All sorts of basketball items and notes

Rivals' Jerry Meyers just posted this on Archbishop Mitty/Oakland Soldier Aaron Gordon:

"We knew this five-star prospect was good, but we didn't know he was this good. A high level athlete, Gordon is a rebounder and inside scoring threat but also much more. His ball-handling was outstanding and he continually made positive plays in the open court. The ceiling for Gordon as a prospect is extremely high."

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Jon Gold covers the UCLA signing of CCSF's De'End Parker.

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Scott Wolf covers the USC signing of Eureka High's Greg Allen, who is finishing up at Navarro College in Texas.

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From Gerry Freitas' recent 2011 So Cal Hoops review, comes these northern CA names (it's a partial list so go here for more):

Mike Best 6’10” C 2011 Terra Linda HS (Lakeshow Black) An athletic post that scores the ball and blocks a lot of shots. Needs physical strength.

Jalen Dupree 6’0” PG 2012 Vallejo HS (Davis Wildcats) Athletic point guard that penetrates and creates for others. Sees the floor well.

Mike Harris 6’4” SF/PF 2011 Monte Vista HS (Lakeshow Seniors) A strong left handed combo forward that can inside and outside. He is strong and can drive it and shoot it and is a solid rebounder.

Bobby Johnson 6’8” C/PF 2011 Castlemont HS (NorCal Pump N Run 17) Strong, physical post.  Plays through contact, and draws a lot of fouls.  Ok athlete with deceptive quickness. Showed the ability to drive from high post.  Good rebounder.

Tajai Johnson 6’2” SG/SF 2012 Vallejo HS (Team Superstar 17) Real athletic wing with a nice burst of speed. Makes plays in transition, good driver, real good rebounder, shot is improving.

Theo Johnson 6’6” PF/SF 2012 Franklin HS (Team Superstar 17) Very athletic combo forward, nice one-bounce drive, capable post up player, solid rebounder. Really stepped it up in this event.

Erik Kenny 6’3” SF 2012 Sacramento HS (Play Hard Play Smart Elite) Big time athlete that is always at the rim. Can handle and pass, shoots it ok and is a real good rebounder.

Greg Allen to be a Trojan

He has long wanted this, worked hard for it and now it's going to happen. Former Eureka High guard Greg Allen, now at Howard College in Texas, has committed to USC.

Trojans' new horse: Former Logger Allen appears poised to take talents to USC
Ray Aspuria
The Times-Standard
1/23/2011

Greg Allen's future ambition was crystal clear a month ago.

”Hopefully, I'll be playing D-I ball and getting a lot of playing time,” the former Eureka Logger told me while he was in Humboldt County on winter break. “I have two years left and I want to be on a successful team and go to the NCAA Tournament.”

On Thursday, the current Navarro College (Texas) Runnin' Bulldog, took a step towards entering the Division-I basketball foray as he verbally committed to USC...

Go here for the remainder.

A Greg Allen update

Greg Allen came out of Eureka High a couple of years ago, drew some definite D-1 interest but ended up playing at Navarro College in Texas. He is in his sophomore season.

Creighton was in the running during his senior high school season and the BlueJays are apparently re-recruiting Allen, who sports a 3.4 grade point average.

Allen is averaging a team-leading 12.4 points a game on 41% overall shooting, 44% from three and  87% from the foul line.

Greg Allen nabs POW honors

Former Eureka High backcourter Greg Allen was honored as the regional player of the week in his Texas junior college conference:

Navarro's Allen named Region XIV Player of the Week
Charles Richards
The Corsicana Daily Sun Wed 
December 8, 2010

Greg Allen of Navarro [College] averaged 20 points for the Bulldogs last week and has been named the Region XIV men's basketball Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Dec. 5.

Allen scored 18 points in Navarro's 63-57 victory over Tyler and 23 points in the Bulldogs' 84-79 victory over Paris, improving the Bulldogs' conference record to  2-1.

Allen shot 8-of-16 from 3-point range in the two games.

"The coaches just told me to shoot the ball with confidence," said Allen after his team's win over Tyler, in which he made six 3-pointers. "In the first half, I didn't shoot the ball that well, and in the second half I just went out and shot the ball with no conscience. I started hitting shots and it worked well for me."

Two Nor Cal JUCOs get mentioned

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

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

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

A Greg Allen update

Eureka High's Greg Allen headed south after academics eliminated his scholarship offer from Creighton. He's at Navarro College in Texas and also playing much more as a wing than a point. Here is a recent Navarro game article:

Allen hits key 3s in 2nd half to ignite Navarro
Todd Wills
Corsicana Daily Sun
January 23, 2010

Johnny Estelle had a message for sixth-man Greg Allen after four turnovers forced the Navarro coach to pull the freshman shooter out of the game.

“I told him a shot is better than a turnover,” Estelle said.

Allen’s role on the Runnin’ Bulldogs is to score the ball, and he wasn’t doing that hesitating his way into traveling calls in the first half.

Allen settled down after halftime, drilled two 3-pointers on a span of 78 seconds early in the period, the two pivotal shots that carried Navarro to a 68-44 victory over Blinn on Saturday at the Wolens Special Events Center...

Go here for the remainder.

A Greg Allen update

Eureka High's Greg Allen was unable to meet all the NCAA requirements in order to be at Creighton this season so he headed to Texas -- Navarro College specifically -- and is doing just fine

Allen is averaging a team-leading 14.5 points per game .

In 12 games to date, he is shooting 53% overall, 45% from three-point range and 85% from the foul line.

On November 24, Allen drilled five three-pointers on his way to 24 points. On December 5, he buried a corner trey as time expired to give Navarro a 55-52 win over Tyler Junior College.

There must be a Creighton - Navarro connection as another Runnin' Dawg, 6-foot-8 Keithrick Denson, has signed a letter-of-intent in November with the Blue Jays.

An update on Greg Allen

Eureka High's Greg Allen signed a letter-of-intent with Creighton in May and all looked set for the young man to head to Nebraska.

Apparently, academic concerns have popped up and Allen is now at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas.

We don't know if Allen was 'placed' in the Lone Star State by the Creighton coaching staff and therefore remains connected to the BlueJay program or if the choice of a new basketball home was made solely by Allen.

It's Creighton for Greg Allen

Eureka High's Greg Allen has signed a letter-of-intent with Creighton University. We talked with Greg last night and we'll will have an article upcoming at NorCalPreps.com soon.

He did visit Hawaii and USC was about to jump into the mix until a point from back east came aboard there.

Here's a link to the Eureka Times Standard article covering Allen's press conference.

Eureka's Greg Allen to decide this week

Since passing his SAT, backcourter Greg Allen of Eureka High has seen recruiting interest pick up. He recently tripped to Hawaii but the following makes it appear that Creighton is in the lead.

Eureka's Greg Allen Creighton bound?
Ray Aspuria
The Times-Standard
5/15/2009

Eureka High school basketball star Greg Allen is mulling over signing with Division I Creighton University and possibily other teams.

Allen has a letter of intent in hand from Creighton but also has interest from Hawaii and others.

At this point, Allen said he isn't sure when he's going to make a decision to put a pen to the papers...

Go here for the remainder.