montclair prep game against milken

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SoCalHoops Tournament News

Montclair Prep Squeaks
Past Milken 77-74--(Dec. 1, 1999)

Tonight was D-V night for us again, at least we thought we were going to see two D-VAA teams, but then we had to remind ourselves that Milken, with an enrollment of 371 is just 70 kids over the D-VAA limit and is now in Division IV. No matter, it was still the same bunch of great young players coached by Mike Whiting, one of the better coaches in the area. And tonight he was up against Montclair Prep's coaching duo of Howard Abrams and Greg Patterson, who returned to the helm after a one year absence which saw Montclair Prep miss out on a trip to the playoffs for the first time in recent memory. But that was then, and this is now. These were two well-coached teams who play with intensity and drive, have excellent quickness, some nice big men inside and great guard play.

We're not going to recount the game blow by blow, but we will offer some general observations of guys we saw, in a somewhat random fashion. If it seems like we're skipping around a bit, we are, but that's just because it's late, and we're tired. But here goes anyway:

Overall impression--Montclair Prep: Remember, other than the addition of a couple of guys up from the jvs and the absence of Jason Anderson (6'-9" Sr. C) who is still enrolled at the school, but not playing basketball--he'll leave in December to attend a university in the east where he'll play football--, this is still pretty much the same team from last year which missed the playoffs and almost lost to Whitney, and which split games with Brentwood, something Montclair Prep hasn't done in years. But then these guys didn't play like last year's team: They seem to be getting a better chemistry, playing more together, communicating better and in general functioning more as a unit rather than a collection of guys all worried about how much playng time or how their stats were looking, as they seemed to do last season. Maybe it's also the return of Abrams and Patterson, maybe it's just that they're a year older and wiser. . . who knows. But they are definitely a Top 10 caliber team in this Division, and certainly are capable of challenging for a title. Now some observations of a few players, the ones we saw the most of tonight:

Will Sheslow shoots over Alex Raminfar

Will Sheslow (6'-0" So. SG) led all Montclair Prep scorers tonight with 19 points, including going 7 for 9 from the line in the fourth quarter during foul time. Will seems to have improved his quickness, stepped up his defense a notch and in general was shooting the lights out. His footwork is greatly improved and his shot mechanics also seem to be better, with a quicker and higher release point than he had, and he also doesn't seem to be bringing it off the side of his head. But we don't want to get picky because Will played a great game.

Josiah Johnson shoots
the short jumper

Josiah Johnson (6'-6" Sr. SG/SF) hit for 17 points before fouling out. He's looking more mobile, losing some of that Johnson family baby fat that his brother Kris and father Marques both seemed to have when they were at UCLA, even if they were separated by a generation. Josiah's shots (at least the ones we saw) were mostly from about 12' and in tonight, and he was effective in the paint, moving people out of the way and he grabbed a bunch of rebounds, at least 6 we counted.

Andre Freeman (5'-10" Sr. PG) played very smooth, very quick, can be explosive when he wants to be, smart and was effective pulling up, dishing off and drivng to the basket a couple of times. His only limitation as a prospective college player would be his size, but since when has a point guard not been recruited because of his size. He's got good, but not lightning quick reflexes and is good with and without the ball. This was our first time to see him for any extended period since last season, and maybe it's the extra year, maybe it's the calming influence of the coaches he was used to and didn't have last season, but he seems more mature and a better leader on the floor.

Jesse Bronner (6'-4" Sr. SF/PF) played well; he's a tough player, a real banger who can also pull the trigger from up top, runs the floor well, and will also rebound. Jesse had 10 points tonight and really contributed.

Derek Daniels (6'-7" So. PF)--We thought Howard and Greg were kidding when they told us a few days ago that Derek weighs in at well over 290 lbs, but they're not. He literally moves people out of the paint just by putting his body next to them and walking. A powerful rebounder, he also has a surprisingly good feel around the basket and a great soft touch. He finished with 6 points tonight. He's also a decent runner, but could stand to lose about 40 pounds off his lower body which would make him a lot quicker. Still we were impressed and if he really learns how to post up, a lot of guys, even those like Isaiah Fox are going to be in trouble.

Brian Trump (6'-3" So. SF) Brian played well during his minutes, scoring three points, getting several loose balls and tying up one a defensive rebound for a jump ball. He's stretched out and gotten leaner and quicker than he was during the years we knew him from ARC and Maccabi basketball. With continued development, he'll grow into an impact player on this team.

Overall Impressions --Milken:

We were very impressed with the intensity of play and the level of execution which the Wildcats showed, and perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, but if they were still in Division V-AA, there's no doubt they'd be a Top 10 team, but they're not. Instead, Milken has been moved up to D-IVA, due to an increase in enrollment to 371 (70 more than the limit for Division VAA). But whatever division they're in, they may still be a top 10 team, and looking at the list of teams slated to be in that Division this year, we can't think of many teams that are better than they are; maybe slightly better (if Verbum Dei reloaded, well, that's another story, and maybe Crossroads. . . but you never know). The Wildcats were very well-coached tonight, played with great intensity, talked a lot on the floor, and probably played a little better team ball than did Montclair, but Montclair probably has better athletes too, so it all seemed to even out. Still, this is a team to watch out for. Here's what we thought of the individuals we knew and saw:

Daniel Greenberg (5'-10" Sr. PG)--a stellar performance tonight, driving, dishing, breaking the press and penetrating off the dribble, grabbing about 5 steals that we counted, Daniel was everywhere tonight, and he's clearly this team's leader, at least he was until he fouled out with about 4 minutes to play at a time when the score was as close as it was going to get until the final 30 seconds. Daniel, like Andre Freeman, certainly has the skills and point guard mentality to play at the next level, but we don't know if that next level is D-I, II or III. He's tough, a tenacious defender with great hands and excellent lateral quickness, and on defense he can be a ball hawk.

Bobby Bassman (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF)--on this team he sort of plays center, to the extent there is such a thing when he's the tallest player on the team. He scored a game high 26 points, mostly off of pushing, driving layups into a man or in traffic. He's a good defender, and tough too, because in the 4th quarter he was just getting steamrolled all over the place by the absolutely huge Derek Daniels. In fact there was one pretty funny moment when he was simply standing under the basket waiting for a defensive rebound under the Montclair basket, and Daniels put his butt into Bassman, sending Bobby flying, and as he lay sprawled on the floor, not really knowing what hit him, the ref blows his whistle, and calls a foul. . . . on Bassman. He's a great kid, because he just started laughing at the ref, and so did a lot of other people because it was a ridicuouls call. But Bassman is a tough kid, and he got right up and scored another 8 points in the quarter.

Alex Raminfar (6'-4" Sr. SF/SG) --we're not exactly sure of the spelling, but it sounds the same any way you spell it, so forgive us. Alex is a tall, thin, sort of wiry guy with a good handle and a nice shot in from about 12'. Alex had a good second half, and it almost more than compensated for what he described as "not a very good effort in the first half." After the game we complimented him on his game, but he said, "Well, we came out too slow in the first half, and that's what really hurt us." Alex is a thin, slight player with a decent handle, not great, but good enough to take over bringing the ball up occasionally after Greenberg fouled out. We were a bit surprised that Montclair didn't pressure him at all in the backcourt, but he was still able to break through the half court pressure.

Bobby Hendlish--we honestly weren't paying attention to him during this game, focusing on other guys, but he came away tonight with 11 points. We'll have another chance to see him next week at the Milken tournament, which will feature Bell-Jeff, Milken, Paraclete, Pilgrim, Buckley and a few others we can't recall right now.

Others who scored for Milken tonight were David Paletz with 4, Adam Blitz with 3, and Jon Milgrim with two, and Jon is turning into a very accomplished guard, able to bring the ball up against pressure. He's got to watch when and where he picks up his dribble, because he doesn't have great size and when he gets double-teamed he can be susceptible to not being able to get the outlet pass through the lane, but then he did manage to draw two defenders a lot and didn't get tied up, so his play did seem to work more often than not. Still we hope he grows some because he has a nice feel for the game.

All in all, this was a very competitive game, and it really could have gone either way. At times it seemed that Montclair Prep could or would dominate, and with about 45 seconds to play, it was a 9 point game, and it looked like it was over. But with good play and coaching, the Wildcats came back, and they almost pulled it off.

Perhaps these two teams will get another look at each other in the Montclair Prep tournament. We'll see. Later.