SoCalHoops Recruiting News

USA Basketball Youth Development
Festival West Team Recap--(July 1, 1999)

USA Basketball, the "official" governing organization of basketball in the United States (who elected them, anyway?) put on quite a show last week, from June 23-27, and there were quite a few SoCal locals in attendance, among them some of the best players on the West Coast. Forty of the nations's top high school boys basketball players competed in the 1999 Youth Development Festival, which was held for the second consecutive year, and featured four regional teams (North, South, East and West) each of which played a total of five games, competing for the Festival gold medal. There's more to the Festival than just games, and the organizers bill the program as an "entry-level event" which also includes off-court seminars on topics such as the meaning of representing your country, the Olympic experience, drug education, gambling awareness and media training. "Entry-level" indeed. This was a first class, big-time event for many of the nations best players, many of whom will someday compete internationally and at the Olympic and professional levels.

The West team was aptly named since it was coached by legendary Crenshaw head coach Willie West. Here's the roster:

In their first game, the West team was beaten by the East team in the opening round of "round robin" play, the West jumped out ahead 5-0, however, the East scored the next 15 consecutive points to take a 15-5 lead, and then went on to take a 51-22 lead.  The West finished the half by outscoring the East 10-4 but still trailed at halftime 55-32. The Wast was unable to pull itself back in the game as the East cruised to the 98-77 win behind 20 points from Marcus Toney-El (Seton Hall Prep / East Orange, N.J.) and 18 J.C. Mathis (J.F. Kennedy / Bronx, N.Y.). The West was led offensively by Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei / Irvine, Calif.) 19 points, and E.J. Harris (Crenshaw / Los Angeles, Calif.) finished with 14.

Here are the West stats for the first game:

HOME TEAM: West (0-1)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK SMIN
10 L. Wright...........    3 13   0  5   0  0   1  4  5   1   6  2  0  0  0 18
13 E.J. Harris.........    6 17   2  7   0  0   0  4  4   3  14  3  4  0  1 21
14 S. Scoggin..........    8 15   3  7   0  0   1  3  4   2  19  4  0  0  1 29
15 B. Stepp............    1  5   1  5   1  2   0  5  5   1   4  0  2  0  1 22
24 H. Bailey...........    1  1   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   1   2  0  0  0  0 17
26 T. Bryant...........    2  6   0  0   0  0   3  3  6   1   4  0  1  2  0 12
27 R. Day..............    2  4   1  2   0  0   1  1  2   3   5  1  4  0  0 15
28 T. Johnson..........    3  5   1  1   2  5   3  2  5   2   9  4  5  1  3 24
29 J. Sampson..........    1  3   0  0   2  7   4  2  6   3   4  0  2  1  0 15
30 A. Zahn.............    5 12   0  0   0  1   5  5 10   1  10  0  2  1  2 27
TM TEAM................                         3  5  8
   Totals..............   32 81   8 27   5 15  21 35 56  18  77 14 20  5  8200

In the second game, with nine of its 10 players scoring in double figures, the South (2-0) just hammered the West (0-2) 109-83. The West managed to keep it close in the first half, and at the break only trailed 42-36. But the South then came out strong, as the South's Nick Anderson (Southern Lab / Baton Rouge, La.) scored his team's first six points of the second half, increasing the lead to 10, 48-38. The West came back, and pulled to within 5 points, 75-70, with just nine minutes remaining, but ultimately the South's 14-2 offensive run as Scooter Sherrill (West Rowan / Salisbury, N.C.) hit for eight points, including back-to-back threes, led to a 109-83 loss.   Leading the West was guard E.J. Harris (Crenshaw / Los Angeles, Calif.) with 15 points, Lou Wright (Westchester / Los Angeles, Calif.) added 14, Travon Bryant (Long Beach Jordan / Paramount, Calif.) scored 12 and Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei / Irvine, Calif.) finished with 10.  Here's the box from the game for the West only.

VISITORS: West (0-2)

                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK SMIN
10 L. Wright...........    7 11   0  1   0  0   0  1  1   3  14  3  3  0  0 25
13 E.J. Harris.........    5 16   1  7   4  4   1  2  3   0  15  5  3  0  0 21
14 S. Scoggin..........    4 16   2  9   0  0   1  4  5   0  10  5  3  0  0 33
15 B. Stepp............    3  7   1  5   0  0   0  5  5   0   7  1  2  0  0 19
24 H. Bailey...........    1  2   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   0   2  0  0  0  0  6
26 T. Bryant...........    6 10   0  2   0  0   1  2  3   1  12  1  2  0  0 17
27 R. Day..............    2  5   2  5   2  2   1  0  1   0   8  0  0  0  0 17
28 T. Johnson..........    2  6   1  3   0  2   2  3  5   1   5  3  2  0  1 25
29 J. Sampson..........    1  1   0  0   0  0   2  2  4   2   2  2  0  3  0 10
30 A. Zahn.............    4  7   0  0   0  0   2 12 14   2   8  1  2  1  0 27
TM TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   35 81   7 32   6  8  13 34 47   9  83 21 17  4 1 200

In game three,  E.J. Harris (Crenshaw / Los Angeles, Calif.) drained a short jumper with 20 seconds left to give the West (1-2) a 99-98 victory over the North (0-3). With the North and West each looking for their first win, the West on three different occasions led by as many as 10 points in the first half, only to see the North take a 54-51 lead to the locker room at halftime. The North opened the second half by outscoring the West 10-2 to take a 64-53 lead with 17:52 to play, but following a Jamaal Sampson (Mater Dei / Santa Anna, Calif.) dunk with 6:54 remaining, the contest was back even 83-83. The North's Andre Brown (Leo / Chicago, Ill.) and Zach Randolph (Marion / Marion, Ind.) scored back-to-back jumpers to push the North back in front 87-83, but the West again battled back and following two free throws by Lou Wright (Westchester / Los Angeles, Calif.), the West was again out in front 97-96 with 1:01 to play. Following an Andre Brown jumper that put the North back into the lead 98-97 with 36 seconds to go, Harris countered with a jumper of his own with 20 seconds to play to give the West the 99-98 lead and after the North's last game winning shot was off, the West had the 99-98 victory.  The West featured six players scoring in double digits, led by Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei / Irvine, Calif.) with 18 points and nine assists, while Harris added 15 points, Teyo Johnson (Mariner / Lynnwood, Wa.) accounted for 13 points and Sampson finished with a team high 17 rebounds to go with 10 points. The North was paced by Aaron Carr's (Lincoln Park / Chicago, Ill.) 20 points, while Imari Sawyer (King / Chicago, Ill.) scored 18 points and added a Festival single game record 12 assists. Randolph recorded his third double double performance in as many games, scoring 16 points and grabbing 20 boards.  Here's the box for the game for the West Team only:

HOME TEAM: West (1-2)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK SMIN
10 L. Wright........... *  5 11   0  2   2  2   0  1  1   2  12  0  1  0  0 15
14 S. Scoggin.......... *  5 11   3  4   5  6   1  3  4   1  18  9  1  0  3 27
24 H. Bailey........... *  1  8   0  0   2  2   2  1  3   2   4  1  2  0  0 14
28 T. Johnson.......... *  5  6   1  1   2  6   1  4  5   1  13  0  4  2  0 27
29 J. Sampson.......... *  5  7   0  0   0  0   7 10 17   2  10  1  1  3  0 26
13 E.J. Harris.........    6 14   0  3   3  4   0  0  0   0  15  6  1  1  1 22
15 B. Stepp............    4 10   3  6   0  0   1  2  3   1  11  3  0  0  1 23
26 T. Bryant...........    2  8   0  1   2  2   0  5  5   3   6  0  1  3  2 19
27 R. Day..............    2  2   1  1   0  0   0  1  1   3   5  1  0  2  1 10
30 A. Zahn.............    2  6   0  0   1  4   3  1  4   3   5  0  1  0  0 17
TM TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   37 83   8 18  17 26  17 30 47  18  99 21 12 11  8200
 

The fourth game was the semifinal round, and the South at 4-0, and the West, which improved to 2-2 with a win over the East Team 103-80, managed to make it to the Gold Medal game. Having been defeated by the East 98-77 in the opening game Friday afternoon, the West got some revenge, as  Lou Wright scored seven of the West's first nine points, and the West jumped out to an early 9-4 lead . The West, which only trailed in the opening minute of the game 2-1, led the remainder of the way although the East made several comeback runs. Leading 45-38 at halftime, the West still only led 59-53 with 14:01 left.  Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei / Irvine , Calif.) accounted for five points in a 12-2 run by the West which left them in control 71-55 with 10:47 to go. The West then sealed the 103-80 victory with a 8-0 run that left the East trailing 85-63 with 6:24 remaining. The West was led by Lou Wright with  26 points, and by Blake Stepp (South Eugene / Eugene, Ore.) who added 20 more points. Also scoring in double figures for the West were Jamaal Sampson (Mater Dei / Santa Ana, Calif.), 13 points, while E.J. Harris (Crenshaw / Los Angeles, Calif.) and Steve Scoggin (Mater Dei / Irvine , Calif.) each scored 10 points, and added seven and six assists, respectively. The East's scoring was led by Derrick Payne (Coolidge / Washington, D.C.), 15 points and 13 rebounds, Taliek Brown (St. John's Prep / Corona, N.Y.) added 14 points and Mike Bell (Enloe / Raleigh, N.C.) finished with 10. Here's the West box for the game:

VISITORS: West (2-2)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK SMIN
10 L. Wright...........   12 17   1  3   1  2   1  2  3   0  26  0  1  0  0 16
13 E.J. Harris.........    4 15   1  4   1  2   3  3  6   2  10  7  1  1  1 24
14 S. Scoggin..........    4 16   2  9   0  0   1  3  4   0  10  6  0  0  1 28
15 B. Stepp............    9 15   1  5   1  1   3  4  7   3  20  2  2  0  1 24
24 H. Bailey...........    2  4   0  0   0  0   3  7 10   2   4  1  0  0  0 14
26 T. Bryant...........    3  8   0  1   0  0   1  2  3   3   6  2  2  0  0 22
27 R. Day..............    1  4   0  2   2  2   1  2  3   3   4  2  0  0  1 11
28 T. Johnson..........    2 10   0  1   2  4   5  2  7   1   6  1  3  0  1 23
29 J. Sampson..........    6  8   0  0   1  2   2  4  6   3  13  0  0  5  1 22
30 A. Zahn.............    1  6   0  0   2  4   3  1  4   2   4  0  0  1  2 16
TM TEAM................                         4  6 10
   Totals..............   44 103   5 25  10 17  27 36 63  19 103 21  9  7 8200

TOTAL FG%:  .427   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .200   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .588      0,3

The West thus advanced to the Gold Medal Game, which they lost 124-108 to the South, which was led by Salmen High School (La.) standout guard Chris Duhon (Slidell, La.) who scored a game high 29.  The game was pretty even in the first half as neither team led by more than seven. The West, thanks to seven points from Teyo Johnson (Mariner / Lynnwood, Wash.), jumped out to a 9-2 lead, but the South, led by Duhon's four three-point field goals, came back to take a seven-point lead, 36-29 with 8:42 left in the half. Johnson connected from three-point to put the West back into the lead 53-51 with 47 seconds remaining in the first half, but the South got a three from Demetrius Smith (Callaway / Hogansville, Ga.) and Duhon scored a layup to give the South a 56-53 lead at halftime.

Duhon picked up in the second half where he left off and scored 12 points in the first 7:07 of the second half, and the South then jumped out to a 22-3 run to take the lead at 82-62. Eventually, the South team led by as many as 26 in the second half, and eventually won 124-108 win. The South was outrebounded by the West, 56-44, but shot 54.0 percent (47-87 FGs) from the floor and hit 18 of 37 three-point tries for 48.6 percent.  Duhon added seven assists and five rebounds, and the South was also helped by Scooter Sherrill's (West Rowan / Salisbury, N.C.) 22 points, nine assists and six boards, and Scooter McFadgon (Raleigh-Egypt / Memphis Tenn.) finished with 18 points. Teyo Johnson led the West with 28 points and 10 rebounds and Lou Wright (Westchester / Los Angeles, Calif.) added 16 points and eight rebounds. Here's the complete box score for the Gold Medal Game (both teams and full stats):

Gold Medal Game / Box Score (Final)
         Youth Development Festival
             West vs South (6/27/99)

VISITORS: West
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 L. Wright........... *  6 16   2  5   2  3   1  7  8   2  16  2  0  1  0  19
14 S. Scoggin.......... *  4  8   0  3   0  0   0  2  2   1   8  4  3  0  1  28
24 H. Bailey........... *  2  4   0  0   0  0   2  1  3   2   4  0  2  0  0  11
28 T. Johnson.......... * 12 19   2  4   2  3   7  3 10   2  28  1  3  0  4  23
29 J. Sampson.......... *  3  4   0  0   4  8   4  4  8   1  10  0  0  0  1  21
13 E.J. Harris.........    5 15   0  7   4  4   0  0  0   4  14  5  1  0  0  21
15 B. Stepp............    2  6   1  3   0  0   1  2  3   1   5  4  2  0  0  22
26 T. Bryant...........    2  6   0  0   3  6   3  4  7   0   7  2  0  0  1  20
27 R. Day..............    3 10   1  5   1  2   2  4  6   3   8  2  2  1  1  16
30 A. Zahn.............    3  5   0  0   2  4   4  0  4   0   8  0  0  0  0  19
TM TEAM................                         4  1  5
   Totals..............   42 93   6 27  18 30  28 28 56  16 108 20 13  2  8 200

TOTAL FG%:  .452   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .222   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .600      7

HOME TEAM: South
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 S. Sherrill......... *  8 14   2  4   4  6   3  3  6   0  22  9  0  0  0  31
05 C. Duhon............ * 10 15   7 11   2  2   1  4  5   2  29  7  2  0  4  29
07 G. Riley............ *  5  9   2  4   1  2   1  3  4   4  13  2  1  0  2  26
10 N. Anderson......... *  5  9   0  1   1  2   2  6  8   3  11  1  2  4  0  27
13 D. Rice............. *  3  8   1  6   0  0   0  3  3   3   7  2  1  1  0  22
06 S. McFadgon.........    7 13   4  6   0  0   2  0  2   1  18  1  0  0  0  12
11 A. Burks............    1  3   0  2   0  0   0  1  1   3   2  2  0  0  0   8
12 R. Howell...........    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   1
14 D. Smith............    3  6   2  3   0  2   3  3  6   4   8  3  3  1  1  23
15 N. Smith............    5 10   0  0   4  5   2  4  6   2  14  2  1  1  0  21
TM TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   47 87  18 37  12 19  16 28 44  22 124 30 10  7  7 200

TOTAL FG%:  .540   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .486   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .632      3

Date: 6/27/99       Site: Colorado Springs (OTC)  Attendance: 0
Officials:
Technical fouls: West-None. South-None.
Score by Periods      1  2   Total
West................ 53 55  -108
South............... 56 68  -124

The Wests' overall stats were pretty impressive, even if they didn't bring home the Gold.  Here's the cumulative stats for the five games for the West Team:

PLAYER       G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT  REB/AVG   A TO BK  ST  PTS/AVG
Wright       5  33-68 .485   3-16 .188   5- 7 .714   18/ 3.6  7  5  1   0   74/14.8
Harris       5  26-77 .338   4-28 .143  12-14 .857   13/ 2.6 26 10  2   3   68/13.6
Scoggin      5  25-66 .379  10-32 .313   5- 6 .833   19/ 3.8 28  7  0   6   65/13.0
Johnson      5  24-46 .522   5-10 .500   8-20 .400   32/ 6.4  9 17  3   9   61/12.2
Stepp        5  19-43 .442   7-24 .292   2- 3 .667   23/ 4.6 10  8  0   3   47/ 9.4
Sampson      5  16-23 .696   0- 0 .---   7-17 .412   41/ 8.2  3  3 12   2   39/ 7.8
Zahn         5  15-36 .417   0- 0 .---   5-13 .385   36/ 7.2  1  5  3   4   35/ 7.0
Bryant       5  15-38 .395   0- 4 .000   5- 8 .625   24/ 4.8  5  6  5   3   35/ 7.0
Day          5  10-25 .400   5-15 .333   5- 6 .833   13/ 2.6  6  6  3   3   30/ 6.0
Bailey       5   7-19 .368   0- 0 .000   2- 2 1.000  18/ 3.6  2  4  0   0   16  3.2
TEAM                                                 32/
Total        5 190-441 .431 34-129 .264 56-96  .583 269/53.8 97 71 29  33  470/94.0
Opponents    5 205-452 .454 40-112 .357 60-104 .577 266/53.2 100 56 25 44  510/102.0

Overall, here's how the West Team members compared with others attending in the top stats leader categories:

 
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