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SoCalHoops High School News

Fullcourt Press: The Lost Art Of Shooting--(Feb. 4, 1999)

Dinos Trigonis, who many know as the founder of the Belmont Shore basketball program, one of the founders of the MLK Challenge (now the Nike Dream Classic), the Eddie Jones Classic (now the Dada Classic), the Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic, Rim Rattler All Star Camp, and the publisher of Fullcourt Press, sees a lot of basketball. He watches a lot of players, coaches quite a few, including having coached at Nike Camp and at several national tournaments, including the Nike Summer Championships this past year. He's opinionated and many do not agree with him. Others do. Hey, it's a free country. But there's no doubt about this: Dinos manages to see a lot of players during the course of the season.

He's also looked for a way to share what he sees with more people and as a result, has just started making his publication Fullcourt Press, available to the general public for subscription; it's been available to college coaches for quite a while, and many have come to depend on it for vital information about some of the top players in the region. In the most recent edition of Fullcourt Press (which shouldn't be confused with the website called Full Court Magazine, which really isn't a magazine, but a website), Dino wrote about the "Lost Art of Shooting," listing off some of, in his opinion, the better shooters in SoCal. Here's the story:

The Lost Art of Shooting

by Dinos Trigonis

Is it just me or has shooting become an ancient relic of basketball's past? The last few years that I have scouted Southern California (looking for its top prospects)--one thing has become evident--finading a "pure" shooting is about as easy as spotting a California condor.

Despite this dearth of sharpshooters, there are however a few Southern California players that are definite perimeter threats. Seniors that can shoot the rock include 6'-6" Casey Jacobsen (Glendora) who has as good a "catch and release" as anyone I have seen on the local high school level and who is on pace to become California's top high scorer before he takes that final shot in a Tartans' uniform; 6'-8" Jason Kapono (Artesia) can knock it down with the nation's best; 6'-5" Joe Shipp (Fairfax) has both deep range and a soft touch; 6'-1" Julius Barnes (Roland) who will join Jacobsen at Stanford next frall) shoots the ball offf the dribble (with elevation) as good as anyone in SoCal; 6'-3" Eric Seiss (Redlands) can really stroke it'; 6'-3" Gilbert Arenas (Van Nuys Grant) can really fill it up when he gets hot; 6'-1" San Diego signee Chris Ferguson (Irvine) can knock it down when he gets a good look' 6'-0" Cal State Northridge signee Craig Calloway (Long Beach Jordan) is not shy about pulling up for his "J"; 6'-9" Rafael Berumen (Simi Valley) New Mexico-bound big man has great range for his size; 6'-3" Ryan Abrahams (Pacific Hills), 6'-6" Glen McGowan (Venice) has nice range with size, 6'-1" Jeff Washington (Pasadena Muir) shoots with confidence and 6'-4" Darren Peterson (Long Beach Jordan) has nice touch from beyond the arc.

Juniors who can tingle the cords include 6'-5" Lou Wright (Westchester), 6'-4" Tommy Johnson (Crenshaw), 6'-6" Brennan Martin (Trabuco Hills), 6'-6" Bret Michel (Simi Valley), 6'-5" Ryan Mollins (Loyola), 6'-0" Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei), 6'-0" Roger Hogan (Anaheim Canyon), 6'-7" Ellis Myles (Compton), 6'-1" Todd Tomlinson (Moorpark), 6'-3" Steve Moore (Dominguez), 6'-1" Chris Pacana (Ayala), 5'-10" Wesley Stokes (Long Beach Poly), 5'-11" Russell Lakey (Harvard-Westlake), 6'-0" Andre Hazel (Artesia) and 5'-9" Raji Burnett (J.W. North).

Sophomores who have long range accuracy include 6'-5" Josh Childress (Mayfair), 6'-3" Matt MacGinnis (Villa Park), 6'-3" Chris Alexander (Los Angeles Price), 6'-5" Dijon Thompson (Redondo Union), 6'-3" Quin Hawking (Sonora), 6'-3" Shaun Michel (Simi Valley) and 6'-6" Dillon Hayes (Tustin). Freshman sharpshooters include 6'-0"David Gale (Buckley) and 6'-2" Kevin Stacey (Santa Margarita). [Note: We would add to Dinos' list 6'-0" Will Sheslow (Montclair Prep) and 6'-2" Jon Steffanson (Artesia)].

Being that "shooters" have become a priority for college recruiters, some of these kids could eventually shoot themselves "in" or "out" of a college scholarship. For those players interested in improving their shooting, help his only a phone call away. Paul Hoover (Shooting Stars) is (in my opinion [Dinos' opinion]) the best local shooting coach around. For information, Paul can be reached at (949) 631-2415.

Dinos has some other great articles in the current issue of Fullcourt Press, including his series called "Time Out" about the efforts to reform summer hoops, articles about the top unsigned seniors, including Kapono, Maddox, Shipp and Kincade, Shea Cotton's reign at LBCC, and current rankings of the top teams in SoCal (which we may post here later). The price for Fullcourt Press is $25.00 per year for twelve issues. If you want to subscribe send a check or money order to Fullcourt Press at 3122 theresa Street #1, Long Beach California 90814. You can reach Fullcourt Press at (562) 984-8355 or (310) 669-2307.