bay Area basketball fans as is 6-foot-7 Chad Haysbert. Both are out of the Sacramento area. Fast-rising Juan Anderson will be on display for a preview of what should be a tremendous senior season.

The individual matchups will also be intriguing for a number of other reasons including the fact that high school and club team basketball teammates, separated by a year in school, will oppose each other.

Here are the rosters:

2011

* J.T. Adenrele, 6-foot-6, Oakmont High
* Hameed Ali, 6-foot-2, San Leandro High
* Juan Anderson, 6-foot-7, Castro Valley High
* Roderick Bobbitt, 6-foot-2, Castro Valley
* Robert Garrett, 6-foot-10, Sacramento High
* Chad Haysbert, 6-foot-7, Antelope High
* Andre McPhail, 6-foot-7, Deer Valley High
* Quincy Smith, 6-foot-2, Deer Valley High (now out with a hand injury)
* Dominique Taplin, 6-foot-2, Oakland High
* T.J. Taylor, 5-foot-9, Oakland High
* Mark Tollefsen, 6-foot-8, San Ramon Valley High
* Stuart Wesonga. 6-foot-7, San Marin High

2012

* David Andoh, 6-foot-7, St. Mary's
* Dominic Artis, 5-foot-9, Salesian High
* Glenn Baral, 6-foot-3, St. Mary's High
* Taylor Johns, 6-foot-4, Sacred Heart Cathedral
* Tajai Johnson, 6-foot-2, Vallejo High
* Richard Longruss, 6-foot-6, Bishop O'Dowd
* Langston Morris-Walker, 6-foot-4, Berkeley High
* Casey Norris, 6-foot-1, Newark Memorial
* Lawrence Otis, 6-foot-2, McClymonds
* Kyiron Thomas, 6-foot-3, Sheldon High
* Robert Upshaw, 6-foot-11, San Joaquin Memorial

Another Gerry Freitas-run event, this year's NCC also features quite the coaching pairing. Craig Ashmore of Newark Memorial will match strategy with Manny Nodar of St. Mary's. Both helmed teams that played in the state championship games last March.

Event Information:

Nor Cal Clash
Sunday, August 29, 5:30 p.m.
Contra Costa College, San Pablo

The First Annual California Classic

Gerry Freitas' First Annual California Classic proved to be quite success ful and here are the outcomes involving northern California teams:

1st Annual California Classic Schedule
January 2, 2010 at Cerritos College

Newark Memorial 58, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood) 52

Leading Scorers: NM - Khion Sankey 19, Kendall Andrews 15/CH - James Johnson 18
Leading Rebounder: NM - Kendall Andrews 9/CH - James Johnson 8
Player of the Game: Khion Sankey of Newark Memorial

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The team that was a surprise finalist at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic used a 16-0 run at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter to spark a victory over a scrappy Campbell Hall team.

Unlike Sacramento High, which stayed in the SoCal area on New Years Eve and Day after playing in a local post-Christmas Holiday tourney, Newark Memorial was home to ring in the New Year. The Cougars drove down to Cerritos College on Saturday morning and the long drive may have led to some early rust versus Campbell Hall (10-4).

Trailing 22-17, they used two inside baskets from junior forward Kendall Andrews to turn the game around. With the Vikings leading 22-21 after Andrews' inside buckets, a 3-pointer by stocky point guard Isaiah Clark that would have gave Newark Memorial (10-2) the lead rimmed in and out with under ten seconds remaining. On the other end, the Vikings' Austin McBroom had his 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer rim out, but the message had already been communicated.

Newark Memorial had come to play hard, and to win.

"At the beginning of the game, we couldn't get anything going," said Newark Memorial head coach Craig Ashmore. "Sometimes success creates energy. But there are no excuses, I thought Campbell Hall played well."

Ashmore's club scored the first 12 points, mostly underneath, of the third period to complete the run and take a 33-22 lead. The carnage ended when Campbell Hall's Zack Klein made a free throw with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter. Campbell Hall recovered at the end of the third period and trialed 35-30 entering the final period, but the Vikings could never get over the hump.

They cut Newark Memorial's lead on one occasion to two points (37-35), but the Cougars' Casey Norris answered right back with a 3-pointer. Campbell Hall shot a higher percentage from the field, 54 to 40 percent, but Newark Memorial got up 17 more shot attempts, and many of them were from point blank range by the Cougars' muscular scorers.

Andrews finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while running mate Khion Sankey scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. James "Deuce" Johnson led Campbell Hall with 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. He made eight of nine field goal attempts, but had to work hard to just get in position for a field goal attempt against the undersized bruisers of Newark Memorial.

"There is a nice chemistry between the two," Ashmore said of Sankey and Andrews. "Against a zone, we got the ball in position to score with our inside-outside game. We expect more games like that the rest of the way. People are going to be coming at us, but I like the effort we bring."

+++++

Compton 65, Sacramento 58

Leading Scorers: C - Anthony January 22, Allen Guei 15/S - Josiah Turner 20, Will Davis 13
Leading Rebounder: C - Anthony January 10/S - Will Davis 12
Player of the Game: Anthony January of Compton

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The Dragons were in Southern California all week and after a solid performance at the Oaks Christian Tournament, they simply didn't have enough in the tank to defeat Compton. Both teams did not shoot well from the field, but Compton (4-8) was quicker to the loose balls and converted easier shots from the field. Sacramento (7-4) played at a much slower pace than head coach Derek Swafford would have liked, as they had only 24 total points (35-24) with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Even though Compton had a comfortable lead (43-31) entering the fourth quarter, the Tarbabes could not put away the Dragons. They cut the lead to six points on a jumper by junior Josiah Turner with 41 seconds remaining, but could not catch any other breaks the rest of the way.

Turner's performance mirrored that of his team. After a memorable 48-point performance against Pasadena at the Oaks Christian in which he hit a three-pointer to give the Dragons a 71-70 victory, Turner visibly struggled in this game. He led Sacramento with 20 points, but he made only eight of 25 shots from the field for a team that shot 35 percent (20/57) as a unit.

"We played five games in six days, so we knew we were going to come out flat," Swafford said. "We just didn't think it would be like that. Josiah has been sick with the flu. As far as how he compares to Chase Tapley as this stage, Josiah is unselfish, but he's still figuring out how to work with his teammates."

Compton's Anthony January Jr. continued to show why he's one of California's better tenth-graders. He used his length, athleticism and improving jumper to score a game-high 22 points and grab 10 rebounds. Senior Cliff Sims Jr. (12 points) and junior point Allan Guei (15 points, 7 assists) also played well for coach Tony Thomas' club, which is more formidable than its won-loss record indicates.

+++++

Orange Lutheran 73, Oakland 63

Leading Scorers: OL - Tyler Funk 21, Gabe York 19/O - T.J. Taylor 21, Dominique Taplin 14
Leading Rebounder: OL- Scott Barton 6/O - Dominique Taplin 9
Player of the Game: Tyler Funk of Orange Lutheran

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The Lancers from Orange Lutheran used a decisive second quarter to defeat the Wildcats in the event's first game. Orange Lutheran (10-4) outscored Oakland 22-6 to take a 36-25 halftime lead. Leading the way for the Lancers was the duo of senior Tyler Funk and sophomore Gabe York.

Funk scored a team-high 21 points and made four of six 3-point shots. He also made seven of eight free throws and dished out six assists. York, last year's CalHiSports.com state freshman of the year, added 19 points. T. J. Taylor led three players in double-figures for Oakland (6-8) with 21 points, but made only three of 10 3-point attempts.

Gerry Freitas' Nor Cal Tip Off Classic

We couldn't make it due to other basketball obligations but Gerry Freitas' 2009 Nor Cal Tip Off Classic yesterday at Newark Memorial High produced these results:

Game 1: Analy (Sebastopol) 64, Tennyson (Hayward) 37
Player of the Game: Kevin Aronis - Analy

Game 2: Castlemont (Oakland) 60, Modesto Christian 50
Player of the Game: Deshawn Washington – Castlemont

Game 3: Buchanan (Fresno) 54, St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) 48
Player of the Game: Alex Fertig – Buchanan

Game 4: Oakland 70, Miramonte (Orinda) 65
Player of the Game: T.J. Taylor – Oakland

Game 5: University (San Francisco) 65, St. Joseph’s-Notre Dame (Alameda) 57
Player of the Game: Zach Karrasch – University

Game 6: Newark Memorial (Newark) 52, Castro Valley 51
Player of the Game: Isiah Clark – Newark Memorial

Game 7: Sacramento 63, St. Mary’s (Berkeley) 57
Player of the Game: Josiah Turner - Sacramento

By the way, do your utmost to attend Gerry Freitas' events because they are always well run -- the games begin on time, programs to identify the players are available, D-1 prospects abound, the team matchups are set up with care and also because he is one of the good guys involved with prep basketball.

A report on Gerry Freitas' Bay Area Competition Clinic

Gerry Freitas' Bay Area Competition Clinic took place at Las Positas College in Livermore on September 12 with 125 or so prospects ranging from the 2010 class to those of 2013. The efforts were strong and the competition fierce with a number of players sorting themselves out from the others.

Alphabetically, they included:

Richard Azure, 5-foot-5, Lincoln High (San Jose), 2010: The diminutive Junior of the Year in the West Valley League (he also earned Sophomore of the Year honors the previous season), Azure is an assured point who proved unflappable versus a series of games and opponents Saturday. He set up his teammates time and time again passing and dribbling at just the right time.

Glenn Baral, 6-foot-2, St. Mary's High, 2012: Baral didn't score a lot but right now his offensive assignment is primarily backing down defenders and the Bay Area Competition Clinic wasn't the right setup to fully play to that strength. His body is solid and will get better and also look for him to demonstrate shooting range as he moves into his sophomore season.

Kendall Jackson, 5-foot-7, Bishop O'Dowd High, 2012: He played on the junior varsity squad last season at BOD but look for him to add ballhandling and quickness to the varsity while feeding Dragon bigs Jordan Barton, Richard Longruss and Brandon Ashley in the upcoming season.

Marcus Lee, 6-foot-4, Deer Valley High, 2013: He's just a freshman right now but he showed enough promise to make the must-mention list.

Robbie Lemons, 6-foot-3, Sacramento Country Day High, 2010: Lemons didn't get the opportunity to demonstrate his long-range shooting talent as he was the second tallest player on his team but his ballhandling, passing and basketball IQ were amply displayed. Selfishly, here's hoping he stays out west so what he accomplishes in college can hopefully be witnessed.

Chijoke Nwuzi, 6-foot-4, Silver Creek High (San Jose), 2010: He doesn't play in the greatest league or a contending team but Nwuzi averaged a double-double last season -- 18.9 points per game, 11.3 rebounds a contest -- and was honored as Junior of the Year. He put down three dunks in one game Saturday while showing good hands and quick jumping ability. How his skills set translates to the next level will be dependent on his shooting range and ballhandling skills since his height translates to more of a wing position. Nwuzi also participates in a number of track and field events.

Khion Sankey, 6-foot-4, Newark Memorial, 2010: With a body seemingly made by U.S. Steel, Sankey is known for his tough and physical play in the paint and Saturday was no different. But he also demonstrated quality ballhandling ability going through traffic down the court. He will also be facing a transition to the wing at the next level.

Joseph Slocum, 6-foot-3, Vallejo, 2010: Showing the range to score inside and outside, Slocum also tossed some nifty passes throughout the games. He possesses a college-ready body.

Isaiah Taylor, 5-foot-8, St. Mary's High, 2012: Taylor is quick on quick and provided a view of his solid ballhandling skills. He definitely needs to add weight and strength but the time is there to do so.

6-foot-6 David Andoh was listed but apparently not present. His new school is Santa Teresa of the Mount Hamilton League in San Jose.