Word travels fast out in the Valley, especially when it has anything to do with the kids from Chatsworth, the premier program in the City and one of the best teams in the state. So I wasn't surprised to receive a couple of phone calls Thursday night with news about the Chancellors defeating Cleveland, 4-1, in the championship game of the Valley Invitational Baseball League. Click here for the Daily News' recap of the action.
Apparently, UCLA is not interested in Daniel Jenkins, because if Rick Neuheisel & Co. were, my guess is the senior from Rancho Verde would already have a scholarship offer on the table. But he doesn't, a fact that is somewhat puzzling considering the Bruins have been keeping an eye on him for a while now.
Jenkins had nothing but good things to say about Westwood in this blog, which surfaced around these parts about a month ago. At that point, I figured it would just be a matter of time before UCLA stepped up its efforts to land an oral commitment from the 5-foot-9, 180-plus pound running back.
In the meantime, Missouri and Syracuse have joined in on the Jenkins sweepstakes, according to these quotes. Other programs in the mix include Boise State, Colorado and Georgia Tech. And I can't forget to mention that Arizona and Washington State have offered, unlike the Bruins, who could end up missing the boat.
Nik Turley, who pitched for Harvard-Westlake last season and was a 50th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees, has signed. He turned down a scholarship to Brigham Young.
When highly touted DeMar DeRozan made the surprise announcement that he had committed to USC back in mid-April, it was a huge boost to the 2008 recruiting class. And it appears the Trojans are on the verge of duplicating the feat, this time with a prized 2009 prospect. The Cardinal and Gold is at it again.
Last time we heard from Demetrius Walker, he had narrowed his list of potential suitors to five schools. According to these quotes, two programs remain in the hunt for the 6-foot-4 senior from San Juan Capistrano JSerra, and one of them is USC. The lone threat comes from up north, more specifically, Cal.
Most Division I scouts consider him among the top 25 shooting guards in the nation and one could argue that he possesses just as much upside as Southland standouts like Rancho Verde's Michael Snaer and Santa Barbara's Roberto Nelson. Now it will be interesting to see if Tim Floyd & Co. can convince Walker to stay close to home.
My guess is that most knowledgeable fans agree that Hollis Thompson is the odds-on favorite to win the Mission League's most valuable player honor this coming season. And his status as the man to beat is warranted, considering the 6-foot-8 senior from Loyola is as talented as they come and bound for Georgetown.
Jules Montgomery, on the other hand, is an unknown commodity. However, the 6-foot-9 senior from Chaminade played well during the spring and summer, gaining some much-needed confidence, and though he isn't considered a threat to the Thompson throne, he could end up being a force in his own right.
"Honestly, and I don't just say this because I have been around him for a couple of years, but I think he can play ball at the Division I level,'' former Coach Bryan Cantwell said of Montgomery, who averaged 8.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks a season ago and had breakout efforts against University and St. Francis.
You may have noticed over the past few years that artificial turf has quickly become the playing surface of choice for most Southland football programs.
A report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission today concludes synthetic fields are safe and that "young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields." However, the commission warns that as the fields become more worn out over time, lead exposure could increase due to the breakdown of synthetic grass fibers.
Though this report is a definite victory for the artificial turf manufacturers and their supporters, they're not breaking out an end-zone celebration just yet.
According to USA Today, a congresswoman has pushed for the Environmental Protection Agency to do a study on the possible health and environmental effects of "crumb rubber" -- the recycled tire rubber that acts as a cushion under most synthetic fields. There are also lingering concerns about heatstroke in players since artificial fields can exceed temperatures of 150 degrees.
Monday marks the opening of fall football practice for City Section schools, with coaches breaking out their whistles and starting to send players through their conditioning drills.
It's time to start speculating on teams and players to watch.
Who's the better running back, junior hurdles champion D.J. Morgan of Taft, pictured, or sophomore DeAnthony Thomas of Crenshaw?
With junior first baseman Derek Neely crushing a three-run home run, Chatsworth routed Hart, 21-4, Tuesday at Brookside Park in Pasadena to advance to Thursday's Valley Invitational Baseball League championship game.
Catcher Carlos Escobar Jr. was another hitting star for Chatsworth, which this year won its eighth City Section championship. Chatsworth will play its West Valley League rival, Cleveland, on Thursday night at Birmingham. Cleveland defeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 2-1, in the other semifinal.
Michael Williams has patiently waited for his opportunity to contribute on a significant basis over at Taft in the Valley. In fact, he's been paying his dues for three-plus years now, first learning the ropes as a freshman, followed by a brief stint on the varsity as a sophomore and then a key role last season as the Toreadors' sixth man.
Things, however, promise to be different once the coming season starts, considering Williams played well during the spring and summer. The 5-foot-10 guard played so well, in fact, he earned himself a spot as a starter in the backcourt, essentially replacing the irreplaceable Larry Drew Jr., who moved on to North Carolina.
"Michael won't make any of our fans forget Larry, but he's a pretty darn good playmaker in his own right,'' Coach Derrick Taylor said. "Best thing about him is, he's hungry. He's always been hungry. He wants to prove he belongs. Honestly, this kid could have been starting for any team in the City last year, no doubt about it.''
Before we go any further, I must give credit where credit is due: Jaime Cardenas, a former colleague of mine at The Times, did a great job of covering preps out in the San Gabriel Valley. In fact, he was way ahead of the curve when it came to keeping tabs on the recruiting status of Brandon Sermons, one of the top athletes in the region.
Come to think of it, I remember when Jaime reported that the 6-foot defensive back from Diamond Ranch had no more than a few scholarship offers offers on the table back in May. Plenty has changed since. The number of potential suitors quickly doubled, with Oregon State recently jumping on the bandwagon, according to these quotes.
Most Division I scouts agree he's among the nation's top 25 players at his position. And there's no doubt that Sermons has established himself as one of the best cover corners in the Southland, ranking right up there with Notre Dame-bound Marlon Pollard from Cajon and UCLA-bound Sheldon Price from Bishop Amat.
Arizona State-bound Osahon Irabor from Upland, Lynwood's Vachel Samuels and St. Bonaventure's J.B. Dock are among the other notable defensive backs out West. Sermons, however, has the attention of everyone nowadays, though my boy Jaime informed all of us about him months ago.
Solomon Hill, a 6-foot-6 forward from Los Angeles Fairfax, has ended his recruiting process by committing to Arizona.
"I want to take the pressure off," Hill told GoAZCats.com. "I appreciate all the phone calls and e-mails, but I know where I wanted to go so I want to get it out of the way, commit to Arizona and concentrate on basketball."
Hill got his scholarship even though he didn't go to Las Vegas to play in travel ball last week. He stayed home to attend summer school.
Ever meet one of those guys who is comfortable in his own skin? Someone who is just fine without receiving a ton of attention, a ton of publicity? Derek Brown falls into that category. The junior from Chino Hills is perfectly comfortable going about his business quietly, although things might not remain that way for much longer.
While UCLA-bound Kendall Williams from Los Osos and Mater Dei's Gary Franklin have dominated Southland headlines over the past year, Brown has been slowly, but surely making a name for himself. In fact, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington have just now discovered the 6-foot-1 point guard's undeniable talents.
"I like being the sleeper,'' Brown said. "I think people have known about me here locally for a while. And don't get me wrong, it's been cool to get some more exposure and hear my name being talked about on the national level. But it's not all that important to me. If I'm doing my thing on the court, things will handle themselves off the court.''
Kevin Mulloy's possible transfer from Oxnard has created quite a stir out in Ventura County this summer, with the rumors essentially starting when longtime Yellowjackets Coach Henry Lobo decided to retire following the 2008 season after 17-plus years at the helm of the program.
Hopefully, this blog will clear up some of the misconceptions about the whole situation, and perhaps finally put an end to all of the posts flooding message boards across the Southland. Apparently, Mulloy isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. The 6-foot-6 wing will, in fact, be back at Oxnard for his junior year.
"I've spoken to Kevin plenty of times over the past couple of months and he will be in a Yellowjacket uniform next season. This is the place for him,'' new Coach Jeff Staniland said. "People always speculate, they always gossip. But that's just what it was -- gossip. If I've learned one thing, it is you can't believe everything you hear."
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, the defending Southern Section Division III baseball champion, has advanced to the semifinals of the Valley Invitational Baseball League playoffs behind the powerful hitting of senior outfielder Kelly Dugan.
Against Crespi this past week, he batted left-handed and sent the ball to the right-field fence. Then he batted right-handed and sent the ball to the left-field fence. "He's a real tough out," Coach Tom Dill said.
The semifinals bring together four of the best programs in the San Fernando Valley. On Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Brookside Park in Pasadena, it will be Hart taking on Chatsworth. At 6:30 p.m., it will be Notre Dame playing Cleveland. The championship game is Thursday night at Birmingham.
Notre Dame also has a rising junior pitching standout in David Armendariz, who like Dugan has been invited to the Area Code games. He has been throwing close to 90 mph. Eric Walbridge, injured last season, has come on as a pitcher, and outfielder Nick LaFace is proving to be a solid hitter.
Cleveland has an improving outfielder in Jeremy Stearn, who has delivered some clutch hits in recent games. The Cavaliers will rely on their pitching trio of John Wilson, David Carver and Robert Almendarez.
Chatsworth, the defending City Section champion, went 20-1 during the regular season and probably deserves the favorite role. All-City third baseman Ryan Cooperstone and All-City catcher Carlos Escobar Jr. have been performing well, as has sophomore pitcher Christian Lopez and senior pitcher Andrew Klausmeier. Hart has a hot hitter in Adam Bouyer, who hit three home runs in the quarterfinals.
It should be a great two days of summer baseball to end the season.
Cypress infielder David Nick had two hits to help the U.S. baseball 18U national team defeat Australia, 5-1, on Saturday in a pool-play game of the International Baseball Federation's World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
Nick, who has committed to UCLA, is expected to be one of the top players in the Southland next spring.
Grassroots Canada Elite made a flurry of free throws in the second overtime to pull out an 88-79 victory over the Compton Magic in the Adidas Super 64 tournament championship Saturday in Las Vegas.
Compton had forced the first overtime after trailing by nine points with 6 minutes 38 seconds left in the second half.
The Compton Magic and Grassroots Canada Elite are headed for double overtime in the Adidas Super 64 tournament championship game after Grassroots missed an open layup at the buzzer.
The Magic's Xavier Thames made two free throws with four seconds left in the second overtime to tie the score at 75-75. Compton had rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half.
A three-pointer by Roberto Nelson with seven seconds remaining helped the Compton Magic complete a comeback from a nine-point deficit and force overtime with the score tied at 68-68 in the Adidas Super 64 tournament championship at Rancho High in Las Vegas.
The Magic had trailed, 53-44, with 6:38 remaining before closing regulation on a nice run. The teams now play a five-minute overtime period.
In the Reebok Summer Championships in the Las Vegas area, Florida-based Team Breakdown defeated North Carolina-based D-One Sports, 81-64, in the title game of the open division.
In the A Division championship, Inland Empire-based ISAF beat Colorado Chaos 16's Blue, 75-57. In the B Division title game, Spirit Got Game toppled SM Eagles, 71-54. And in the high school division championship, the Orange Lutheran Lancers knocked off the Wisconsin Playground Warriors, 66-55.
The Compton Magic leads Grassroots Canada Elite, 29-28, at halftime in the Adidas Super 64 tournament championship at Las Vegas Rancho High.
Both teams' names are somewhat misleading. The Magic's only player with Compton ties, Compton Centennial High guard Deonta Burton, had to return home because of family issues. Grassroots Canada's star player, Tristan Thompson, plays for a high school in New Jersey.
It looks as if Jeremy Tyler will keep Ben Howland, Tim Floyd and probably about a dozen or so other college coaches hanging until at least this time next year.
The San Diego High junior forward declined to discuss which colleges he was seriously considering, saying, "I'm not even into that right now." Gary Franklin, who coaches Tyler's California Supreme club team, said both UCLA and USC were in the mix along with Arizona and Connecticut, among others.
Tyler did say that he would start narrowing his focus around this time next year.
"He's got a lot of offers and can kind of dictate anywhere he wants to go," Franklin said.
Franklin's son, Gary Jr., a junior guard at Santa Ana Mater Dei High who led all scorers with 21 points today during Supreme's 79-70 victory over Houston Hoops in the Main Event championship in Las Vegas, also has not picked a school. His father said he was considering Arizona, Utah, Baylor, San Diego State, California and Stanford.
The Compton Magic looked as dead as downtown Las Vegas.
Trailing by 10 points early in the second half against the Atlanta Celtics and star forward Derrick Favors in an Adidas Super 64 tournament semifinal, the Magic cast some spell en route to a 96-87 victory.
There were big plays by Santa Barbara High guard Roberto Nelson, whose breakaway dunk gave the Magic a seven-point lead, and Corona Centennial guard Shannon Sharpe, who grabbed a key rebound after missing a free throw with just under a minute left.
The Magic plays Grassroots Canada Elite in the championship at 6:20 p.m. at Rancho High.
Not sure what this says about the state of elite U.S. basketball, but Grassroots Canada Elite just spanked Pump 'N Run Elite, 79-55, in a semifinal of the Adidas Super 64 tournament.
Tyler Honeycutt (eight points) and Kendall Williams (six) both had substandard games for Pump 'N Run. Sacramento High's Chase Tapley had 19 points and Ontario Colony's Tyler Lamb had 13 in a losing effort.
There's a more positive development for the other remaining Southern California team in the tournament. The Compton Magic has rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit and now leads the Atlantic Celtics, 78-73, with 3:48 remaining.
Arizona-bound catcher Perelini Koria of San Pedro became the first All-American in school history when EA Sports selected her first-team All-American. She's the state career leader in home runs with 45 and had 174 runs batted in.
Completing a stirring turnaround after losing its first two games of the Main Event under-17 platinum division, the California Supreme defeated Houston Hoops, 79-70, in the championship game.
Santa Ana Mater Dei High guard Gary Franklin Jr. scored 21 points to lead the Supreme. San Diego High star Jeremy Tyler came off the bench in both halves and scored 12 points. Coach Gary Franklin said Tyler came off the bench because of chemistry issues and because he didn't want the 6-foot-9 Tyler and 6-8 Chris Cunningham of Diamond Bar Diamond Ranch High on the floor at the same time.
Tyler was somewhat disappointing, though he showed flashes of his explosive athleticism on a couple of dunks. Not-so-tiny Keith "Tiny" Gallon, the 6-9 forward from Houston Hoops who looks to be pushing 300 pounds, scored 24 points.
In the Adidas Super 64 tournament, the Compton Magic and Pump N' Run Elite both trail their respective opponents by 10 points early in the second half.
It's San Diego superstar Jeremy Tyler and the California Supreme versus the Houston Hoops in the Main Event championship just underway at Las Vegas Spring Valley High.
USC Coach Tim Floyd, among the throng of college coaches who hope to land Tyler, is here. Houston Hoops features guard Tommy Mason-Griffin, who recently committed to Oklahoma, and forward Keith "Tiny" Gallon, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds in a semifinal victory.
A pair of Southern California teams will play in the Adidas Super 64 semifinals at 1 p.m. Compton Magic plays the Atlanta Celtics, while Pump 'N Run Elite takes on Grassroots Canada Elite. The winners play at 6:20 p.m. in the championship at Rancho High.
In the Reebok Summer Championships Open division, the semifinals will be played at 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. at Foothill High, with the championship at 6 p.m. There are no Southland teams remaining in the tournament.
A championship-caliber game was played this evening in the Reebok Summer Championships in the Las Vegas area.
Too bad it was only the Round of 16.
Highly touted point guard John Wall and North Carolina-based D-One Sports pulled out a thrilling 62-60 victory over Inland Reebok I at Foothill High after rallying from a seven-point halftime deficit.
Quddus Bello's flying putback dunk with two seconds left was the difference. Inland Reebok's subsequent full-court inbounds pass went out of bounds, securing the victory for D-One and propelling it to a quarterfinal game Saturday morning.
Inland Reebok was the final remaining team from Southern California in the tournament.
After a strong first-half performance, Inland Reebok's Michael Snaer didn't do much in the final 16 minutes, though he buried a clutch pull-up jumper to tie the score at 60-all with 50 seconds to play.
In the early going, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Moreno Valley Rancho Verde High displayed a tremendous ability to finish around the basket and score in traffic. He also showed a propensity for shooting NBA-range three-pointers, a few of which were well off the mark and taken at inopportune times.
Nonetheless, a North Carolina assistant coach who was in attendance to watch Wall and D-One forward Ryan Kelly stopped by press row to inquire about Snaer, who finished with a game-high 30 points.
Wall, who had 23 points, also impressed with his speed, blowing past multiple defenders on one coast-to-coast layup. The 6-4 guard from Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Christian Academy also made an acrobatic spin move on a drive early in the second half.
And unlike Snaer, Wall survived to play another day.
Sylmar High standout Tyler Honeycutt and Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High guard Kendall Williams seemingly spent as much time on the bench as on the court during Pump 'N Run Elite's relatively easy 70-57 victory over Bloomington South earlier today at Las Vegas Desert Pines High in the Adidas Super 64 tournament.
Pump 'N Run Elite is currently playing 2D1 Basketball and would need a subsequent victory later today to reach Saturday's semifinal.
There shouldn't be much room in the coaches' section at 6:45 tonight when Inland Reebok I plays North Carolina-based D-One Sports in the Reebok Summer Championships at Foothill High.
D-One Sports features John Wall, perhaps the hottest point guard prospect in the Class of 2009, as well as coveted forward Ryan Kelly, who is being pursued by Stanford, Georgetown, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Notre Dame, among others.
Inland Reebok I includes shooting guard Michael Snaer, a a top player from Moreno Valley Rancho Verde High who appears to be high on USC's recruiting list. Snaer scored 23 points this afternoon during his team's 73-55 victory over the Michigan Hurricanes.
Inland Reebok I also includes Perris High forward Kevin Young and Etiwanda High forward Tim Pendergraph, the brother of Arizona State standout Jeff Pendergraph.
Darrin Williams is one of the more sought-after recruits in Kentucky, not as well known as highly touted in-state prospect Jon Hood, but talented nonetheless. For those interested in seeing the senior from Louisville Eastern in action, I suggest heading to this weekend's tournament at Malibu High
The 6-foot-9, 275-pound post will suit up for Team Kentucky in two games Friday night, the first against Clovis West, followed by a matchup with LACES. Play resumes Saturday and Williams & Co. could end up facing Moorpark or Taft in what figures to be an interesting championship game, regardless of the opponent.
"Darrin is getting looks from colleges like Indiana and Texas, but he could end up with a program such as Southern Illinois, which has been in contact with him quite a bit lately,'' Coach Jeff Harney said. "When you're that big and that athletic, you always seem to draw a crowd. He's a Division I talent, no doubt about it.''
The number of Southern California teams still alive in the prestigious Open division of the Reebok Summer Championships is quickly dwindling.
One of the latest to fall was defending champion Belmont Shore, which lost to Arizona Metro Elite, 76-71, at Silverado High. Forward Alec Williams of San Juan Capistrano J Serra High scored 22 points and guard Darius Morris of L.A. Windward High had 15 for Belmont Shore.
The only remaining Southland teams in the Open division are Inland Reebok I and FBC Perris, but there's still games to be played today.
To paraphrase Tom Cruise in "Cocktail," nothing ends nicely or it wouldn't end.
That certainly applies to Renardo Sidney and the L.A. Dream Team, whose all-too-short stay in Las Vegas ended today with a 65-61 loss to Maryland-based WPC Elite.
Sidney, it seemed we hardly got to know ye. And the little we did wasn't flattering. The 6-foot-9 L.A. Fairfax High star started the Reebok Summer Championships by complaining about officiating and the way he was defended during his team's opening-game loss. He then proceeded to lumber up and down the court the following few days while turning in mostly uninspired performances.
He showed up today, scoring 20 points, but it wasn't enough for the Dream Team, which squandered a seven-point halftime lead.
The Dream Team finished the tournament winning three games and losing two, hardly a memorable showing.
Former Arizona star and assistant coach Miles Simon, whose contract was not renewed by Wildcats Coach Lute Olson in May, is helping to coach the Pump 'N Run Elite team in the Adidas Super 64 tournament this week.
Simon said he did not have any leads on coaching jobs and declined to discuss his removal from the coaching staff at Arizona, the school he helped lead to a national title. "I don't talk about that," he said.
Well, at least he's getting to coach some quality players while he's searching for a new gig. Pump 'N Run features Sylmar High star Tyler Honeycutt and Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High point guard Kendall Williams, who has committed to UCLA.
"Kendall's just a pleasure to be around," Simon said. "He's a great kid, so UCLA's getting a quality individual."
No one made a big deal when Sean Schroeder orally committed to Duke back in late June. Come to think of it, there was much more hype surrounding the spring and summer pledges given by his higher-profile quarterback counterparts such as Richard Brehaut (UCLA), Allan Bridgford (Cal) and Josh Nunes (Tennessee).
Perhaps we should take a closer look at Schroeder, though. He is, after all, heading to a school that is well-known for its greatness on the hardwood, not on the gridiron. But if the 6-foot-2 senior from Dana Hills has anything to do with it, he'll be at the forefront of the Blue Devils' eventual turnaround.
"First and foremost, I'm going to get a great education at Duke, one that's second to none,'' Schroeder said. "And I know Duke will always be a basketball school. Everyone knows that. Good thing is, I have the chance to be a part of a program that's on the verge of changing its image and building its own tradition.''
Ray Penn, a 5-foot-10 guard from the Houston Superstars, posted the top three scoring performances in the Reebok Summer Championships through the end of play Thursday. He scored 44 points in one game, 43 in another and 37 in a third.
Too bad he's not still around.
Penn's team lost Thursday in single-elimination play, meaning the top scoring threat is gone from the tournament. This serves as a reminder that it often takes more than one or two phenomenal scorers to win. Just ask the Denver Nuggets.
As you loyal readers may have noticed I've been out of the blogging loop for a few weeks, but I logged on today to see what I've missed and came across my esteemed Times colleague Eric Sondheimer's report about the gutsy decision by Garfield football coach Lorenzo Hernandez to move the Bulldogs from the City's Invitational Division playoffs to the Championship Division.
Reading further, I wondered why Palisades was missing from the list of schools that have opted for the section's upper division playoffs. Not that I'm the least bit surprised the Dolphins were overlooked. You wouldn't expect a team that finished 1-9 and was dead last in the Western League last season to be lumped in with the likes of Crenshaw, Dorsey and Birmingham.
Yet, on paper at least, that's just where the Dolphins are. So if Hernandez gets kudos for bravado then so too should Palisades' second-year coach Kelly Loftus, who realizes his team will be a huge underdog should it reach the postseason.
For all intents and purposes, this year's Elite 11 quarterback camp at Soka University in Aliso Viejo was designed to bring together some of the nation's top signal callers and let the participants go out on the field and showcase their wide array of skills over the course of the four-day event.
One quarterback, however, stood out more so than any other. And that individual was Richard Brehaut. The 6-foot-3 Los Osos senior, a UCLA commit, set a couple records during individual drills and ended up taking home several honors, including the Golden Gun award for accuracy.
"I've been to plenty of camps this summer, and in the past, but this one was the best, by far,'' Brehaut said. "When you stop and think about it, all of the top quarterbacks in the country were here and going up against competition like that on a daily basis can only bring out the best in an athlete.''
Crenshaw is one of seven teams headed to Georgia to play for the adidas seven on seven passing tournament national championship July 30-31 at Silverback Stadium in Atlanta. The Cougars qualified for the finals by defeating Upland, 21-19, at Loyola Marymount on June 14 in one of five regional tournaments.
Riding the arm of quarterback Marques Thompson, who was named MVP of the LMU regional, Crenshaw plays Ft. Worth Richland (Texas), Jupiter Christian (Florida), Mesquite (Texas) and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (Illinois) in pool play to determine seedings for the next day's single-elimination championship round. Elkhart Concord (Indiana) and Knoxville Farragut (Tennessee) were the other teams invited.
Crenshaw lost to Birmingham, 42-6, in the semifinals of the City Championship Division playoffs last fall.
With UCLA Coach Ben Howland, USC Coach Tim Floyd and Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar watching under the basket, 6-8 senior forward Tyler Honeycutt of Sylmar and junior point guard Kendall Williams of Los Osos put on a show in the first half of an Adidas Super 64 bracket game Thursday at Rancho High.
Honeycutt scored 15 points and Williams had 14 points to help Pump 'N Run Elite take a 52-35 lead over MBA Hoops Elite of Mississippi.
Honeycutt was terrific moving without the ball. Williams, who has committed to UCLA, was an effective distributor and scorer.
Another strong contributor was 6-6 Kawhi Leonard from Riverside King.
The Pump team cruised to victory and looks like a real threat to win the tournament that ends Saturday.
Elvis and Lance Stephenson have left the building in Las Vegas. Stephenson, the 6-foot-5 guard from Lincoln High in Brooklyn, picked up five fouls and finished with six points as his Raising Champions club team was eliminated from the Adidas Super 64 on Thursday, losing to a team from Illinois, Full Package Athletics, 71-59.
For every Roy Williams or Billy Donovan in the stands at the various Las Vegas prep showcases this week, there are two or three Tim Murphys.
Murphy is an assistant coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a team that ranks low on the name-recognition scale and must attempt to unearth so-called sleeper prospects.
As he sat in the stands at Foothill High, Murphy watched a player from Texas put on an impressive display. “We’re not going to get involved with him, but Kentucky, Kansas and those guys will,” Murphy said. “We’re looking at different people.”
Is it frustrating to watch top players and know that you can’t land them?
“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating,” Murphy said. “It’s just a reality of the business. We’ll give it a go until we get a ‘No’ from somebody. But there’s a lot of players here in Las Vegas and a lot of teams. Sifting through it all is just what we’ve been doing for a whole career, 25 years in coaching.”
Ray Penn, a 5-foot-10 senior guard from Richmond, Texas, playing for the Houston Superstars, put together another stunning performance in a Reebok Summer Championships game Thursday in Las Vegas. He scored 44 points. The day before, he scored 43 points. Before that, he had 37 points.
Top prospects might not be saying "Cal State Who?" quite as often this week at the various Las Vegas prep tournaments in the wake of Cal State Fullerton's first NCAA tournament appearance in 30 years.
But Titans assistant coach Julius Hicks said his team's postseason berth probably won't make much of a difference in recruiting.
"It helps get your foot into more doors," Hicks said. "But eventually it's going to come down to the meat and potatoes of what your program is as to whether you're going to get good players or not."
There was nearly an embarrassingly premature exit for Renardo Sidney and the L.A. Dream Team this afternoon in a Reebok Summer Championships game against East Coast Fusion, a team with only six players.
With Sidney on the bench to start the game at Foothill High, the Dream Team fell behind by 10 points and appeared on the brink of an early return to Southern California now that the Las Vegas-area tournament has reached the single-elimination stage.
"I don't think we expected them to play as hard as that," Dream Team Coach Renardo Sidney Sr. said, referring to the fact that the Fusion lacked much depth beyond its starting lineup.
Why did Fusion have only six players? One player missed the flight to Las Vegas, another had a summer school commitment, a third tore an Achilles' tendon and a fourth decided to play with a 16-and-under team, according to Coach Cade Lemcke.
Though Sidney didn't have a great game -- he finished with only eight points -- the physical presence of the 6-foot-10, 260-pound forward was something the shorthanded Fusion couldn't match as the Dream Team pulled away for a 57-51 victory.
"We subbed and kept bringing fresh legs in and turned it up in the second half," Sidney Sr. said.
Of his decision to leave his son on the bench at the game's outset, Sidney Sr. said it was something he does "from time to time. I didn't feel we needed him. As you can see, I'm not a genius."
With North Carolina Coach Roy Williams sitting in the bleachers of Foothill High in Las Vegas, I just had to go up and ask him how former Taft High guard Larry Drew Jr. was doing.
Williams knew that Drew, a freshman taking classes this summer at North Carolina, had a final exam today and was heading back to Encino on Friday to spend some time with his family.
"The word is he's playing well," Williams said. "The upperclassmen like him."
Williams isn't allowed to watch Drew play during the summer, but he said, "He's a wonderful kid with potential. I expect Larry will help us. He's a true quarterback."
Drew was a McDonald's All-American and led Taft to the City Section championship. North Carolina returns point guard Ty Lawson, so Drew will have to battle for playing time.
North Carolina Coach Roy Williams will probably have the preseason No. 1 team in the nation this fall, and his recruiting class for 2009 is looking impressive too.
At the Reebok Summer Championships in the Las Vegas area, 6-foot-10 John Henson from Round Rock, Texas, is full of athleticism and ability. He'll be joining Mater Dei's Wear brothers, 6-foot-10 Travis and 6-foot-10 David, as Tar Heels. What school in the nation can match the Tar Heels' trio of arriving front-line players?
Williams and a couple of his assistants were watching Henson on Thursday afternoon at Foothill High as Henson's club team, Franchize Allstars, took on Branch West.
I suspect there are some Southland prep athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs, but we don't know for sure because there isn't any statewide testing. The ever-tightening belt on school district budgets has prevented the state and the CIF from administering drug screenings similar to the programs used in Texas, Florida and New Jersey.
Of course, in today's tumultuous economy, even these states, which all have smaller athlete pools than California, are rethinking their pricey testing programs now that the results are in.
According to USA Today, only four of 11,217 prep athletes tested in Texas last year had positive results and only two of 10,117 athletes in Florida came up dirty. As a result, coaches, school officials and politicians are questioning whether the costly tests should continue just to weed out a handful of cheaters.
There are plenty of folks on both sides of the fence over this issue, but what do you think?
