iolani classic

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SoCalHoops Tournament News

Iolani Classic: Domginuez, Wash.Union, Oak Hill
Impressive With First Wins--(Dec. 20, 1999)

The local Hawaii media was impressed with the two teams from SoCal participating at the Iolani Classic this past Friday and Saturday, as both Dominguez and Washington Union won. Not a word though in the local Hawaii papers about Oak Hill, formerly ranked No. 1 by USA Today, but if you are longing for a taste of what brought everyone out to the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic for the past two years (and the 18 years before those two years) just take a look at the report which Marcus X filed from Hawaii about Oak Hill and former NorCal player Luke Whitehead (who left St. Ignatius and is now at Oak Hill). That report can be found at NorCalPreps, one of the Rival sites; here's the link. Remember the slam dunk warmups? The unbelievable athleticism? Well, it's in Hawaii this year, not Las Vegas.

As for Compton Dominugez, we're not sure what's up with Keilon Fortune (5'-11" Jr. PG), who was not playing with the team at the time we did our early season preview of Dominguez, but when we got the roster information for the 40th Annual Best in the West, which starts next week, we saw that Keilon was supposedly back on the team (and as such we've included him in our BIW preview). But the word is that even though he's been playing with them on and off, at least for now, he's off. Keilon was with his AAU coach Pat Barrett at the UCLA v. DePaul game on Saturday, and thus wasn't in Hawaii with the team. When we inquired about why he wasn't with the Dons, Barrett told us that Keilon had some personal issues to work out and thus wasn't traveling with the team. Nevertheless, Dominguez won easily, as did Washington Union (although not as easily) as Deshawn Stevenson finished with 23 points in the first game, and Tyson Chandler had 20. Here's a news account from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Iolani Classic brings out the best in prep hoops

Kansas recruit DeShawn Stevenson shows why he's so highly regarded
By Aaron Custodio
Special to the Star-Bulletin

One of the nation's top high school basketball players was the feature attraction at the opening day of the annual Nike Iolani Prep Classic.
DeShawn Stevenson, a preseason All-American who has committed to Kansas, led Washington Union (Fresno, Calif.) to a 61-52 victory over Roosevelt yesterday at Iolani School. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard led all scorers with 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Defensively, he finished with three
blocks and four steals. "We held our own and played hard," Roosevelt coach John Chung said. "We ran out of gas. We didn't handle the pressure
really well and we had a lot of turnovers."

"Roosevelt was scrappy and they gave us a few problems," Washington Union coach Larry Trigueiro said. "They showed a lot of heart. And I''ll tell you what - they are not a bad team at all and I admire their effort." Late in the fourth quarter, the Rough Riders cut the Panthers' lead to 51-46. Then after both teams traded baskets, Stevenson scored six-straight points under three minutes to play to help seal the victory. "DeShawn Stevenson is a good player. They went to him and he hit some key shots," Chung said. "Roosevelt was scared at first but when they found out that they could play with us -- we fought through," Stevenson said. "(Coach) told us to get me the ball and I did what I had to do to win."

The 16-team tournament, which features three teams ranked in the Fox Sports top 25, continues today [Saturday] and, after Sunday off, returns to action Monday through Wednesday. Defending national champion Oakhill Academy, of Mouth of Wilson, Va., will take on St. Louis tonight at 8. No. 7 Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) faces Radford at 6:30. Kapaa against East Anchorage (Alaska) at 5. McKinley meets Provo (Utah)
at 3:30.

Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) 93, Iolani 41:

Seven-foot center Tyson Chandler and the No. 16 Dons dunked the Raiders. Dominguiz went to its star player early. Chandler opened the game with the two-handed dunk that woke up the Iolani crowd. Moments later, after missing two free-throws, Chandler dunked his put-back. "Tyson (Chandler) got us going early," Dominguez coach Russell Otis said. "He made some easy buckets early and got himself off to a good start. He's a big-time player and he knows what is expected out of him." Chandler finished with a game-high 20 points, including five dunks. "Clearly were we outmatched," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "They are very athletic and more talented than us. "Tyson Chandler is a good player. You don't usually find a player that big at this age being so agile. He moves real well." Dominguez led, 47-24, after the first half. In the third quarter, the Dons' defense stifled the Raiders half-court offense. The Raiders were held to five points in the quarter. Their two field goals finally came with 40 seconds left to play in the period. "I'm pleased with their effort -- defensively," Otis said. "Our whole game is dedicated to how we play defense. We tried to play with a lot of intensity in the third quarter." Iolani's Bobby Nash, son of Hawaii assistant coach Bob Nash, led the Raiders with 16 points, including two 3-pointers.

Wilson (S.C.) 65, Baldwin 44:

The Tigers held the Bears scoreless in the second quarter in the win. Chavis Thompson scored a game-high 15 points for Wilson. Baldwin's Brandon Ahonima and Kalei Houpo led the Bears with 9 points each.

Central (Ark.) 70, Waianae 43:

The Tigers outscored the Seariders, 25-10, in the final quarter to seal the victory. Central's Bruce Evans and Reginald Talley were the game's leading scorers with 16 points apiece. William Broadus' 11 points were a team-high for Waianae.