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SoCalHoops High School & Prep Report

Brick Oettinger's Take On SoCal:
The Reebok/Gibbons TOC--(May 27, 1998)

Today's column by The Sporting News' Brick Oettinger features some new observations about the the Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions which was played this past weekend (May 22-24) at five different sites in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham (N.C.). As most of you know, the Rockfish team and the Belmont Shore teams were among the 56 teams attending, placed by age into 17-under (28 teams), 16-under (16 teams), and 15-under (12 teams) divisions.

According to Oettinger, "as always, the crowds were inexplicably small but the caliber of play was quite high. "

Oettinger had the following to say about some of his (aka Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook) top picks in the 17U division (we've underlined the SoCal angle for you):

Some played up to their press clippings, such as Donnell Harvey, a 6-7 1/2 Cuthbert (Ga.) Randolph-Clay southpaw power forward (ranked No. 6 in the class of 1999), who led the Atlanta Celtics to the 17-under championship by an 83-72 margin over the D.C. Stars; 6-9 Concord (N.H.) High combination forward Matt Bonner (ranked No. 18 but a top 10 talent), an outstanding performer for the Granite State Raiders, who lost 64-44 to the New York Ravens in the Consolation "B" finals; and 6-6 Glendora (Calif.) High swingman Casey Jacobsen (No. 25), who paced the Belmont Shore Basketball Club of Long Beach (Calif.) to the championship semifinals, where they fell 78-58 to the powerful Celtics.

About Jacobsen, Oettinger also had this to say:

We have Jacobsen ranked about right at No. 25. His shot was streaky in this event, but he's fundamentally impeccable and does all the little things that coaches love. He also articulated considerable interest in Duke, although some schools closer to home (such as Stanford, UCLA and Utah) also are mentioned.

Oettinger also touted one of the Rockfish players, Brian Wethers. Here's what he had to say:

Another rising senior ranked in the top 25, 6-5 Murrieta Valley (Calif.) High wing guard Brian Wethers, played well at the TOC for the Los Angeles Rockfish team. He may not deserve his pre-tournament national ranking of No. 16, but he's certainly a big-time prospect who combines athleticism, aggressiveness, and good skills. His outside shot is flat and somewhat erratic, yet dangerous. Wethers is another who hasn't yet pared his field of colleges down below seven or eight.

Finally (at least insofar as SoCal is concerned), Oettinger also tried to break down some of his player highlights by region, although frankly when he got to the West, there wasn't much space left in his column, and so he only highlighted three players, two from SoCal, including Leroy Dawson (6'-2" Jr. G) from Compton High, and Long Beach Jordan's Travon Bryant (6'-8" Jr. C/PF), each of whom was said to have played well and deserving of attention. Sadly for those fans of his in SoCal, Oettinger didn't mention Shantay Legans or anyone else on either the Rockfish or the Belmont Shore clubs.

Of course, Oettinger also touted and panned a number of other players from other regions of the country, and if you want to read his full report you can find it at this link.