SoCalHoops High School News

Reebok Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic:
A Final Recap--(Jan. 4, 1999)

It's been more than a week and a half since the Reebook Holiday Prep Classic ended with Oak Hill beating Mt. Zion in the final 81-50, but since we were traveling so much and running so far behind schedule in just about everything we've done in the last two weeks, with the new year now underway, we thought we'd take one final look, for auld lang syne (whatever the heck that means anyway), and do a final recap of the 1998 Reebok Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic. 

And we also want to thank Larry McKay, Sherri Holmes, Dominic Clark of Image Media, the Las Vegas Review-Journal which sponsored the event,   and all the rest of the good folks at Durango High School in Las Vegas who made our stay so enjoyable and who put on one heck of a great show.

We have the final placing results below, the final game box scores (all except for the third and sixth place games from Tuesday, Dec. 22), and we also have several articles and observations on some of the final games, especially those involving the SoCal teams, Compton Dominguez, Mater Dei and Sylmar who all made it to the final day. We've also got the final statistical leaders from the tournament, some consolation round scores and boxes,  another look at the Oak Hill v. Mt. Zion game from the Las Vegas Review-Journal which sponsored the event, a note on John "The Human Highlight Film" Humphrey of Oak Hill, and finally a link to a site maintained by the guys at Eliterecruit.com, which has historical records for the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, and some great photos of the teams and players, the same ones for the teams which were in the printed program (the color ones not the black & white ones).

Finals Tournament Place Results

There was one oddity to the schedule which affected the results which you'll notice below: That oddity was the fact that the third and  fifth place games were actually played on Tuesday, the day before the rest of the finals.  Because of the way the bracketing worked, and because of restrctions placed on some of the teams and the number of games they could play under their own local high school rules, the third place game (game no. 97), between Washington College and Oak Hill took place on Tuesday night. Now you'd think that since it was the "third place game" that the winner would be the "third place team" right?  Wrong.  Oak Hill won and advanced to the final, and by losing Washington College took third. Which means that Edison, by losing in the fourth place game actually finished fifth. So who finished sixth?  Well that was taken care of in game no. 98, which was also played on Tuesday between Edison and Skyview, and by losing, Skyview finished 6th, and Edison, as things turned out, lost to St. Ignatius and finished fifth anyway, which is interesting because Edison also won the 6th place game.  Got that? Good.

Championship Game
Oak Hill Academy 81, Mt. Zion Christian Academy 50

Third Place
Oak Hill Academy 79, Washington College 59

Fourth Place
St. Ignatius 62, Edison 52

Fifth  & Sixth Places
Edison 62, Skyview 51

Seventh & Eighth Places
Mater Dei 60, Dominguez 59

Ninth & Tenth Places
Inglewood 76, Mountain View 70

Eleventh & Twelfth Places
Bishop Gorman 62, Sylmar 42

Of course we've still also got the final game boxes:

Championship Game
Oak Hill 81,  Mt. Zion 50

Mt. Zion (11-1)
Marquis 6-18 3-3 15, Johnson 3-15 0-0 8, Lyles 1-12 4-4 6, Booker 2-2 4-8 8, Hargrove 2-2 0-1 4, Campbell 2-4 0-0 4, Spruhill 1-7 1-2 3, Garnett
1-1 0-0 2.

Oak Hill (14-0)
Hawkins 6-11 4-6 16, Lovett 1-1 0-2 2, Humphrey 1-2 0-0 2, Reynolds 2-7 0-0 6, Blake 5-7 3-6 16, Slay 11-17 1-7 23, Watson 7-9 2-5 16.

Fourth Place Game
St. Igantius 62, Edison 52

St. Ignatius (10-1)
Sullivan 5-7 0-0 11, Devora 2-2 4-4 8, Whitehead 9-21 7-10 25, Skiffer 1-5 1-2 3, Fellini 1-1 0-0 2, Sayle 0-2 3-4 3, Olshansky 4-5 2-4 10.

Fresno Edison (9-6)
Johnson 4-14 2-5 11, Walton 3-6 0-0 8, McKinney 1-5 0-0 2, Lopez 7-11 4-5 18, Gilliam 6-12 0-0 13.

Seventh & Eighth Place Game
Mater Dei 60, Dominguez 59

Dominguez (6-2)
Jackson 4-8 0-2 9, Brooks 6-9 0-0 12, Moore 3-6 4-10 10, Haley 1-1 1-1 3, Kincade 4-9 7-8 16, Chandler 2-5 0-2 4, Sanders 1-3 1-2 3, Jones 1-2
0-1 2.

Mater Dei (11-2)
Henderson 1-6 0-0 2, Sufi 4-8 0-0 11, Mansell 2-6 6-6 11, Porter 2-2 0-0 4, Scoggin 3-7 0-2 7, Strawberry 1-4 0-0 2, Bayer 2-5 12-16 16, Tancredi 0-1 1-2 1, Soderberg 2-4 2-2 6.

Ninth & Tenth Place Game
Inglewood 76,  Mountain View 70

Inglewood (9-2)
Taylor 4-8 0-0 8, Fletcher 7-14 6-6 22, Brown 3-4 2-2 9, Isaac 5-6 3-6 13, Esene 4-9 4-6 12, Felix 6-11 0-0 12.

Mtn. View (12-4)
Richeson 8-18 2-2 25, Yetter 1-2 0-0 3, Christenson 1-1 1-1 3, Latimore 3-6 2-2 8, Shell 5-14 0-0 11, Cox 6-10 0-0 18, Riggs 0-0 2-2 2.

Eleventh & Twelfth Place Game
Bishop Gorman 62, Sylmar 42

Bishop Gorman  (9-2) Gomez 1-2 0-0 2, Jaurequi 0-3 2-4 2, Taylor 8-17 1-2 20, Lewis 4-10 4-5 13, Caldwell 1-2 0-0 3, Perkins 1-1 2-2 4, Bania 2-2 0-0 4, Carter 5-8 4-5 14.

Sylmar (9-3)
Jacobs 5-16 0-0 12, Valdez 4-10 0-0 9, Reed 1-5 0-0 2, Wrightster 3-7 6-9 12, Turner 1-3 1-1 3, Youman 2-4 0-0 4.

Final Tournament Leaders

Single Game Highs

Points Leaders

53 Lance Buonchristiani, Galena (vs. Rangeview)
40 Kevin Gaines, Clark (vs. St. Mary¹s, N.Y.)
39 Willie Johnson, Edison (vs. Mater Dei)
38 James Bayless, Eldorado (vs. North Surrey)
38 Crane, Golden Valley (vs. Bishop Gorman)
36 Kevin Crockrom, Rancho (vs. Ballou)
36 Ronald Johnson, South Gate (vs. Dominguez)
35 Brian Greene, Horizon (vs. Durango)
33 Ronald Johnson, South Gate (vs. Robeson)
32 Taylor, Bishop Gorman (vs. Golden Valley)
31 Luke Whitehed, St. Ignatius (vs. East Anchorage)
31 Dusan Milicic, Washington College (vs. Jordan)
30 Willie Johnson, Edison (vs. Washington College)
30 Ryan Crane, Golden Valley (vs. Roberson)
29 Brian Greene, Horizon (vs. Westchester)
29 Brian Lang, Cimarron-Memorial (vs. Henderson County)
29 Deshaw Stevenson, Washington Union (vs. Mountain View)
29 James Frauenberg, St. Mary¹s (N.Y.) (vs. Clark)
29 Marcus Banks, Cimarron-Memorial (vs. Mountain View)
28 Carl Ulmer, North Surrey (vs. Eldorado)
28 Jawan Carter, Fremont (vs. Killeen)
28 Ryan Chaffe, Governor Simcoe (vs. Eldorado)
27 Marquis Daniels, Mt. Zion (vs. Golden Valley)
27 Jason Burns, Durango (vs. Horizon)
27 Joel Suarez, St. Mary¹s (N.Y.) (vs. Robeson)
27 Deshawn Anderson, Washington Union (vs. Overland)
27 Cedric Brooks, Killeen (vs. Oak Hill)
26 Matt Stricker, East Union (vs. Horizon)
26 Savaughn Bailey, Marine Military (vs. Harvard-Westlake)
26 Tanner Shell, Mountain View (vs. Durango)


Rebound Leaders

17 Ronald Johnson, South Gate (vs. Bishop Gorman)
17 Casey Reid-Crockett, Las Vegas (vs. Skyview)
16 Casey Reid-Crockett, Las Vegas (vs. Pacific)
16 Travis Watson, Oak Hill (vs. Mt. Zion)
15 Matt Stricker, East Union (vs. Horizon)
15 Tyson Chandler, Dominguez (vs. Pacific)
15 Keith Brooks, Dominguez (vs. Pacific)
15 Chason Holmes, Ballou (vs. Rancho)
15 Casey Reid-Crockett, Las Vegas (vs. East Anchorage)
15 Keith Brooks, Dominguez (vs. South Gate)
14 Josh Englehart, Cimarron-Memorial (vs. Harvard-Westlake)
14 Abdou Diame, Oak Hill (vs. Fontana)
14 Jason Burns, Durango (vs. Horizon)
14 Matt Stricker, East Union (vs. Hopkinsville)
14 Travon Bryant, Jordan (vs. Mater Dei)
14 Jason Carter, Bishop Gorman (vs. Sylmar)
14 Chris Lopez, Edison (vs. St. Ignatius)
13 Gabe Vigil, Skyview (vs. Dominguez)
13 Brian Greene, Horizon (vs. Durango)
13 James Bayless, Eldorado (vs. North Surrey)


Assists Leaders

10 Howard Smith, Kileen (vs. Palo Verde)
10 Steven Blake, Oak Hill (vs. Mt. Zion)
9 Brady Richeson, Mountain View (vs. Newbury Park)
8 Dewaynius Harris, Butler (vs. Montclair Prep)
9 Coy Boykin, Las Vegas (vs. East Anchorage)
7 Ander Pinendo, Washington College (vs. Denver East)
7 Steven Blake, Oak Hill (vs. Killeen)
7 Howard Smith, Killeen (vs. Westchester)
7 Marcus Moore, Dominguez (vs. South Gate)
6 Filip Videnov, Washington College (vs. Denver East)
6 Chris Smith, Pacific (vs. Las Vegas)
6 Brett Cox, Mountain View (vs. Newbury Park)
6 Steven Blake, Oak Hill (vs. Fontana)
6 Kevin Gaines, Clark (vs. Pacific)
6 Brian Taylor, Inglewood (vs. Stratford)
6 T.K. Reed, Sylmar (vs. Butler)
6 Brady Richeson, Mountain View (vs. Cimarron-Memorial)
6 Marcus Moore, Dominguez (vs. Mater Dei)
6 Brett McConald, Newport (vs. Overland)

Oak Hill Defeats Mt. Zion--Another Take On The Game

Another take on the final game:  We've already done our own story on the final championship game in the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, the one in which Oak Hill just crushed Mt. Zion.  But the Las Vegas Review Journal's Damon Seiters  covered most of the major games and he wrote a great piece on the final championship game, and here it is for purposes of commentary and to pick up any of the details we may have missed.  

Oak Hill crushes Mt. Zion: The nation's top-ranked high school basketball team makes a statement by blasting the 11th-ranked team, 81-50.

Tuesday, Oak Hill (Va.) became the top-ranked high school basketball team in the country according to USA Today.  Wednesday, Oak Hill proved it was worthy of that ranking, beating 11th-ranked Mount Zion (N.C.) 81-50 in the championship game of the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic at Durango.  "It feels good to come out and make a statement," Oak Hill center Travis Watson said. "We came in thinking we could win it, and at the end we did win it."

Oak Hill did more than that, it blew the two-time defending champions out.  "I didn't expect that to happen," Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. "I did tell the guys before the game that if you play like you've been playing that I don't think they could play with us."  Oak Hill had to overcome adversity on the way to the victory, as well. Sixth-man Abdou Diame, a 6-foot-8 junior who averaged 12 points and 5.8 rebounds in Oak Hill's first four games, was ejected after an altercation with Mount Zion's Chris Garnett with 4:15 to go in the first half.

Diame and Garnett both had their hands on the ball. Diame gave the ball a tug, and Garnett hit Diame in the face with an elbow. Diame responded with an overhand right.  Mount Zion's players rushed the court, but referees, coaches and security officials were able to break it up. Both Diame and Garnett were ejected, leaving Oak Hill (14-0) with just two big men, Watson and tournament Most Valuable Player Ronald Slay. 

"I was worried," Smith said. "We played Allen Lovett some, and he hadn't played too much in the tournament, but he did a good job. I thought everybody stepped up. And we told them at a timeout, everybody's got to step up and play a little better, and just play at the most high level they could possibly play and I thought they all did that."

Although Mount Zion (11-1) hadn't found its offense yet when the fight ensued, coach Joel Hopkins felt it was the turning point for his team.   "They took us out of our offense and they kept us off the boards," Hopkins said. "When the scuffle happened, they just took us out of our game completely."  Oak Hill led by five at the time, but scored the next six points to make it 29-18. Then point guard Steven Blake dislocated the little finger on his left hand and had to come out of the game with 1:46 to go in the half.  But Oak Hill didn't miss stride, and Blake soon returned with his fingers taped, to lead the team to a 33-22 halftime lead.  "I think the tensions were high at the beginning of the game, and we knew what we had to do, come out and play hard," Slay said. "After the altercation, everybody was just motivated more."  Then, midway through the second half, Oak Hill went on a 13-6 run to extend the lead to 55-37. Mount Zion was unable to make a run even after Slay, who finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, picked up his fourth foul with 7:11 to play, forcing Oak Hill to go to a zone defense.   "We played a little zone tonight, the first time all year we've played zone," Smith said. "But we got into some foul trouble and Abdou was out of the game.  "Our guys played hard the whole game, never really let up. Even when we went zone, they played with a lot
of intensity." 

Slay credited the perimeter defense of Blake, Terry Reynolds and Cliff Hawkins for helping to keep him on the floor.  "I couldn't gamble as much knowing Abdou couldn't come in and help us at the defensive end and offensive end of the floor," Slay said. "I mean, I think I maintained very well with the four fouls. And our guards stepped it up, not breaking down so I would pick up a fifth foul."  Watson finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Blake added 16 points and 10 assists. They both joined Slay on the all-tournament team, along with Reynolds.   Marquis Daniels led Mount Zion with 15 points. He made tha all-tournament team along with teammates Timothy Lyles and Kenny Booker.  Slay said the game came down to intensity.  "Any night we can play great, they can play great," Slay said. "It's just whoever really wants it more. I think we were better mentally and physically. They also played a great game, we just wanted it more."

Sylmar Loses in Final Game At Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, Finishes 12th

Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News, Louis Johnson  of the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Frank Burlison of the Orange County Register, were the only local area reporters who made the trip to Las Vegas.  We've harped on this before, but it's just shocking to us that with 15 teams from the SoCal area, the "West's Leading Daily" the Los Angeles Times didn't send one single reporter.   The explanation we were offered was that "well, since Harvard-Westlake almost won it two years ago, but didn't, we figured none of the local teams had a chance, so we didn't send a reporter."   Swear to God, that's an honest-to-goodness direct quote from one of the LA Times' leading sportswriters who regularly covers the prep scene (no, it wasn't you Gary, but one of your colleagues). Oh well, at least the writers who did cover the event wrote some great pieces.  As a part of our archival functions, here's the story Vince Bonsignore wrote about Sylmar's final effort, a losing one in which Sylmar finished 12th overall in the tournament. It may seem a bit harsh, but then, Sylmar's disappearing act in the final game on Wednesday, December 23, 1998 was also a bit hard to swallow considering how well they'd played up until then. We witnessed this game, but it was hard to watch, and even harder for us to write about it ourselves.   And since Vincent did such a good job of saying what needed to be said, and because the Daily News' own online archive doesn't carry this story any longer, we're going to let you all read it for yourselves.

Sylmar Loses, Finishes 12th

By Vincent Bonsignore, Daily News

LAS VEGAS -- They came here searching for answers and competition. They located the competition -- some of the best teams in the country were here for the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic -- but the Sylmar High basketball team leaves this tournament without answering some of its most pressing concerns.

You wouldn't have thought so Tuesday, after the Spartans beat Harvard-Westlake and Butler (Alabama) to reach the 11th-place game. At that point, Sylmar felt pretty good about itself after winning four straight games.

But any positive feelings two days ago got swept away in an embarrassing 62-42 loss to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) on Wednesday.

The loss, especially the fashion in which it came about, was a devastating blow for a team envisioning a deep run into the City 4-A playoffs later this season. More importantly it raises serious issues, the greatest being Sylmar's nasty habit of playing poorly to start games.

Against some teams, the Spartans (9-3) can overcome slow starts with their superior players. But as Bishop Gorman proved, they can't just turn on a switch and expect to beat teams with as much or better talent. Sylmar thought it solved the problem with impressive wins here this week. Unfortunately, it reverted back to previous form in a game it obviously didn't take very seriously.

"We were thinking more about going home than playing a basketball game, straight out that was the problem," Sylmar forward Joey Youman said. "I know for myself, personally, I didn't want it as much as I normally do and I think that was the case for the whole team. There isn't too much more you can say after a game like that. . . ."

The explanation was little consolation for Sylmar coach Bort Escoto, who hoped to cap a nice showing with a win on the final day. Unfortunately, his players didn't provide the required effort. As a result, the Spartans lasting memory of Las Vegas will be a blowout loss rather than all the good they accomplished before it.

George Wrighster led the way with 12 points for Sylmar, which had 25 turnovers and shot just 30 percent from the floor. Branden Jacobs added 11 points. "It was total complacency after Tuesday," Youman conceded. "We didn't want it, we didn't play like we wanted it and we sure didn't deserve to win it. They outplayed us in every phase."  Sylmar had trouble dealing with Bishop Gorman's pack-it-in zone defense throughout, and it didn't help that the Spartans' outside shooting deserted them. John Valdez, Jacobs and T.K. Reed were off target through much of the game, enabling the Gaels to fall into the paint and shut off forwards Jerimiah Turner, Youman and Dallas Townsend.

After falling behind 7-3, Bishop Gorman outscored the Spartans 22-8 to take a 25-15 lead with 3:43 left in the half. It was easily the Spartans least-effective half in their six games in Las Vegas, and probably their worst this year. The closest they got in the second half was 45-38, but Bishop Gorman closed with a 17-4 run to win going away.

"Sometimes you need a good kick in the (rear-end) and that's what happened today," said Escoto, who admitted he was embarrassed and frustrated with Wednesday's loss. "It's a long season, and all that really matters is what happens later in the playoffs. Hopefully, we'll learn from this. I guess we'll see."

Mater Dei Beats Dominguez: Two Perspectives Of The Same Game

We also witnessed the Mater Dei v. Dominguez game, and have some pictures which we'll be posting up shortly too, but in the meantime, here are some excerpts from Frank Burlison's story, which gives the Orange County perspective, and Louis Johnson's piece which gives a bit more of the Dominguez point of view.  Same game, same outcome, slightly different perspectives by two of the best in the business (note, this is for comparative purposes only, we don't make a dime off this, please go buy the papers yourselves and remember the fair use doctrine. . . ) We've edited these two articles so they just focus on the Compton Dominguez v. Santa Ana Mater Dei game:

Mater Dei triumphs at buzzer

Sufi hits a three-point jumper as time expires to lift the Monarchs over Dominguez, 60-59.

December 24, 1998

By Frank Burlison

LAS VEGAS — Mater Dei High basketball guard Imram Sufi had one goal as he caught an inbound pass with 6.7 seconds to go against Dominguez of Compton on Wednesday at Durango High. "I wanted to get the ball inside (to a post player)," said the 140-pound senior who was sporting a big smile even though he had to settle for an alternative option.

Dominguez defender Ron Jackson wouldn't let Sufi penetrate the middle of the floor with the basketball, so Sufi cast a jumper from the left wing, directly in front of his bench. It settled, ever so softly, through the net as the buzzer sounded to give the Monarchs a 60-59 victory in a seventh-place game of the 54-team Holiday Prep Classic.

"I got a good look at the rim, and as soon as I released the ball, I knew it was going in," said Sufi, whose three-point shot nearly got him suffocated by delirious teammates and coaches. It was the first regular-season game between the area powers since a quarterfinal in the 1992 CIF Southern Section playoffs. The teams will play again Jan. 18 during the Nike Dream Classic at Pauley Pavilion.

The Dons (6-2) held a four-point lead and had the ball with about a minute to play. But guard Marcus Moore turned the ball over and Mike Bayer of the Monarchs (11-2) was fouled and made both free throws to cut the deficit to 59-57. Jackson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Dominguez with 49 seconds left, but Monarchs guard Derrick Mansell threw the ball out of bounds with eight seconds to play.Moore was fouled after taking an inbound pass but missed both free throws before Mater Dei called timeout, setting the stage for Sufi's heroics.

---

Dominguez doomed by poor foul shooting

Prep basketball: A 12-of-25 effort lets Mater Dei squeak by.

By LOUIS JOHNSON

LAS VEGAS - An old nemesis came back to haunt the Dominguez High boys basketball team Wednesday afternoon in the Reebok Holiday Classic, and Mater Dei was able to take full advantage of it.

In what might have been the best game of the tournament, Monarch point guard Imran Sufi sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer after the Dons missed three free throws in the final minute of play, enabling Mater Dei to pull out a 60-59 victory in the seventh-place game.

While nursing a 59-57 lead, Dominguez guard Ron Jackson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throwing opportunity with 49.4 seconds left. The Dons forced a turnover and got the ball back with 8.1 seconds left, and guard Marcus Moore was sent to the line to shoot two free throws with seven seconds remaining.

But Moore, who made just 4 of 10 from the line, missed both shots. Mater Dei called timeout after the second miss and inbounded the ball to Sufi, who drove up the left side of the court, faked a pass inside and fired a 3-pointer from the wing that fell just as the final buzzer sounded.

The Dons (6-2) made just 12 of 25 free throws during the game and shot a poor 52.7 percent from the foul stripe during the tournament. In contrast, Mater Dei made 21 of its 28 free-throw attempts.

While the missed foul shots loomed large after the game, there were several questionable calls by the officials that didn't help the Dons' chances.

With Dominguez leading 43-37 in the second half, Dons' sophomore center Tyson Chandler drew his fourth personal foul with 9:16 to play. Chandler, who was called for a foul on the ballhandler, was over five feet away from the play at the time and was not involved in any of the contact.

And after Mater Dei guard Derrick Mansell sank two free throws to tie the game at 55 with three minutes left, Dominguez's Keith Kincade fired in a deep shot from the right wing to give the Dons the lead. Kincade was at least six inches beyond the 3-point stripe, but the official closest to the play only awarded two points.

Kincade scored 16 points, Keith Brooks had 12 points and Moore added 10 for Dominguez. Chandler, who played 19 minutes, finished with four points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Senior forward Mike Bayer led Mater Dei with 16 points. Sufi and Mansell added 11 points apiece.

Dominguez sophomore guard Keilon Fortune suffered an apparent back injury late in the game and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary X-rays.

A Final Look. . .From The Top Of The Backboard

Louis Johnson's last "Tournament Notebook" article in the Press-Telegram had an interesting piece about one of the most exciting players we've witnessed. . .ever. . . anywhere. . . anytime.  We're referring to John Humphrey (6'-1" Jr. G) of Oak Hill Academy who sat on the bench for most of the tournament, until making his debut (at least it was a debut for us) in a slam dunking exhibition which was better than any pro dunking we've witnessed ever.   We've already mentioned Humphrey before, and we were somewhat struck by the fact that his own coach, Steve Smith thinks his basketball skills are, well, somewhat questionable at least on the defensive end, but for us there's no doubt that this guy is a huge offensive threat, and would be starting at any high school in the country, and probably would also be starting on most college teams.  At the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic press table, there was a general consensus that no one had ever seen anyone dunk the way Humphrey did.  Frank Burlison agreed that he had the highest vertical leap of anyone he'd ever seen, and that's saying a lot because he watches a lot of basketball; one of the Dominguez assistants gave us the best line:   "Sure I've seen guys dunk like that. . . in a video game."      It was a view shared by most of the Division I and high school coaches we talked to at the tournament. Here's what Louis had to say:

Human highlight film

Oak Hill Academy has three players on its roster - Ronald Slay (Tennessee), Travis Watson (Virginia) and Steven Blake (Maryland) - who have all signed with major Division I college basketball teams. But the player for the Warriors who drew the most interest from the fans was unheralded reserve John Humphrey. Humphrey, a 6-foot guard, thrilled onlookers all week by using his incredible jumping ability to go up and catch lob passes for dunks. The fans were so desperate to see Humphrey play that during the Warriors' semifinal contest Tuesday against Washington College Academy of Tennessee, they spent most of the second half yelling at Oak Hill coach Steve Smith to insert the guard in the game.

"We've had some great players (at Oak Hill) over the years, but that has never happened to me before," said Smith, who coached NBA players Jerry Stackhouse and Ron Mercer. "But John is an exciting guy, and his vertical leap is freakish."

In the Warriors' game Tuesday afternoon against Horizon of Thornton, Colo., Humphrey had six dunks, including two in which the guard caught lob passes while looking down into the basket. While no one seems to know Humphrey's vertical leap, a guess is that it's near the 50-inch plus range.

Final Consolation Games

Last but not least, there were also some non-championship games played the last day, Wednesday, December 23. Here are the results:

Fourth Round
Mountain View 69, Cimarron-Memorial 58
Inglewood 67, St. Mary's (NY) 63

Consolation Games
Robeson 69, Golden Valley 48
Overland 75, Newport 55
Durango 75, Rangeview 73

Here are the box scores from these games, for those concerned with such things.

Fourth Round Games
Mountain View 69, Cimarron-Memorial 58

Cimarron-Memorial (6-5)
Banks 11-20 6-9 29, Dalton 4-7 0-0 8, Ashton 0-2 2-2 2, Crump 1-3 2-2 4, Lang 6-15 1-1 13, Englehart 1-3 0-0 2.

Mtn View (12-3)
Richeson 1-10 6-6 8, Yetter 2-3 0-0 4, Christenson 1-2 1-2 3, Schaunaman 1-6 0-0 2, Shell 9-12 6-6 25, Cox 3-5 2-2 10, Bloom 1-6 0-0 2, Latimore 5-9 5-6 15.

Inglewood 67, St. Mary's (N.Y.) 63

St. Mary's (5-2)
Suarez 7-16 1-1 18, Frauenberg 3-5 5-7 12, Evtimov 6-9 2-2 20, Boyle 1-3 0-0 3, Williams 4-5 2-3 10.

Inglewood (8-2)
Taylor 2-6 6-7 11, Fletcher 4-15 2-3 12, Isaac 5-9 2-2 14, Esene 7-11 2-2 17, Felix 5-7 3-5 13.

Consolation Games
Robeson 69,  Golden Valley 48

Robeson (6-2)
Smith 6-14 0-1 12, Ervin 2-6 2-2 7, Gates 0-1 1-3 1, Sherrod 5-6 3-3 13, Walker 5-18 0-2 14, Adeleke 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 1-1 1-2 3.

Golden Valley (7-5)
Saelee 0-5 1-3 1, Crane 7-20 12-14 30, Henderson 0-5 2-2 2, Acebo 2-12 1-7 5, Jacobs 1-1 2-4 4, Ehrlich 2-4 2-2 6.

Overland 75, Newport 55

Overland (4-2)
Kennedy 1-1 0-0 2, Dukes 4-6 3-3 12, Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Nolan 9-15 0-0 23, Stelly 7-14 1-2 16, Richardson 3-6 2-2 8, Brown 3-3 0-0 7, Daniels 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 1-5 1-1 3.

Newport (1-5)
Vetvick 5-12 1-2 12, Storlie 1-2 0-2 2, Caton 8-15 4-4 20, Pupo 7-17 0-0 14, Hannahs 1-2 0-0 2, Hezistrano 0-0 2-2 2, McDonald 1-3 0-0 3.

Durango 75, Rangeview 73

Rangeview (3-4)
Cunningham 5-8 0-0 13, Mayfield 3-5 1-1 7, Cooperwood 1-7 0-0 2, Sibert 2-3 0-0 4, Woodcock 1-5 3-5 5, Jenkins 8-12 0-0 18, Lee 1-1 0-0 2, McNish 10-15 2-3 22.

Durango (7-4)
Charles 1-5 8-10 10, Brown 1-3 1-2 3, Barkhuff 4-4 3-4 13, Burns 5-11 5-11 15, Christie 7-13 7-9 22, Johnson 5-7 2-2 12.

We can't wait until next year. See you in Vegas this summer for the adidas Big Time.  250 Teams playing at 8 high schools.  And you thought December was nuts.

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