UC Davis lands another commitment

UC Davis has done it again. First, Jim Les and Company secured the services of Utah wing Tyler Ott and now it's backcourter Olivier Betu of Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, by way of Montreal.

With a need for added athleticism and the ability to create, the Aggies have set a very solid foundation in what is really an initial recruiting class.

Jamie Sullivan, the head coach at Worcester Academy, lauded both Betu and also the Davis staff.

"Olivier loved the school and the coaches and was impressed by the system Coach Les will be using," Sullivan offered. "They [mentioning Les and Assistant Coach Chris Davis] did a great job recruiting him."

About his protege, Sullivan said, "Olivier is a quiet kid, a great kid with a tremendous family. He's 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 and more of a scoring guard, very quick, athletic and can really stroke it. Olivier will thrive in the uptempo Phoenix Suns style offense Davis will be running."

He added, "Olivier is best when put in position to drive to the basket."

Others have described Betu as a natural scorer.

Here's Joey McKitterick, Betu's AAU coach, in a 2009 interview: "Olivier is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. He translates this well onto the court.”

Betu weighs in the 160-165 pound range so added muscle will be necessary.

Sullivan also said Worcester Academy has a college style atmosphere akin to attending a university so his players usually find the transition elsewhere to be a smooth one.

It's important to note that Worcester plays in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), a very tough gathering of schools. A number of 19-year-olds (doing a prep year) dot the various rosters so competing against older players is the norm.

Orlando Johnson featured

UCSB Athletics is featuring Orlando Johnson at work.

Richard Longrus checking out Pullman

BOD's Richard Longrus will be in the Palouse for Washington's State's version of Midnight Madness.

T.J. Wallace checking out Berkeley.

Bakersfield area point T.J. Wallace will be in attendance at Cal's version of Midnight Madness.

Adam Zagoria on the shift of power

NOTE: I would say that most of the West Coast players heading to prep schools have not and are not doing so because of academic deficiencies. It's usually because of desiring greater exposure and/or the need for another year of body and skill development.

Adam Zagoria writes that the 'balance of power' has shifted from prep schools to junior colleges. It's a lengthy but informative read.

More from Coach Adam Desautels

Westwind Coach Adam Desautels is back with a pair of new blog entries, very good reads about athletes versus basketball players and then online courses and the NCAA.

Gotta like this Dana O'Neill column

Ultimately, it's about the players, the coaches, the trainers -- not the writer or other writers as ESPN's Dana O'Neill states.The Whitlocks, the Vecseys, the Smiths can be awfully alluring but none of us (and I use that last term loosely) should ever seek or be the center of attention.

A feature on Damian Lillard

ESPN's Diamond Leung reports on Damian Lillard's 21st birthday activities.

Here's the link noted in the article.

Not Nor Cal related but ...

The folks at Rush The Court offer a great suggestion involving Connecticut players Andre Drummond and Michael Bradley, although Drummond won't be in Storrs for very long (definitely not five years):

"Sticking with Connecticut, remember that Michael Bradley kid — you know, the one who UConn took a scholarship from to give it to a basketball phenom who likely will be there for one year?  Yeah, that kid. He came out on the record Wednesday stating that he has since been given a financial aid package and that he was only one of several players who stepped forward for the good of the team when it became apparent that prep phenom Andre Drummond was prepared to enroll. Even UConn president Susan Herbst got into the act, saying that Bradley has been “taken care of.” The company line was apparently in full effect in Storrs on this day, but there’s one thing we absolutely want to see happen here — five years down the road when Drummond is off to the NBA and Bradley has moved on to whatever great things also await him, we truly hope that he receives a registered letter from his former teammate containing a certified check for the full amount of any student loan (plus interest) he might have taken out to make this happen. Drummond says that he and Bradley have a “great relationship” and are “really cool” with each other — well, if so, he’ll do the right thing and eventually pay the walk-on back in spades."

Talk about taking one for the team. 

More on Grant Verhoeven's call for Stanford

Andy Boogaard offers more on Grant Verhoeven's decision to go with Coach Johnny Dawkins and Stanford.

A Stephen Domingo feature

Mark Knight serves up a solid feature on SI's Stephen Domingo.

Grant Verhoeven to The Farm

Per Josh Gershon, Fresno area frontcourter Grant Verhoeven has made his choice.

The 2011-12 Diablo Valley College Vikings

If you went 13-1 in basketball league play and 26-5 overall, what do you do as an encore?

It's not exactly a dilemma though as Diablo Valley College (DVC) Coach Steve Coccimiglio returns the Big 8 Conference Most Valuable Player and also a First Team honoree who stands 6-foot-8.

That pair being 5-10 sharpshooter Brian Goins and Rafael Carter, respectively.

Goins totaled a Big 8 best 19.4 points per game, including 52 treys and Coccimiglio sees Goins at the two guard a lot: "that's his natural position as a scoring guard. Brian can score from outside and he's hard to contain as he'll drive and break down defenses and give up the ball. He creates a lot of problems for defenses."

Carter averaged 8.6 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots per contest, while shooting 56% from the field. According to Coccimiglio, "he'll get a key block and rebound above the rim for us."

But DVC's riches don't end there. Not with what Coccimiglio calls his "Group of Four" comprised of:

* 6-foot-3 Ronnie Baker, sophomore -- "he'll knock down shots for us"

* 6-foot-5 Daniel Zitani, sophomore, is the second tallest DVC player

* 6-foot-3 Greg Holmes, sophomore, also brings experience

* 6-foot-3 Tyrelle Phillips, who redshirted last year, is an excellent athlete

As for the fast approaching season, Coccimiglio commented "It's really unusual to have six guys coming back who played meaningful minutes and a lot of experience is a real advantage because it translates into leadership. It's six guys who know how to build a team."

But ready to prove that youth isn't wasted on the young, Coccimiglio has a freshman quartet expected to contribute:

* 5-foot-9 Bobby Syvanthong out of El Cerrito High has joined the Viking backcourt. A blur on the court, Coccimiglio said "Bobby isn't intimidated by the jump from high school to junior college. He's a pure point who did well in the [summer] Foothill and Las Positas tournaments."

* 6-foot-3 Damon Jones, has come over from St. Elizabeth's: "knocks down shots"

* 6-foot-3 Andrew Gardner out of Freedom High: "is a good perimeter shooter"

* 6-foot-4 Devon Pouncey from Rodriguez High: "I like how he has adjusted and he'll help on the frontline"

"We're really not a deep team," as Coccimiglio explained. He'll have 10 players active this season. "As long as Goins and Carter stay healthy, it will free up others to get more done because they make other players better players."

That's not what Diablo Valley College opponents wanted to read.

Meet Archbishop Mitty Coach Tim Kennedy

Tim Kennedy is the varsity coach at Archbishop Mitty (AM) and, like most of his mentoring brethren, he brings a basketball history and background to the position but one with some unique differences.

Very early on, it was hoops, hoops, hoops for Kennedy. "I was one of the bigger kids so in first grade I played on the third grade team," he explained.

Kennedy added, "I had great coaches along the way and the biggest thing for me was the competition  -- I'm always excited about competing."

He played as a varsity member all four years on the peninsula at Serra for Coach John Grosey. After being named the West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year as both a junior and as a senior, Kennedy graduated in 1995 as the leading Padre scorer with 1,490 points.

His level of play earned him a college scholarship to Loyola Marymount in southern California, a West Coast Conference school.

During his tenure there, Kennedy played for two coaches, John Olive and Charles Bradley. What's small-world fascinating is that Mitty will participate in a Torrey Pines High (San Diego)-hosted tournament this season. Torrey Pines' coach is none other than John Olive so maybe the former mentor and protege will find themselves matching wits against each other.

After Loyola Marymount is where the arc of Kennedy's basketball life becomes really interesting. He spent six years overseas, playing four years professionally in Portugal and then two in Spain.

While abroad, Kennedy picked up a bit of Portuguese during his tenure there but then learning Spanish became a must because "my coach in Spain only spoke Spanish."

What also sets Kennedy apart from others in his profession is his long participation in the San Francisco Pro-Am league each summer. He's been playing there since 1996 although he took this past summer off due to a pending birth.

Kennedy also was a member of the Irish National team (his father was born in Ireland) attempting to qualify for an Olympic berth.

He came over to Mitty in April 2008 after coaching at Serra for a number of years. "I didn't expect to get it but thought it would be a good experience to interview," Kennedy explained.

How has that transition worked out? Mitty went the distance in 2011-12, finishing on top in the West Catholic Athletic League and then winning the playoff championships and the CCS Division II title, followed by taking the Nor-Cal and finally the CIF State D-2 championships.

In the previous season, the Monarchs finished 21-10.

So why coaching for Kennedy? "That really wasn't the plan, I actually planned to be a police officer." While waiting to be hired, he took on coaching the Serra junior varsity. Then, someone departed from a resource center position at Serra and Kennedy interviewed and was hired in that position.

It was adios to police work.

Kennedy offered, "I love the coaching and the teaching and being around basketball all day is great."

The Harvey McKay quote "find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life" seems appropriate here. Maybe not every day is champagne and chocolates for Kennedy but enough certainly fit the description.

Another Orlando Johnson item

Rush The Court's Zach Hayes in his "Top Ten Players You Don’t Know Yet (But Soon Will)" article writes this about former Palma star Orlando Johnson:

"Circle your calendars: the Gauchos have three games on their slate televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU. It’ll be worth the two hours just to get a glimpse of Johnson in his natural habitat. A diamond-in-the-rough transfer from Loyola Marymount, Johnson has practically willed the Gauchos to two consecutive NCAA berths with heroic performances in the Big West Tournament. As a sophomore, Johnson scored in double-figures in every single game the entire season and finished off Long Beach State with 20/5/4 in the title game. Last season, the remarkable junior averaged 28.3 PPG and made 12 of 18 threes in Anaheim to send UCSB dancing yet again. It’s worth tracking what the best mid-major scorer in the nation will achieve for a final encore."