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SoCalHoops Tournament News

Jason Day: Long Beach Fall Hoops:
First Day Notes--(Sept. 12, 1998)

Our friend and correspondent, Jason Day was also at the first day's doings down at Long Beach City College last night (neither of us actually made it over to the third venue, Long Beach Wilson High), and Jason had some observations about some of the players and games. You can also find his articles over at the Ultra Student Athletes website as well. Note that his references to "USA" players is a reference to the guys who play in that program. If you want to e-mail him, he can be reached at the USA website.

dada Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic first day notes
By Jason Day

I made it down to Long Beach City College yesterday evening to catch some of the games at Dinos Trigonis' latest BBall extravaganza, the 'dada' Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic. Lots of very strong teams from SoCal, NoCal, and Out a' Cal. The format is such that you really can't just sit down and watch a whole game at this point in the tournament, so you bounce around between the two LBCC gyms and the Wilson High gym where pool play games are also being held.

Some notes:

I got there in time to see most of the game between Top Prospects Inc. (TPI) #1 team and Say No Classic. TPI was just loaded with the likes of Casey Jacobsen, Joe Shipp, and Chris Osborne, and should be considered one of the favorites to take this event. SNC was made up of most of the Muir High team including Jonathan Williams, Nate Miller, and John Parker. TPI won this one 64-61 and it was that close a game. While TPI clearly had a major height advantage, and most observers would say they had a huge talent advantage, Say No used quickness, hustle, and some good outside shooting to keep it close.

Jacobsen, who committed to Stanford yesterday, had a monster game. I clocked the 6'6 Glendora High star at 18pts, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. A tremendous inside out player who put on a show in this one.

Joe Shipp, who has apparently decided to remain at Fairfax, is clearly ready to make up for lost time after sitting out most of last season with a broken foot. He's bigger, stronger, and if you can believe this, quicker than he was at the end of last season. He was TPI coach Dart Stamps choice for "go to guy" in this game, and man did he deliver. While at 6'5 he's not as tall as David Bluthenthal (freshman USC out of Westchester), he's got real similarities to David's game. I didn't get to see how much the outside shot has (or hasn't) developed, but the paint game is awesome. He finished with 19pts., 12 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Chris Osborne, who has always been a favorite of mine, continues to improve. I look for him to concentrate on his strong suits this year, strong post play with the sweet turn around J, rebounding, outstanding defense in the paint, and a reliable jumper out to 15 or so. I also look for Westchester Coach Ed Azzam, to develop a way to help Chris overcome his "hands" problem. The "drop the pass" syndrome was not evident in this game, as Chris made his Arizona State admirers very happy with 12 pts. 13 boards, 2 blks, and 2 assists.

James Wright, Manual Arts star, and as talented a ball handler as you ever will see, continued to prove that he simply cannot be stopped from getting to the basket. Problem last night was that he just couldn't finish. He can score in bunchs and has a pretty reliable outside J. He's a senior this year, and I'm looking forward to following his progress this season. I had him with 8 pts. and 4 or 5 dimes.

Remember this name: Jason McKinney. He's a 5'10 freshman guard attending Westchester and has "star" written all over him. Poised and confident, with an exceptional handle and great court awareness, he just lights up when he drops a serious dime. I didn't see what the J looks like, but right now, he doesn't need one, he'll get to the lane for the layup or dish-off when he wants to. Oh, and he can play defense too. Watch this kid.

Say No had a couple of players that I thought played very well too. Jonathan Williams finished with 14 pts. on some real nice shooting and finishes on the break. Nate Miller had 8 with a couple of board, and 4 assists, and John Parker showed some great athleticism with 6 boards and 3 blocks to go with 6 pts. and an assist.

The next game I saw was listed as Arizona Stars II vs. Philly Hoops. Oh boy!! Two out of town All-Star teams. Well not quite. The Philly team was relisted in the program as East Coast-West Coast Connection. The team boasts players from Canada, Virginia, and Philly along with SoCal players from Pacific Hills, Notre Dame, and Bishop Montgomery High Schools. Anyway, transportation problems and other mishaps, forced the ECWCC coaches to scramble to fill the lineup. Arizona II brought a team that was really from Arizona. However, after the "butt whoopin" they took from the mix an match ECWCC they may have wished they hadn't left. ECWCC's Pacific Hills's players happened to be Brandon Owens, 5'9 SR/PG and Ryan Abrahams, 6'3 SR/SG. The two stars of Pacific Hills Division 5 State Championship team.

Owens is a fun kid to watch. He's got quickness and aggressiveness, a great handle, and a court eye that leaves many opponents swatting at balls whizzing by their heads enroute to Brandon's teammates. And he can shoot the ball too. My line on him was 17 pts., 6 assists, and 4 steals. Nice player.

Abrahams, who had a spectacular Junior season, is as talented a shooter/scorer as you'll see in this tournament. He can fill it up from anywhere on the court, and will get to the rack too. I had him with 12 pts., 4 assists and a couple of boards.

Chris Williams, 6'8 (I don't think so) SR, from Sherman Oaks (Notre Dame) showed some real athleticism in this game, he had double digit rebounds and a couple of nice blocks. His offense wasn't really evident, but I will be trying to watch him play as the tourney progresses. Looks like he's got some talent and potential.

One of the kids that ECWCC picked up to fill the roster was David Merriwether, a former USA player, who transferred from Fairfax to Crenshaw this year. David, an 11th grader, is an aggressive athletic guard who busts his butt on both ends of the floor the whole time he's out there. One of the best rebounding guards I've seen so far in this tournament, he's also a tenacious defender. He's got a shot that's pretty accurate out to 3pts. but he didn't take many in this one. He had 4pts. 7 rebounds. I hope to catch another of his games this weekend.

Gotta give Ron Cass (I think he's a Junior at Manual this year) his props. Ron is one of those kids you'd expect to see on the offensive line not the low block. He's not very tall, but he is "round". He's also quite a baller. Very nice outside J and the ability to finish around the basket too. He had at least 13 pts. in this game and was a factor in the win.

NEWS (maybe).....Tommy Johnson did leave Fairfax and is at Crenshaw. Joe Shipp and Jason Morrissette are still at Fairfax. Armand Thomas has returned to Crenshaw.

My last notes are on the last game I saw, Houston Hoops vs. Monsters of the Midway. The Monsters are mostly from Valley area Schools, LA Baptist, Village Christian, Chatsworth. Houston is the defending champ and is on everyone's list to make the finals again. The good news for opponents is that they only have one player from last year's team here. The bad news for opponents is that the one player is Nick Anderson, 6'7 JR from Southern Lab High (Baton Rouge, LA). Further bad news is that the rest of the roster is absolutely frightening. Besides Anderson, a top 50 player nationally, and a top 5-10 JR, they've got a little guard (6'1 SO) Carlos Hurt out of Alief-Elsik HS in Houston (yes, Rashad Lewis's school), and two of Anderson's teammates at Southern Lab, 6'2 JR, Trayvean Scott (a future superstar in the making), and 6'6 JR, Roderick Ambrose who shoots, runs, plays D, and flies.

Since the score was 39-5 at the half, I invoked my own "mercy rule" and stopped keeping stats. But I did jot some notes on some of the players.

Anderson started putting on the "high flying" act from the tip off and it was on from their. Agile, strong, fast, and as spectacular a finisher as you'll see this year, Nick is a force at both ends. I had him with 6 boards, 3 blocks, and 2 assists to go with 8 pts at the half. He's fun to watch, and I can't wait to see him go up against the better competition here.

Hurt, is gonna be a great player one day. He's already a very good one. A real knowledge of the court at all times, he will find the open teammate with deadly accuracy. A flashy handle that is used sparingly in favor of the simple effective move, gets him in the lane where he can do serious damage. I had him with 6 assists and 6 steals by the half. Another one that's fun to watch.

Trayvean Scott put on the real show in this one. The kid can shoot, is a "glove" on defense, wants the ball in "his" hands on O, and will break ankles at will. Oh, and he'll drop the sweet dime with cold impunity. At the half he had 13 pts. 3 steals, 2 boards, 3 assists. Gotta catch his game tonight.

While Monsters of the Midway really had nothing much to show as a team. I thought Adam Drell was a bright spot. A 6'6 JR at Chatsworth, he displayed a polish and knowledge of the fundamentals that was lacking in his teammates. Athletic and quick, he can get his own in the paint, and moves real well without the ball too. Looked as if he has a short to mid-range jumper too. Hope to get to see him some more. Preferably with a more supportive cast.

I'll be back in Long Beach tonight and will share tomorrow. Till then, see if you can come on down to this great event and catch some great basketball.

Later,

Jason Day