Basketball: Battle of the Valley is Saturday

The Battle of the Valley boys' and girls' all-star basketball games will be held Saturday at L.A. Valley College. The boys' game is at 7 p.m. and the girls' game is at 5 p.m.

In the boys' game, Virginia-bound London Perrantes will lead a loaded West team that also includes Hawaii-bound Michael Thomas of El Camino Real, Ron Lee Jr. of Oak Park and Scott Woods of Royal. Craig Griffin of Royal is coaching the West.

The East team has standouts from West Ranch, Ako Kaluna (Northern Arizona) and Kevin Harris (UC San Diego), Jaron Martin from Chaminade and Tyler Coppin-Carter from Buckley. Shant Bicacki of West Ranch is coaching the East.

In the girls' game, Cora Chan of El Camino Real is one of the top players for the West that will be coached by Chaminade's Kelli DiMuro.

The East team, coached by Jerry Mike of Valencia, includes Danielle Ward of Granada Hills and Ayisat Afolabi of Monroe.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Trey Mason continues his hard work

If hard work pays off, Trey Mason of Los Angeles Loyola will eventually be rewarded, because he continues to try to convince college basketball recruiters of his value.

He scored 25 points in a travel-ball tournament this weekend. He's one of the best unsigned seniors available in Southern California.

He can shoot and he can score, as he demonstrated repeatedly during his senior season against top competition. But it still comes down to convincing a college coach he can play at a particular level, and that's the challenge he faces.

The good news is he's got confidence, determination and perseverence.

-- Eric Sondheimer

 

Boys' basketball: Evan Wardlow picks up first offer from CS Northridge

Evan Wardlow, a 6-foot-5 junior guard from Woodland Hills El Camino Real, has picked up his first college offer from Cal State Northridge. It won't be his last.

Wardlow, known for his outstanding defense, is starting to develop as an offensive player. He has long arms and excellent basketball instincts.

Northridge also has offered Crespi's DJ Ursery, a 6-3 junior guard.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Greg Karapoulios is headed to Occidental

Greg Karapoulios, a 6-foot-7 senior center at Long Beach St. Anthony, has committed to Occidental College.

-- Eric Sondheimer

California Coaches Assn. chooses its coaches of the year

The California Coaches Assn. has announced its coaches of the year. They will be honored at an awards banquet on June 15 in Fresno.

Among the winners: Michael Boehle, Loyola, boys' volleyball; John Knott, Bonita, baseball; Jared Boyatt, Great Oak, boys' golf; Travis Kikugawa, Viewpoint, boys' tennis; Chris Seegsman, Mater Dei, boys' water polo; Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo, football; Lorene Morgan, LB Millikan, girls' basketball.

Doug Soles, Great Oak, girls' cross country; Tony McCabe, Diamond Bar, girls' golf; Matt Slevcove, Esperanza, girls' swimming; Sallie Kane, Bell, girls' tennis; Jason Wilson, Troy, girls' water polo; Rick Robinson, Norco, softbll; Damion Andrews, Temescal Canyon, swimming; Omar Delgado, St. John Bosco, wrestling; Vanessa Nygaard, Windward, rookie coache of the year.

Also, John Barnes of Los Alamitos and Rick Francis of Sonora will be inducated into the Hall of Fame.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Tra Holder is a wanted teenager

Junior guard Tra Holder of Brentwood is finally getting the attention he always wanted.

He has picked up offers from Florida State, Arizona State, Weber State, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Fresno State and Pacific this week.

He's playing this weekend in a tournament at Long Beach Cabrillo.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Los Angeles is the place with best NBA talent

MaxPreps.com, in a very unscientific survey using the high schools of current NBA players and a rating service, has concluded that Los Angeles would produce the best five-man starting unit.

Their group would include Russell Westbrook (Leuzinger), Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall), Paul Pierce (Inglewood), DeMar DeRozan (Compton) and Brandon Jennings (Dominguez).

Here's the link to their story.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: All-City guard Julian Richardson gets first offer

All-City junior guard Julian Richardson of Woodland Hills El Camino Real has picked up his first offer from Fresno State, Coach David Rebibo said.

Richardson is the son of former NBA guard Pooh Richardson.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Max Hoetzel is being watched

An intriguing basketball prospect for this spring is 6-foot-8 senior to be Max Hoetzel of Calabasas.

Coaches from Cal State Northridge, Pacific and UC Davis dropped by Calabasas on Wednesday to observe Hoetzel, who has an offer from San Diego.

He can shoot from long range and is working in the weight room to improve his strength and inside skills.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys' basketball: Scott Garson is new coach at College of Idaho

Scott Garson, who was a standout guard at Studio City Harvard-Westlake and went on to become an assistant coach at UCLA under Ben Howland, is the new head coach at College of Idaho, an NAIA Division II school, his father, Lee, said Tuesday.

-- Eric Sondheimer