This is about a SoCal kid but still a fascinating read

Hey, sometimes you wonder why your favorite college team doesn't land this or that recruit or why a certain club team has the roster it does. 

High school star declared ineligible after payments revealed 
Sports marketers in China were supporting him, according to documents 
Brent Schrotenboer 
Sign On San Diego 
September 28, 2010

According to documents obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, a local Chinese high school basketball star has been the beneficiary of more than $30,000 in money and benefits provided by sports marketers formerly involved with Nike and Chinese NBA star Yao Ming.

Chen Cai, a 6-foot-8 player for Maranatha Christian High, has been declared in ineligible to play basketball this year as a result of an investigation into these and similar allegations. Marantha has offered to forfeit all games in which Chen played during the past three seasons because of rules violations. It is against state high school rules to receive such benefits or be recruited to a school because of athletic ability...

Go here for the remainder.

High schoolers, runners and agents

The following is fairly rare for northern California basketball (but yes, there certainly are exceptions). What happens more in these parts are kids jumping from one club team to another upon the receipt of a pair of shoes or some athletic wear.

Agents Creeping into College Hoops
Bob Zagoria
July 22, 2009

NEPTUNE, N.J. – A little while back, a Division 1 coach from an East Coast school received a telephone call that caused him to perk up just a little bit more than usual.

“I received a call asking if I was interested in a player and the call did not come from his high school coach or AAU coach, but rather from an agent,” the coach recalled.

The coach says he ultimately turned the player down, but the call reveals an inside glimpse into how college basketball really works.

More and more, elite high school prospects, or those who are especially tall, are “handled” not by high school or AAU coaches, but by NBA agents or “runners,” people who work for agents in return for something else.

If a high school or college student-athlete has a written or verbal agreement with an NBA agent, they automatically lose their eligibility. An agent can serve as a prospect’s “advisor,” but the advisors can’t speak on their behalf to other professional entities.

Yet how prevalent is this?

Go here for the remainder.

A feature on John Bryant

Former Pinole Valley High star and now ex-Santa Clara Bronco John Bryant is updated in this feature:

Bryant hones body to put zip in career
Steve Kroner
San Francisco Chronicle
July 11, 2009

John Bryant's professional basketball career began - sort of - Friday in Las Vegas, where his college career ended in March.

The 6-foot-11 center did not play for Sacramento in the Kings' 86-77 summer-league loss to the Detroit Pistons.

In the four months between the WCC tournament and the NBA summer league, Bryant:

1) got his sociology degree from Santa Clara,

2) spent weeks at Impact Basketball in Southern California, trying to improve his body and his game,

3) didn't get selected in the NBA draft...

Go here for the remainder.

More updates on transfers

6-foot-8 Matt Cousins (pictured), of Santa Rosa Junior College, is transferring to Chaminade in Hawaii and will have three years of eligibility. Chaminade, victorious over Virginia and Ralph Sampson in 1982, is a member of the Pacific West Conference...

...Michael Weimer, a 6-foot-5, 230 pound frontcourter from Foothill College/Westmont High is moving on to Cal State-Maritime to become a Keelhauler. Cal State Maritime is an NAIA school in the California Pacific Conference which also features BYU-Hawaii, Dixie State, Hawai'i Hilo, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur...

...Lawrence Donelson, a 6-9 center, is transferring to William Jessup after playing at Los Medanos College and Deer Valley High prior to that...

...Point Cervante Burrell is heading north from Yuba College to Seattle University. Teammate Milos Milosevic, a 6-foot-7 all muscle-no fat forward and a native of Montenegro, is transferring to Valparaiso. Both have three years of athletic eligibility remaining.

Ed O'Bannon turns a corner

Remember UCLA's Ed O'Bannon? His life is much different now and that's all right with him. The following is a good read and portrays that there will be a life to live after the basketballing ends.

From the Court to the Sales Floor
Ed O'Bannon, An Example of When a Promising Career Goes Bust
Dave Sheinin
Washington Post
June 14, 2009

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Retiring was the easy part -- because, really, what was it that Ed O'Bannon was walking away from in the summer of 2004? A career? No, basketball had long since ceased being a career, or even a passion, by then. It was at that point just a profession, a paycheck, a mostly joyless succession of one-year contracts with godforsaken European teams. Basketball was a way to stave off the day when he had to go out and get a real job.

So the act of retiring was simple: Go to your hotel in Eugene, Ore., take off your sweats and your sneakers, leave them behind. Don't even shower. Change into street clothes, cab to the airport, call the wife and say, "Baby, I'm coming home." Don't even tell those folks from the tryout for that Chinese basketball league, the ones who didn't even know who you were or what you have done in this game, that you were packing it in. And by all means, don't look back.

But retirement -- the noun, the state of being? That was dark. That didn't go so well.

It was great at first. Who wouldn't want the life of leisure? But there were a lot of hours to kill between the time when he would send his wife Rosa off to her job and haul the kids off to school, and the time when everyone got back home. There were too many afternoon beer-buzzes, too many self-pitying viewings of the 1995 NCAA championship game, when nobody could stop Ed O'Bannon and those UCLA Bruins...

Go here for the remainder.

Remember Garry Hill-Thomas?

Here a feel good article on a young man who came out of the Oakland area basketball scene and is doing just fine:

Hill-Thomas is a basketball gladiator
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
June 12, 2009

When Garry Hill-Thomas was a member of the Nevada basketball team, he would spend his summers in the Bay Area playing for a team that featured pros.

Playing time was sparse in his first season and Hill-Thomas was thinking about not playing in the league the following year. He consulted then-assistant coach David Carter for some advice.

"I just told him that if you're not getting a lot of playing time you have to win the crowd over like the Gladiator," Carter said, referencing the Oscar-winning movie. "Once you win the crowd over with your energy and your passion, then the coach has to play you."

Hill-Thomas heeded the advice and shortly thereafter earned the nickname "Gladiator." And once his playing days at Nevada ended, the Gladiator tag stuck, becoming the namesake of his burgeoning athletic clothing brand and also his life mantra.

"I got that gladiator nickname and that's kind of how I live my life now," Hill-Thomas said...

Go here for the remainder.

This is a fascinating article

It's not directly related to northern California prep or club team basketball -- although it's definite some kids from here appear in a number of these reports -- but the following is yet another very good and worthwhile read:

NCAA scrutinizing scouting services
Club basketball programs sell information to colleges recruiting their players
Ken Tysiac
Charlotte Observer
May 30, 2009

West Coast club team power Pump N Run has been the summer training ground for many notable college basketball players, including North Carolina's Larry Drew II, who could start at point guard next season, and former Duke player Mike Dunleavy Jr.

That is not the team's only connection to college programs recruiting its best players. The club is a subsidiary of Double Pump Inc., which has sold a recruiting subscription service to many of those same college institutions for about 23 years.

North Carolina was among the programs that paid $600 for Double Pump's service in the 2007-08 fiscal year, and Double Pump co-founder Dana Pump said Duke also is among the service's many longtime subscribers.

The idea that Double Pump and other club teams are selling information to colleges that might be recruiting the clubs' talent has brought these scouting services under the NCAA's scrutiny. Although these payments do not violate NCAA rules, there is concern among college coaches and administrators that some club coaches could be treating a subscription payment as the price of admission to coaches who want to recruit their players.

The issue of payments to scouting services tied to club teams will be reviewed by the Division I men's basketball issues committee when it meets Monday in Indianapolis. Committee chairman Kevin Anderson said some college assistant coaches brought the recruiting service issue to his attention. The coaches said a new rule eliminating April evaluations for college coaches drove them to recruiting services to obtain information on prospects, Anderson said, and some college coaches are afraid that if they don't subscribe, club coaches will prevent them from getting access to players...

Go here for the remainder.

Does the name Isaac Fontaine ring a bell?

This name should ring a bell but it does go back a ways: Isaac Fontaine.

Joe Davidson in the Sacramento Bee has an update on the former Jesuit High star.

Ex-Jesuit star loving life after basketball
Joe Davidson
Sacramento Bee
June 6, 2009

Isaac Fontaine is the best combo guard working in a suit and tie for any accounting firm in the country. Has to be.

The man still looks like he could back someone down in the paint or run the break. But his basketball days are behind him now. The former Jesuit High School star and state Player of the Year now plies his trade downtown with numbers and meetings as a senior associate for the Reznick Group. Fontaine offered flashbacks and his trademark grin Friday while being presented with a proclamation from the city from Mayor Kevin Johnson for his years of sporting impact, including being inducted into the Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor in January...

Go here for the remainder.

Can Antonio Kellogg do it?

Antonio Kellogg's past is checkered but he certainly has time remaining to achieve his dream of being in the NBA. So will he or won't he? He certainly has the tools for a nice career overseas if it comes to that.

Ex-USF star knows pitfalls of turning pro too early
Jeff Faraudo
Inside Bay Area
6/05/2009

Former McClymonds High star Antonio Kellogg was among a dozen basketball players working out at Piedmont High's gym last Saturday morning.

In a one-on-one full-court drill, San Leandro High's Jared Cunningham, who will play point guard at Oregon State next season, made a slick crossover move that left Kellogg sprawled face down on the floor. Cunningham finished the play with a dunk.

The next time down, Cunningham tried it again. Kellogg cleanly picked the ball from him before casually returning to the back of the line.

That's pretty much where Kellogg finds himself at age 23 as he pursues his dream of playing in the NBA. The 6-foot-3 guard left USF two years ago, after his sophomore season, and he's no closer to the NBA now than he was then...

Go here for the remainder.

Here's some history.

Jason Conrad resurfaces

Jason Conrad came out of Gilroy High a couple of years back as a long -- 6-foot-10 or so -- and lean center prospect. He signed with Portland State and the future looked quite rosy.

His senior years was marred by a serious injury but all still looked like a go up in The Shining City.

We believe Conrad spent his freshman year in Portland but didn't play. He eventually left Oregon and returned home.

Now, Conrad is headed to Chico State in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Congrats to him as the Wildcats are collecting a big batch of local and regional players and look to on the way to becoming a major player in the D-2 ranks.

A few impressions from Rumble In The Bay

We thought this might run elsewhere but it doesn't look like it now so here goes:

Through blurried eyes, with haunches in quite the unforgiving mood after being pressed into wooden bleachers for too many days and hours, here are a series of impressions taken away from the Eighth Annual Rumble in the Bay tournament.

*** First things first, we offer a hearty thank you to tournament maestro Gerry Freitas for yet another well-run event

*** For whoever made the decision to turn the last few games into full court matches, we will do our best to get you awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant for such superb decision-making. Such an adjustment was right up there with that one small step for mankind thing.

*** We've become paid up members of the Kory (West High, Bakersfield) Thieleke fan club as the 6-foot-4 2010 backcourter made plays all weekend for his Team Superstar squad

*** We offer a salute to Robert Sandoval of the Bay Area Hoosiers who displays the amazing trait of 'seeing' what is going to happen next before it takes place on the court and positioning himself accordingly

*** Nick Johnson of the Drew Gooden Soldiers is certainly the real deal as a scoring point -- maybe he will grow taller but it looks like he ultimately will have to be a point in the pros and, yes, he will be in the NBA

*** John (De La Salle) MacArthur, also of the Soldiers, was impressive in showing the ability going to his left to score as well as facing the hoop and connecting from long range -- but is he really 6-8?

*** 6-foot-7 Josh Ritchart of Team Superstar gets off the floor seemingly quicker than anyone but needs to supplement his diet with Met-Rx bars or the equivalent in order to add the weight and strength he'll need for college play

*** Dom (St. Mary's) Lee of the Hoosiers has no athletic match in the northern California prep ranks, case closed

*** Charles Standifer of Play Hard, Play Smart apparently is headed for a year of prep school back east but his play this weekend begs the question: what more does someone have to do to catch at least a mid-major ride?

*** Soldier Desmond Simmons is going to delight Lorenzo Romar with his versatility after one more season of making Salesian Coach Bill Mellis a very happy man

*** We predict Hoosier Kiwi (Manteca High) Gardner, still with two years of high school left, will really surprise at the next level -- he's a stone cold finisher whose confidence, rightly so, knows no bounds

*** Salesian's Quincy Smith is a 2011 grad-to-be but already displayed plenty of next level potential in the last three days as a Team Superstar member

*** We had a Sean Rooks sighting on Saturday as the Southeast L.A. squad was taking the floor. Actually, we viewed the area somewhere just below the shoulders of the 6-foot-10 12-year National Basketball Association veteran who is apparently assisting with the Whittier-based team

*** 6-foot-7 sophomore-to-be Grant (Central Valley Christian) Verhoeven of Organized Chaos 1 has obviously inherited some hoops and height genes from father Pete, who played at Fresno State followed by six seasons in the NBA

*** With tongue firmly in cheek, a better showing was expected from the Palo Alto Midnight 17U squad what with the lineup loaded with 'ringers' Stacey Augmon and Steve Kerr ... plus, we didn't witness him in action but our understanding is Lakeshow sophomore Conner Kevorkian's jumpshot is killer ... bada bing, bada boom.

For those of you we missed viewing but are deserving of a mention, please do us this favor: continue with your schooling and engineer some advancements in cloning technology -- at least for use on a temporary basis -- because we found ourselves able to be in but one place at one time this weekend. Either that or please develop human split screen vision when multiple courts in one gymnasium are in use.

Congrats to Brandon Smith

Smith is a leader nonpariel

We offer a hearty congratulations to Brandon Smith of De La Salle High and the Bay Area Hoosiers because of the news that a Cal basketball scholarship has opened up and Coach Mike Montgomery was able to hand it to Brandon for the 2009-2010 season.

Jerome Randle enjoyed his best season by far as a Bear in 2008-2009 and major factors for his improvement were his not having to try and create something every time down the floor, plus a lesser quarterbacking load. With Brandon Smith, Randle will have to be concerned even less about getting the ball up the court and running the offense. The same for soph-to-be Jorge Gutierrez. Additionally, the PAC-10 is loaded with smallish backcourters so Smith's defensive prowess will also come in handy.

He is a fine young man who comes from a great family and has worked so hard to achieve his dream.

The champs of the Rumble In The Bay

Here's the coach and team members of the Bay Area Hoosier Red squad that won the Rumble in the Bay tournament championship.

(from left to right, back row)

Rob Jones, with his Hoosier-to-be offspring
Will Davis, Sacramento High
Travis Souza, Turlock High
Steve McClellan, Edison High
Jamie Moore, Jesuit High
John Green, Castlemont High

(front row)

The Lees, Demetrius and Dominique, of St. Mary's High, surrounding Kiwi Gardner of Manteca High. Gardner was named the most valuable player of the tourney.

Kevin Laue goes D-1

(photo by Andrew Shurtleff for The New York Times)

In one of the most inspirational stories in decades, former Amador Valley Prep Kevin Laue has landed a D-1 scholarship at a school right in the heart of New York City.

Kevin Laue, One-Handed Player, Earns Division I Basketball Scholarship
Adam Himmelsbach
New York Times
May 25, 2009

Kevin Laue, a 6-foot-10 center whose left arm ends at the elbow, was often told he would be an N.C.A.A. Division I basketball recruit if he had two hands.

It turns out the second hand was not necessary. Laue, who is from California, has accepted a scholarship to play for Manhattan College next season...

Go here for the remainder.

Here is a full-length feature the Times did earlier on Laue.

A great Rumble in the Bay tourney

99.99999% of the Bay Area went about their respective business over the holiday weekend blissfully unaware of the the subculture on display Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Rumble in the Bay tournament.

The basketball bounced, went airborne, teased, through the metal cylinder at Cupertino High, Fremont High, Independence High and Cañada College for hour upon hour until the Bay Area Hoosiers topped the Drew Gooden Soldiers 96-93 in a championship game best described as hoops at its finest.

We offer a hearty thanks to all the kids who provided the great entertainment -- may all your basketball dreams come true.

A major hat tip goes to Gerry Freitas for putting on an event that epitomizes professionalism.

Here's a great read

We're at the Rumble In The Bay this weekend (not to be confused with the Thrilla in Manila) so posting time is limited but we came across the following article and thought it was extremely informative. It's lengthy but will be quite worth your while.

Allonzo Trier Is in the Game
Michael Sokolove
New York Times Magazine
March 19, 2009

After school on a recent afternoon, Allonzo Trier, a sixth grader in Federal Way, outside Seattle, came home and quickly changed into his workout gear — Nike high-tops, baggy basketball shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt that hung loosely on his 5-foot-5, 110-pound frame. Inside a small gymnasium near the entrance of his apartment complex, he got right to his practice routine, one he has maintained for the last four years, seven days a week. He began by dribbling a basketball around the perimeter of the court, weaving it around his back and through his legs. After a few minutes, he took a second basketball out of a mesh bag and dribbled both balls, crisscrossing them through his legs. It looked like showboating, Harlem Globetrotters kind of stuff, but the drills, which Trier discovered on the Internet, were based on the childhood workouts of Pete Maravich and have helped nurture his exquisite control of the ball in game settings — and, by extension, his burgeoning national reputation.

One of the Web sites that tracks young basketball prospects reports that Trier plays with “style and punch” and “handles the pill” — the ball — “like a yo-yo.” He is a darling of the so-called grass-roots basketball scene and a star on the A.A.U. circuit — which stands for Amateur Athletic Union but whose practices mock traditional definitions of amateurism.

All youth sports now operate on fast-forward. Just about any kid with some ability takes road trips with his or her team by the age of 12, flying on planes and staying in hotels. That used to happen, if at all, only after an athlete was skilled enough to play in college. Now it occurs in just about any sport organized enough to form into a league. But basketball operates at a level beyond other sports, and in recent years, the attention, benefits and temptations that fall on top high-school players have settled on an ever-younger group...

Go here for the remainder.

A Wendell McKines update

Let's hope former Richmond High star Wendell McKines gets his academics back in order at New Mexico State. Here's a brief mention of his status:

Marvin Menzies likes latest additions in Aggie 2009 recruiting class
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
5/20/2009

...With the release of spring semester grades last week, there are players who have an uphill battle to return to the court in time for next season.

The biggest name is Wendell McKines, the Aggies' sophomore power forward who led the Western Athletic Conference in rebounding last season and averaged a double-double for Menzies.

Menzies said McKines' academic status for the 2009-10 season will not be determined until November and it's possible he could redshirt...

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.

Peter Pappageorge to Cañada College

The most valuable player in the San Mateo area boys basketball ranks -- Peter Pappageorge of Burlingame High -- has committed to play at Cañada College for Coach Peter Diepenbrock.

Here's a San Mateo Times article on Pappageorge.