SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Double Pump Discovery Shootout Notes:
Second Installment--(March 25, 1999)

Geez, some people are so impatient. . . . All right, it's been four days since the last game was played at the Double Pump Discovery Shootout for High School boys which took place this past weekend at Cal State Dominguez Hills. As you know from our first installment, we've got the rosters and some random notes and thoughts on some of the players who played for each team; and the operative word there is "some" of the players.   We couldn't possibly have seen every player play, and those we saw we'll comment on; the rest, well, at least their names are up here so you'll know they played.  And as we said before, one of the things about a "shootout" format we don't much care for is that sometimes the jersey numbers don't match the jersey numbers being worn by the players, so you have to be really careful that the player out on the floor wearing number 78 is really the guy who is designated as No. 78 in the program.  Which just means we had to be a little more forceful in asking the coaches who their players really were.  But having seen a lot the guys on these roster before though, we recognized a lot of them anyway.   Having said all of that, understand that we are not going to comment on every player on a roster, just those who stood out above the crowd.  Having said that, let's get started with the second installment, which begins with the letter "C":

Cal Players

Raliegh Erickson (6'-3" Gr. G) Corona
Ruben Sanchez (5'-11" So. PG) Chaminade
Charles Madry (6'-1" So. SG) Bishop O'Dowd
Andre Washington (5'-5" Jr. G) March Mountain
Kevin Fricks (6'-1" Jr. G/F) Hamilton
Ryan Rikansrud (6'-4" Jr. F) Corona
Quincy Rice (5'-10" Jr. G) Buena

This was one of the Pump teams which featured players from all over, and even though we didn't get a look at most of the players for any given length of time, we know that there were some other guys who played with this squad during the weekend.  And one of our favorite players who stood out was Ruben Sanchez from Chaminade who was playing with a 100+ fever when the shootout started on Saturday, but who still played well in spite of any illness.  By Sunday he appeared to be in top form, showing good ball control, running the break and finishing, and exhibiting a nice handle.  We would have liked to see him shoot the ball more, but he's definitely Chaminade's point guard of the future now that Cayce Cook is graduating.

Camp EX SR

Felipe Williams (6'-3" Jr. G) Crossroads
Misha Taylor (6'-6" Sr. F) Crossroads
Chad Gordon (6'-3" Sr. G) Crossroads
Isaiah Fox (6'-9"  So. C) Crossroads
Jake Dederer (6''-9" Sr. F) Peninsula
Nehemiah Campbell (6'-4" Sr. G) Washington Prep
Rodney Anderson (6'-1" Sr. PG) Washington Prep
Devrin Anderson (6'-3" Jr. PG) Crossroads
Damien Washington (6'-0" PG) Inglewood
Jason Zippel (6'-9" Sr. F) Foothill

What were these guys doing here, when the Senior unsigned shootout was the previous week?  Well, they had a couple of non-seniors, and candidly, we didn't see everyone on this roster playing this past weekend.  We've already written about Felipe Williams and Misha Taylor who were also playing with 4D Hoopriders, and since this shootout was really for the younger players, we didn't spend a lot of time checking out seniors.  Jake Dederer has already signed with UMKC but he's one of the hardest working young men we've seen.   He knows that he's still got a lot of work to do if he intends to be an impact player at the D-I level, and as UMKC Coach Bob Sundvold told us last week, "Jake just wants to use every opportunity to get in the gym and keep improving."  And it's certainly not hurting that Jake is also playing Rockfish Spring League as well.  A bit on the thin side, he's showing good footwork and movement toward the basket, nice rebounding and he runs the floor very well.

Camp Exposure

We saw Camp Exposure playing the Skywalkers on Saturday on the court adjacent to where Pump N Run I was taking on Pump N Run II, and there was some seriously tough basketball being played on these two courts.  Camp Exposure featured:

George Gutierrez (6'-0" So. PG) La Quinta
Zac Balver (6'-7" Jr. F) Indio
Paul Heredia (6'-5" So. F) Cathedral City
Mychal Lynch (6'-1" Jr. PG) Price
Othell Johnson (6'-6" Jr. F/C) Price
Edmond "E.J." Harris (6'-3" Jr. PG) Crenshaw
Allen Purnell (6'-3" Jr. F) Savanna
Nick Forman (5'-10" So. PG) Crossroads
Kirk Herald (6'-6" So. F) Pasadena Poly
Eugene Moore (6'-8" Jr. F) Washington Prep
Sebastian Zielonka (6'-2" So. G) Servite
J.T. Leitch (5'-11" So. PG) El Segundo

E.J. Harris looked very solid, and we'd have to say that whatever assessment we had of him when we saw him against Sylmar was probably tainted by the fact that he was playing in a game with essentially no coaching (Willie West was in Texas for his father's funeral) and just about everyone on the Crenshaw team looked in disarray back then.  But on Saturday, E.J. looked in total control, moving the ball well, running the break, and against the shorter guards on the Skywalkers (some of whom we also really like. . . more on them later), E. J. had the distinct advantage offered by height.  A fluid point, runs exceptionally well in the open court, decent shot out to about 15', and great court vision. Not too many turnovers on Saturday, but then this wasn't Manual Arts they were playing against either. George Guttierez is a strong player who likes to drive inside and dishes.  Very quick, George was showing excellent defensive skills and great tenacity in pushing the ball up through pressure.  Sees the court well, and is steadily improving with a lot of potential for a young player.  A nice developing shot from out to about 17', has good point guard skills.  Paul Heredia, who is also playing Rockfish with teammate Thomas Shewmake (6'-9" Fr. F/C), played very well inside the paint, moving bodies around, boxing out well and playing great defense.  Paul got injured in the game we saw him play, apparently aggravating an ankle injury from earlier, but for the minutes he was in, he show a lot of upside potential.  Zac Balver also was pretty punishing inside, but looks to be mostly earth-bound. A nice turnaround drop step from the blocks, and a decent rebounder, better at getting position and moving opponents out of the paint than he is at actually contesting the ball off the glass.

Capital Crew

Daunte Campbell (6'-3" Jr. G) Oakland
Ike Williams (6'-2" Fr. SG) Murrieta
Chris Bynum (5'-10" So. G) Oakland Tech
Jeff Petit (5'-9" Jr. G) Oakland Tech
Brian Siemak (6'-2" Jr. G) Mira Costa
Dommanic Ingerson (6'-3" So. G) Oakland McClymonds
Joshua Zazulia (6'-0" Fr. G) Palm Desert
Tanner Huget (6'-0" So. G) North Kitsap
Marc McNall (6'-2" So. G) North Kitsap

Here's a team we didn't get to see at all really. We caught glimpses of Ike Williams a good point with a nice handle who we've seen in and around Rockfish Spring League, but other then him, we really didn't get a good look at any of the other guys on this team.

Chaminade

Was supposed to enter a team, but didn't. Most of the Chaminade guys who wanted to play did, but for other teams.  Scott Borchart (6'-9" So. F) was slated to play with the Pump N Run II team but didn't (we hear he won't play anywhere until the Nike California Sports Express team coached by Miles Gonzales leaves for France in May);  Ryan Arceo (5'-11" So. PG) played for Hooptown, a team consisting of what appeared to be mostly (all?) Phillipino players; Ruben Sanchez (5'-11" So. PG) played for Cal Players, and there were some other Chaminade players scattered about.  Maybe next time.

Chandler

Another team we really didn't get to see a whole lot of,  all from the same high school in Chandler, Arizona (hence the name) but here's the roster anyway:

Dwayne Evans (6'-2" So. G) Chandler
Gary Bradley (5'-9" Jr. G) Chandler
Andrew Ryan (6'-2" Jr. G/F) Chandler
Christian Lindvace (6'-2" Fr. G) Chandler
Matt Horn (6'-2" Jr. PG) Chandler
Danny Reynoso (6'-3" So. G/F) Chandler
Justin Wolf (6'-3" Jr. G/F) Chandler
Terrell Suggs (6'-5" Jr. F) Chandler
Nathan Bourne (6'-5" Jr. C) Chandler

Coastal Stars

We didn't see this team (generally because they played too early in the morning).  This was one of those teams composed of guys who entered individually, and actually we're not sure if they even really played as a team at all because when the rosters were printed up, there were only three players showing, and it's possible they were either added to other teams and dispersed.  Here's who was scheduled to play:

Adam Stephens (6'-1" Jr. PG) Beaumont
Jason MacWilliams (5'-11" Jr. G) Patterson
Jackson Wood (6'-4" So. F) Beaumont

Cowboys

This was essentially the Cajon High School team in disguise:

Adolofo Slate (5'-8" Fr. PG)
Aaron Griffin (6'-3" Jr. F)
Earl Thomas (6'-1" Jr. G)
John Shields (6'-1" Fr. G)
Paul Roby (6'-1" So. G)
Alex Acker (6'-1" So. G)
Brian Breeden (6'-3" So. F)
Blake Walker (6'-5" So. F)
Andre Payne (6'-1" Fr. F)
Donovan Morris (6'-3" Fr. F)

These guys had a really screwy schedule (ok Phil, there was probably a reason, but it sure eludes us looking at it now), since they played at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and then again at 5:00 p.m.  But each game was essentially against another high school squad, first against NC Gridley ('nee Gridley Dogs), and then against the Chandler team.

Golden State Select

This was Phil Bryant's team, and it had some very good talent:

Aras Baskauskas (6'-3" Sr. PG/SG) Santa Monica
Marcel Hunt (5'-10" So. G) Artesia
Ryan Bateman (6'-0" Jr. G) Chester
Brendan Kelley (6'-3" Jr. G) Bishop Montgomery
Dallin Wilson (6'-7" Jr. F) Granada
Robert Turner (6'-7" Jr. G/F) Western
Skyler Wilson (6'-0" So. PG) La Quinta
Adam Drell (6'-6" Jr. F) Chatsworth
Joel Sligh (6'-7" Jr. F) Kingsburg

We only managed to catch the Saturday morning game between GSS and West Valley II, and there were some no-shows:  Adam Drell who is vastly improving, was not there, and probably didn't want to miss his Saturday morning workout with  Ken Krofft (Ken is a shooting coach who frequently works with pro players like Grant Hill and others when they come into town, and can usually be found during Bruin games in the recruit section).  Aras Baskauskas played very well, showing excellent quickness and speed; Aras applied to Yale for early admission and was deferred, meaning that his recruiting is again open; he's a great defender, and can run the floor well, and has a nice handle, and coaches from low to mid D-I's should check him out, he's got a 3.7 GPA and a 1370 SAT and is a very nice player who could definitely help a program. Marcel Hunt also played the point a lot, and did a great job distributing the ball and finishing.  We were pretty impressed also with Dallin Wilson an excellent rebounder, strong and moves well with and without the ball.  Joel Sligh is one really big wide-body, a 220 lb'er who can move bodies around in the paint and scores too.  Skyler Wilson who last year played with the Pump N Run II team played very well also although he was relegated to splitting time at the point with Aras and Marcel.  But on a Phil Bryant coached team, even in a shootout, you can be sure that his guys will run some stuff, and they gave everyone a good show of what they could do. Skyler's still got his great handle, speed, and good penetration to the hole.   The rumor about him is that he might consider transferring to Cathedral City, but with Gerald DeVance, we don't think Rob Hamner really needs another point. Oh, this team also had Lionel Benjamin (6'-5" GR. G/F)  who spent last year at the Naval Academy, but who has since left there.  Lionel was everywhere, literally everywhere. He must have played in about 14 games over the two days, and there really was a game that we didn't turn around and see Lionel doing something.  He runs extremely well, defends, dunks, jams and shoots out to about 15' with pretty good accuracy. He's also one of the toughest guys we've ever seen and he'd make some program pretty happy with his skills.  On Sunday afternoon when his team (we forget which one it was) played the Los Angeles ARC team, Lionel got low-bridged on a rebound, and landed hard on the center of his back from about 4' up in the air. It looked brutal.  He didn't move for a bit, but after about 3 minutes, got up, walked to the bench, and by the second half of the game, was back in again pounding away.  Tough.

High Desert

Billy Shivers (6'-2" Jr. G) Barstow
Bo Segeberg (6'-9" Sr. C) Serrano
Charles Mann (5'-8" Sr. G) Barstow
Jeff Staniland (6'-3" Sr. PG) Ventura
Robbie Collins (6'-3" Sr. G) Silverado
Brendan Garrett (5'-8" Sr. G) Silverado
Jeremiah Phillips (6'-5" Jr. F) Silverado
Darrl Riley (6'-3" Sr. G) Barstow
Alvin Yarber (6'-3" Jr. G) Barstow
Peter Brown (6'-6" Sr. F) Buena

Bo Segeberg may have been listed on this roster, but like Lionel Benjamin, Bo played everywhere.  Maybe not in as many games as Lionel, but it seemed like he was everywhere too.  The Cal State Sacramento-signee also played for Pump N Run, and a couple of other teams, and he really had his game with him this weekend, at least for stretches of several games we saw.  Nice footwork, very mobile, huge body (240 lbs), jumping better than last summer, and a very nice drop step to the basket.  We were most impressed with Jeremiah Phillips and in the Saturday game with BWBA II, Gottlieb had Dave Sybesma (6'-5" So. F) Corona Centennial all over Jeremiah, and it was literally a war under the boards.  We're not sure who came out on top, but Jeremiah is strong, athletic, can run, jumps out of the gym, and also plays defense, and can score from just about anywhere within 15' of the basket.  We saw him shoot a skyhook (a skyhook, for goodness sakes. . . nobody does that anymore), and it dropped along with just about everything else he shot.  Huge upside.  We thought we spotted Robbie Collins who transferred to Silverado, but really did not get much chance to check out his game or that of Jeff Staniland either.

Hooptown

Alex Cabagnot (6'-0" So. PG) Eagle Rock
Conrad Aquino (5'-11" So. F) Notre Dame
Joey Tormos (6'-4" So. F) Moorpark
Chris Esteban (5'-5" Jr. PG) St. Francis
Len Flores (5'-10" Jr. F) Poly
Robby Malig (6'-1" So. F) Ayala
Mark Baluyot (5'-10" Jr. F) St. Genevieve
Ryan Arceo (5'-11' So. PG) Chaminade
Christian Gopez (6'-0" Jr. F) Bell-Jeff
Paul San Jose (6'-0" So. G) Eagle Rock
Carlos Arroyo (6'-5" Jr. F/C) Bell-Jeff

An interesting team consisting of mostly young guards from small schools. Alex Cabagnot was listed in the program as being at Eagle Rock (and evidently he didn't transfer to Bell-Jeff like he told us he would).  Alex is a quick, tough point, with a good handle, good vision, and he plays tough defense. Ryan Arceo is an excellent outside shooter, and showed some of that this weekend.  Chris Gopez along with teammate Mike Yildiz who played on another team this weekend, led Bell-Jeff for most of the season, and is a capable rebounder.   We started to watch Hooptown's game against Sonora on Sunday, and despite having some talent, they were just getting creamed by Sonora (Marqui Worthy, Bim Okunrimboye, et al) and their next game on Sunday, the last of the day, was against Pump N Run I, so we didn't hang around to watch.  Some talented players who are showing improvement, but were just no match for some of the tougher teams against whom they were scheduled. Now, if they could only get Lou Wright, Travon Bryant, and Branduinn Fullove to play for them. . . .

Ok, C through H. . . We'll have another installment of "I" through "P" shortly.

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