An Oakland Rebels update

The Oakland Rebels squad has completed its 2012 summer tournament participation and here's an update from Coach Ryant Diew on some of the team members:

* 6-foot-5 Kiran Shastri "blew up with an outstanding Big Foot Classic tourney" and North Texas (Sun Belt Conference) plus UC Santa Barbara (Big West Conference) are getting serious about the 2013 Miramonte High talent

* 6-foot-4 Glenn Baral (Salisbury School) is receiving interest of late from UC Irvine (Big West Conference), Colorado State (Mountain West Conference) and Utah State (Western Athletic Conference but moving to the MWC)

* 5-foot-9 Leo Smith (formerly Oakland Tech) has Cal State Bakersfield very impressed but he didn't participate with the Rebels in last week's Las Vegas tournament because of school commitments. The plan is for Smith to attend Sacramento High this coming school year because of a longer time frame -- an earlier start and a later finish than most -- which offers the possibility of earning greater credits

* 6-foot-2 Ryan Diew has a plan of doing a post grad year at a New England prep school, with Columbia and Cornell (Ivy League) tracking him.

* 6-foot-7 James Hadnot has heard from Sacramento State (Big Sky Conference), UC Davis (Big West Conference) and UNC Greensboro (Southern Conference).

An Oakland Rebels update

The Oakland Rebels started slow this spring, with a lot of new players and testing of lineups. "We weren't looking good even though we went 4-1 in our tourney," Ryant Diew said.

Then it was off to Las Vegas where the Rebels dropped three of four.

After some juggling and more getting acquainted, the Rebels took third place at the Pangos event, won the championship in Mike Walker's Showtime event in Sacramento and went to the championship game at the Big Foot tournament where they lost to Friends of Hoop 71-70. Their record now stands at 19-7

"We've learned we play better when we play faster," Diew explained.

The primary components of the Rebel rebound on the court have been (descriptions provided by Diew):

* Leo Smith - "he's been real solid, running the team and being our most consistent shooter"

* Glenn Baral - "getting Glenn back from Connecticut makes us a different team and he is looking real good"

* Kiran Shastri - "Kiran's been lighting it up of late, scoring 33 points in one game, making seven threes"

* Ryan Diew (his son)- "we had a couple of stretches in games where we were in foul trouble, went small and he stepped up and played big, including a big three when we were down to Play Hard Play Smart Black"

* James Hadnot - "James has been extremely good. His versatility makes him a tough matchup for other bigs"

* Patrick Hawkins - "Patrick's been playing really well for us coming off the bench"

Regarding recruiting, it's still early and matters will seriously pick up come the end of July.

Diew offered, "Smith is getting interest from Cal State Bakersfield, Holy Cross is liking Baral, Hadnot has done an unofficial with Sacramento State and my son is headed to the Columbia Elite Camp June 14-17." The latter program is headed by former St. Mary's coach Kyle Smith.

The Oakland Rebels at 25

Is the 25th edition of the Oakland Rebels the team with the most bountiful talent yet? Founded by Melvin Landry, the program has been an O-town mainstay and, unlike other entities, there's been no resting on any sort of laurels or accomplishments of yesteryear.

Headed by Coach Ryant Diew, and Coach Shawn Hadnot, the top squad of the Rebels has a powerful mix of new talent and longtime players on this season's roster, with the most prominent being a returning prodigal son.

It's McClymond High 6-foot-10 big man Jamaree Strickland who has made a homecoming to the Rebel fold after time with the Oakland Soldiers. Sidelined by a knee injury for some time, Strickland is now ready to return to the court and make his mark in the middle.

As for a 2012 prognosis, Diew said, "we have a very good team." This despite Tanner Giddings (Fresno State), Eric Green (Holy Cross), Paris Davis, Rodney Cook, Maceo Bell (Merritt College), et al moving on.

Even more importantly, the Rebel top talents are on target to meet college entrance requirements

Where will the Rebels be on display?

* The Pangos Spring Spectacular in Las Vegas
* the Pangos Sweet 16 in Long Beach
* The City Championships in San Francisco
* The Compton Magic Memorial Day Tournament
* The Adidas Invitational in Indiana
* Hal Pastner's Las Vegas Live
* The Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas.

So who are the 2012 Rebels?

In alphabetical order, (with Diew's comments in quotation marks):

* Glenn Baral, 6-foot-4, junior, Salisbury School (CT) - "he'll be back for our second tournament in April"

* Joe Barnes, 6-foot-3, junior, Sacramento High rated #22 by Nor Cal Preps - "a First Team All Metro League  pick"

* Andrew Cox-Gillmore, 6-foot-6, junior, Pinole High, rated #29th by Nor Cal Preps - "a First Team Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League pick"

* Adam Ciszewski, 6-foot-5, junior, Bella Vista High - "a very under rated player, he's a good shooter, rebounder and passer, who moves well without the ball -- a glue guy who is very important to our team"

* Ryan Diew, 6-foot-2, junior, Head Royce High - "a First Team All Bay Counties League East pick"

* Carlos Fineman, 6-foot-8, junior, College Prep High - "a Second Team All-Bay Counties League selection who is pretty tough, raw but active and runs the floor well"

* James Hadnot, 6-foot-6, junior, Sacramento High , rated #30 by Nor Cal Preps - "an Honorable Mention Metro League selection"

* Patrick Hawkins, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Cal Prep - "a tenacious backup at the point, we're happy to have him back, he was selected to play in the Top 30 All-Star game at the Pangos Frosh/Soph Camp last October"

* Robert Jackson, 6-foot-1, junior, Vallejo High - "a good player and a lifetime Rebel"

* Kiran Shastri, 6-foot-5, junior, Miramonte High - "a First Team All-Diablo Foothill Athletic League selection who is a big time scorer  -- in averaging 23.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game last season, he compiled totals of 40 and 32 points in the NCS playoffs and had a 38-point game in the first round of the CIF playoffs"

* Leo Smith, 5-foot-9, junior, Oakland Tech - "a First Team Oakland  Athletic League (OAL) selection, he led the OAK in assists (6.6 per game) and was the second-leading scorer (22.3 points a game)"

* Jamaree Strickland, 6-foot-10, senior, McClymonds High - "he's been kept off the court because of an injury but is ready to play"

Size, plenty of offensive weapons inside and out, ballhandling -- it's all there. The Rebels will be out repping the East Bay beginning next month.