gil701

SoCalHoops High School & Prep News

War On The Floor Continues. . .
Arenas Makes News Without Playing--(July 1, 1998)

The heat will do strange things to people. It sure must have affected those folks over at the LA Times.

First, the Times does something that it never does: It sends not one, but two reporters, Paige Leech and Michael Lazarus, to cover a Valley basketball tournament, "The War on the Floor" being run at Chatsworth High all this week, which features 20 teams from around SoCal, including Dominguez and Clovis West from Fresno. What a nice change.

It was hot yesterday in the Valley. Well into the 90's. And we knew that the heat was getting to someone when we opened up our LA Times Valley Edition this morning, and saw the following headline:

"Added Intrigue to Arenas Watch"

We eagerly read with great interest to find out what all the intrigue was about. And we read. And we read. And we read it yet again just to see if we had missed something.

But we couldn't find the intrigue anywhere.

We learned that Gil had shown up at the tournament as a spectator. My oh my, how intriguing. We learned that he was wearing orange and brown clothing, Grant's school colors. Hmmmm, that must mean something.

C'mon guys, was there any real substance to the article? Not really. Yet another re-hash of old stuff. That Gil told his Grant summer team he wouldn't be playing with them in late June or thereafter. That Howie Levine, the Grant coach reportedly told Gil not to play for any other school team, and that if he did he would not be welcome at Grant next season.

Yesterday's news.

How long will it take the LA Times folks to figure out that Gil is just having fun with them? They'll probably never figure it out. And why would he let them in on the joke when he's getting all this great free publicity? He wouldn't, and he won't. If he does transfer to Sylmar, will that be big news? Nahh, we all knew it was coming.

Read this and see for yourselves. Here's what the Times wrote today under the headline quoted above:

"Dressed in orange and black street clothes and orange suede shoes, Gilbert Arenas of Grant High was sporting his school colors as a spectator Tuesday at the War on the Floor boys' basketball tournament at Chatsworth. When Sylmar High took the floor for a game against Kennedy, Arenas, who has hinted he might transfer to Sylmar, didn't head for a phone booth for a quick change.

"But he may have a 'S' on his chest soon. 'Maybe I'll play tomorrow,' Arenas said. Arenas, who might be the region's top recruit next year, told his Lancer teammates and Grant Coach Howie Levine after a summer league game on June 22 that he will no longer play for the Lancers during the summer. Levine countered by saying if Arenas plays for another school team this summer, he will not be welcomed back on the Grant team in the fall, Arenas said.

"So the cat-and-mouse game continues. And Arenas sits."

Cat-and-mouse game??? A guy shows up to a tournament to watch his buddies play. Some reporter asks him if he's thinking of playing, and he says "Maybe I'll play tomorrow," and suddenly it's a "cat-and-mouse game?"

Sheesh.

It's gotta be the heat.