SoCalHoops High School News

Richard Lee: Best In The West:  
Dominguez Beats LB Jordan--(Dec. 29, 1998)

We weren't at the Best in the West yesterday, but Richard Lee was, and he wrote some pretty good stuff about yesterday's action, which was posted up over at Cyberbears (http://www.cyberbears.com).  Richard told us it would be fine with him if we posted his stuff over here at SoCalHoops also and we're happy to do so. We don't necessarily share all of his views, especially of Travon, but then we weren't there, so what do we know, right?.

Best in the West Invitational
Compton Dominguez 69, Long Beach Jordan 51

By Richard Lee

All right, 6'8" JR Travon Bryant of LB Jordan might be pretty damn good after all.

Everyone expected Dominguez to win, and they did. I was interested in seeing Dominguez's all-star lineup for an entire game and also how Travon Bryant would fare against really strong competition. Well, Bryant was just an absolute monster in the 1st quarter for Jordan, as he scored all 10 of their points, had 2 blocks, 2 rebounds, and a steal -- again this was just in 1 quarter, as he was the best player on the floor at the time and you could see the fire in his eyes.

Still, Dominguez was up, 20-10, after the 1st, and they extended it to 30-17 at halftime, mainly through the scoring of Keith Kincaide, the playmaking of 6'4" PG Marcus Moore, and the inside presence of wide-bodied Keith Brooks and slender but really really really tall Tyson Chandler. Bryant got into foul trouble in the 1st half (3 fouls midway through the 2nd quarter), and really, that was the ballgame. Tyson Chandler only had 2 blocks at halftime, but he redirected a lot more and forced Jordan into off-balance shots inside and an over-reliance on outside jumpers.

So, anyway, Dominguez went up to a 51-34 lead at the end of 3, but Jordan hit a 3-pointer to close the game to 51-37 with about 7 1/2 minutes left. That's as close as they got, though, as Dominguez went on a 13-5 run led by Marcus Moore, who pulled a lot of razzle-dazzle highlight stuff in his penetrating. With over 4 minutes to play, it was garbage time, and I got to see a lot of really good Dominguez underclassmen, including heralded 6'5" freshman Darius Sanders -- well, he looked strong (a 9th grader and the guy is cut like marble). The final score: 69-51, Dominguez over Jordan.

Tyson Chandler's line (he didn't play the entire 4th quarter): 4 points (1-5 fg, 2-2 ft), 2 rebounds, 6 blocks, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, and 1 foul. Travon Bryant's line (he got his 4th foul midway thru the 3rd and, really, he was a nonfactor after the 1st Q): 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 assist, 1 turnover, and 4 fouls (in fact, now that I look at my sheet, Travon did absolutely nothing in the 2nd half other than pick up his 4th foul and sit the entire 4th Q). Keith Kincaide's line: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. Keith Brooks' line: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 fouls. Marcus Moore's line: 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls -- Marcus Moore, with his height and his passing, could be an unreal point guard...but he can't shoot.

Now, Dominguez has to play Clovis West (which upset Long Beach Poly in the other quarterfinal earlier in the day) at 9:05pm in the West Gym on Tuesday night (basically, right after the Artesia vs. Verbum Dei game ends). I am tempted to say that Dominguez should put on another highlight show, but seeing as how Clovis West beat Washington Union High in Fresno (featuring DeShawn Stevenson) and also beat 3rd seeded Long Beach Poly, Clovis West could pull off the upset, so long as they slow down the pace of the game. And, Clovis West's team and coaching staff were at the Dominguez game taking in the Dons' offensive and defensive schemes. And, yah. 6'5" freshman Charlie Rodriguez was there looking pretty unfazed, too.

Richard Lee

P.S.

If Travon Bryant plays all the time like he did in the first quarter, he's all-world. If he plays like he did the rest of the game (and in the 2nd half of the 1st round game against L.A. High), he's a member of the All-Underachiever team.

P.P.S.

Here are some additional details on this game:

Keith Kincaide = 19 pts
Keith Brooks = 14 pts
Marcus Moore = 10 pts
Tyson Chandler = 4 pts
Ronald Jackson = 7 pts (all in the 3rd quarter)
Steve Moore = 7 pts (all 1st half)
Darius Sanders = 2 pts (garbage time)
Cedric Thompkins = 5 pts (all in garbage time)
Bobby Jones = 1 pt (he had a funny moment in garbage time when he was on a fast break, refused to pass to his teammates on either side of the basket, tried to make the spectacular play, and airballed...he got benched immediately)

You'll notice that there's no Larry Johnson listed. You probably noticed on Saturday night, but the guy was nowhere to be seen. I dunno if he's injured or not on the team or ineligible or what, but he's on the program as #23...but the kid wearing #23 for the Dons was sitting on the bench, barely over 6'0", skinny and young-looking, and definitely not Larry  Johnson.

I dunno where this guy is.

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