Thursday, February 3, 2011

Here's a must-read article

Where are the adults in this situation who can get beyond/see beyond their own selfishness and immaturity? Who will do the right thing because it is best for the kid, even if it lessens their personal pocketbooks?

They thankfully do exist and their actions better not only the youth in our communities but the communities themselves. It's called giving, not taking.

Sure, it's a kid from the East Coast in the following but sadly there are plenty names of West Coast talents who could be inserted here.
Ledo having second thoughts about PC? No surprise there
Bill Reynolds
Providence Journal
February 3, 2011


I first met Ricky Ledo a year ago.

It was in the small basketball office at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, but already he was at the epicenter of the basketball world, one of those kids who was anointed early, romanced early, recruited early, placed in the fishbowl early.

The year before he had jumped into the spotlight by scoring 31 points at the Ryan Center, taking a state final high school game between Hendricken and Mount Pleasant and turning it into a personal showcase. It was all display that afternoon, the size, the athleticism, the scoring ability, the promise that one day Ledo’s talents were going to take him to big games in big arenas.

On the day that I first met him he was being courted by some of the biggest basketball schools in the country, places like Kansas and Syracuse, in addition to PC and URI. He said that he was just starting to realize what it all meant, as if he’d had a glimpse of a world so different from the one he had grown up in.

But that’s only part of Ledo’s story, and in many ways, not even the most important part.

Or as Mike Hart, the St. Andrew’s coach said a year ago, “Basketball is not the issue. It’s the other stuff...”
Go here for the remainder (and it get better...or worse, depending on your perspective.

Wednesday night's JC & HS scores

San Jose City 88, De Anza 64

San Jose City -- Black 9 0-0 24 (six treys), Keith (Hayward High) Martin 5 7-7 17, Shaheed (San Leandro High) Young 5 1-2 14, Hill 5 2-6 12

De Anza -- Eric (Cupertino High) Heslin 8 2-6 18, Josh (Oak Grove High) Grant 6 1-3 13, Noel (New York HS) Dixson 4 1-2 11

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Cañada 79, Las Positas 69

Cañada -- Peter (Burlingame High) Pappageorge 7 7-9 25 (four treys) , Izzy (Mountain Creek High) Tueta 6 3-4 17, Steven (Lynbrook High) Sanders 4 5-8 13

Las Positas -- Dwight (James Logan High) Abad 6 5-7 21 (four treys), Ryan (Granada High) Hebebrand 7 4-4 18, Dylan (California High) Heath 4 4-4 14.

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Archbishop Mitty 77, Bellarmine College Prep 57

Archbishop Mitty -- Aaron Gordon 11-7-29, Neil Vranicar 6-0-17 (five treys), Kyle Toth 5-1-13

Bellarmine College Prep -- Griffin Goudreau 5-0-12, Kristoffer Olugbode 5-1-12, Nick McCue 4-1-10

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St. Francis 68, Valley Christian 47

St. Francis
-- Kenneth Harris 5-2-13, Chris Chang 4-3-11, Jarod Diaz 4-2-11

Valley Christian -- Brandon Hecke 4-6-14

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Jeremy Balan offers the game report of Sacred Heart beating St. ignatius.

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Phil Barber does the same with Casa Grande's second win this season over Analy.

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Kevin Scarpati offer a Mount Hamilton League roundup.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The latest California junior college rankings

1   San Francisco (N) (22-1)   
2   Mt. San Antonio (S) (19-3)   
3   Irvine Valley (S) (19-4)
4   Fresno (N) (23-2)   
5   Southwestern (S) (19-2)
6   Saddleback (S) (20-5)   
7   Diablo Valley (N) (18-4)
8   San Bernardino Valley (S) (13-9)
9   Citrus (S) (19-4)   
     Chabot (N) (16-6)   
11 Mt. San Jacinto (S) (16-6)   
12 Cabrillo (N) (16-6)   
13 Canada (N) (15-3)   
14 Antelope Valley (S) (16-6)   
15 Barstow (S) (18-4)   
16 Yuba (N) (18-5)
17 Ohlone (N) (14-8
18 Reedley (N) (15-5)   
19 San Jose City (N) (13-7)   
20 Chaffey (S) (13-7)

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

Oakland's Brian Shaw

Here's Shaw with a very young Aalim Moor

It's going to happen sooner than later -- the retirement of Phil Jackson and Brian Shaw's ascension to coaching the Lakers. Most either don't know or have forgotten that Shaw is an Oakland product.
Lakers Q&A: Brian Shaw interested in succeeding Phil Jackson as Lakers coach
Mark Medina
Los Angeles Times
February 1, 2011

This is the fourth post in an occasional series of Q&As with a member of the Lakers organization. Below is a recent conversation with Lakers Assistant Coach Brian Shaw, who's in charge of game preparations for contests against the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls.

You told [the L.A. Times' Mike Bresnahan] that this isn't something you're thinking about now, but obviously there's a strong possibility you'll be considered to take over as Lakers head coach. What kind of qualities do you think you'd bring as a head coach if that opportunity came up?

Like you prefaced it, I don't really think about it at this point because there're so many unknown things and factors. There could be a lockout and not be a season. Phil may decide to come back again. I'm sure every coach that's out there, big-name coaches and otherwise, would come running for the job. Who wouldn't want to be the head coach of the Lakers? I don't really consume my thoughts with that.

I would like to think that, if it did happen, [one of] the qualities I would bring is patience. From being around Phil and watching how he deals with the players. ... He has tenure and he has championships and experience that players respect because they know he's been there and done it more than anybody has. He's dealt with personalities, very strong personalities both in Chicago and here and been able to make it work.

I sit back and watch how he deals with [players and] how his relationships are with his players. The game I think has evolved. It's less X's and O's. I've played basketball and have been coaching basketball long enough now to understand everything that goes on on the court. What it's evolved more into now is managing different personalities and egos and all the other stuff that goes with it. When Phil played and, early on, when I played, you didn't have guys doing reality shows, guys with cellphones, pagers and tweeting and guys with their whole bodies tattooed and crazy hairstyles that are part of the game now. You didn't have so many young guys that came out of high school or one year removed from college. Now, a lot of coaching goes into being able to deal with all of those types of issues, and a lot of the spotlight is taken off the X's and O's and who can make this mix of guys work and control these personalities.

I presume it's fair to say, though, that if they approached you about the job, you'd be interested?

No question (laughs). No question about it. It would be a dream for anybody. I consider this one of the top three jobs in all of professional sports. If you're the head coach of the Lakers, it's probably the best job in basketball. If you're the manager of the New York Yankees -- or in football, arguably [it's] the coach of the Cowboys, they say that's America's team. Those three jobs are probably the most prestigious and sought-after jobs in all of sports...
Go here for the remainder.

Vytas Mazeika with a must-read article

Here's a very informative article of what high school coaches do in getting their players to college and hopefully on some sort of scholarship. More kids go D-2, NAIA and the such than D-1 and this is where these coaches play their most important role even though it's one of many.

Wednesday's roundup

Bill Paterson writes about Burbank High topping Sacramento High.Bill also has a column chock full of Sac area basketball notes, topped by this great quote: "We've got a Visman."

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Jimmy Durkin reminds us of David Gurganious' life-and-death episode a year ago.

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Ben Enos covers the San Ramon Valley - De La Salle game last night.

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The Vallejo Times Herald game reports the St. Patrick - St. Vincent/Salesian matchup.

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Phil Barber does the same with the Cardinal Newman - Piner get together.

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Ron Agostini tell us that Santa Rosa JC topped Modesto JC despite more heroics from former Sonora High star Jordan Sergent.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Rashad Parker is honored

Former Castro Valley star Rashad Parker, now at Chico State, is performing well:
Parker's play points to a bright future with Wildcats, Wildcat of the Week honors now
Luke Reid - Sports Information Director
1/31/2011


One could argue that Chico State freshman guard Rashad Parker made his big introduction to Chico State basketball fans with a 13-point game earlier this season. But that was against Pacific Union. This weekend, Parker provided a glimpse of just how bright his future might be in a Chico State Uniform by knocking down 5-of-10 threes and averaging 10.5 points per game against California Collegiate Athletic Association powers Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. He's been deemed Wildcat of the Week for his efforts.

Parker scored a team-high 14 points in 20 minutes of action against fourth-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday. He hit 4-of-8 3-pointers while notching an assist and two rebounds to go along with his highest scoring output of his career. Saturday, Parker finished with seven points and matched his career high with three rebounds.

The Wildcats have struggled to find scoring off the bench since Sean Park entered the starting lineup eight games ago. But Parker is easily the team's most aggressive reserve. He's third on the team in scoring per 40 minutes at 15.8 points and he's second on the team with 1.9 steals per 40 minutes. 

A Josiah Turner site

Here is a Josiah Turner site that was sent to us (thank you), complete with updates from North Carolina.

A handful of links for you today



He would say it just because he has been there so long and all due to others but Diablo Valley College's Steve Coccimiglio is a Bay Area basketball institution and just earned victory #500. Steve Corkran offers a very good feature. Key quote from a former player: "Coach was vested in you on and off the court. He wanted to make sure that his players grow up to be young, productive citizens. At the end of the day, that's his biggest victory: the players he coached and the men he raised." 

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Ben Enos has the details on a high school conference realignment proposal.  

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Jose San Mateo highlights last week's stellar play by Bethel's Rodney Cook. 

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Thomas Gase previews tonight's the St. Patrick St. Vincent - Salesian matchup. 

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George Watkins looks at the Palma High sophomore class.

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Here is another feature on now Manhattan basketballer Kevin Laue.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Another free basketball skills clinic offered by Jeremy Russotti

1% CLUB Basketball will be running a FREE Basketball Skill Clinic Saturday, February 5 at Jefferson High School in Daly City. This is a free clinic for grades K-8th grade.

 The clinic will be run by skill training specialist Jeremy Russotti and staff.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to train with the most effective program developed for kids.

Times are at:

K-2nd Grade: Noon - 1pm
3rd - 5th: 1pm - 2:30pm
6th - 8th: 2:30 - 4pm
9th-HS: Coming after the season

No need to register but contact person is:

Alfonso Joo
650-267-3678
alfonso@1percentclub.org

Jefferson High School is located at 6996 Mission Street in Daly City.


Davion Berry en fuego

Sophomore Davion Berry scored a career high 41 points to lead Cal State Monterey Bay past visiting Cal State San Bernardino, 82-80, on Saturday night at the Kelp Bed.
"We had a great team effort tonight," said head coach Rob Bishop. "Berry carried us when we needed baskets but we got a great team effort from the entire team. Our rebounding and defense was much better tonight."

Berry had a team-high seven rebounds along with two assists. The scoring was spread among eight other players with sophomores Derrick Anderson and Brandon Ward contributing 11 and 10 points respectively.

In a game that consisted of 20 lead changes and 15 ties, the Otters held the largest lead of the game at 74-69 with 3:12.

Berry sank a jumper with 21 seconds left to give CSUMB an 80-77 lead, but the Coyotes answered right back when Robbie Robinson connected on his first 3-pointer of the night with 13 seconds left on the clock. Anderson hit the game winning free throws after driving down the key and drawing a foul on the next possession. CSUMB’s strong defense held the Coyotes from scoring in the final six seconds.
AND
Cal State Monterey Bay guard Davion Berry was named the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s (CCAA) men's basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 24-30, it was announced on Monday.

"I am very proud of Davion for getting CCAA Player of the Week," said head coach #Rob Bishop. "He has been very consistent these past few weeks with not only scoring but rebounding too."

Berry, a sophomore from Oakland, Calif., had a big offensive weekend in helping the Otters gain a home split against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. He averaged 36.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and a blocked shot while shooting 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the field, including 7-of-16 (43.8) from behind the 3-point arc.

In a 74-65 setback to Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, Berry scored a game-high 32 points, collected nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. He followed that performance with a career-high 41 points, on 11-of 25 (44.0) shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists during an 82-80 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.

Diablo Valley College 56, Santa Rosa Junior College 50

It was close throughout but Steve Coccimiglio's squad triumphs. Go here for the video and also the print.

A Max Hooper update

Former Valley Christian star shooter Max Hooper receives the royal treatment here, in video and print.

Three prep links for you

Joe Davidson offers up a short video of Sheldon taking down Oak Ridge.

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Mitch Stephens serves up his highlights of the week plus what to look for this week. Here is Mitch on the Jabari Bird reinstatement.