jday908

SoCalHoops Tournament News

Jason Day: 4 "D" Labor Day Tourney:
IEBP, USA & SCA All Win--(Sept. 8, 1998)

We didn't get to see these games, but we did have some eyes and ears in the stands. First, we know that IEBP All-Stars beat the Southern California All-Stars in the Varsity Division. SCA had only the "young" guys, i.e., Mike Strawberry, Darius Sanders, Keilon Fortune (ok, so he's one of the "veterans" with Tyson Chandler). We don't know what the score was, but we heard it was a pretty substantial margin of victory for the guys from the Inland Empire.

In the 14's, SCA once again squared off against its usual rival, the ARC Razorbacks coached by Pat Christian, and once again, the ARC guys came out on the short end of the stick as Harrison Schaen, Trayvon Williams, Travonte Nelson, Rayshawn "RayRay" Reed, Jason Goodman and Wesley Washington powered ahead by a score of 92-73. Harrison Schaen (6'-7" 8th Grade C/F) who is currently attending St. Bonaventure Middle School, hit for 25 points and 14 rebounds.

And in the JV Division, the USA Blue Team, the No. 1 seed in the tournament in the JV Division, beat the Cerritos Hoyas 76-71, a real squeaker. Again, we personally didn't get to see this one, but our friend and correspondent Jason Day was there, and he sent us this report.

4D LABOR DAY TOURNEY NOTES
USA Blue Team JV Division Champs

By Jason Day
Exclusive to SoCalHoops & Ultra Student Athletes Online

USA's JV-Blue Team, the #1 seed, claimed the 4D Stars Labor Day Tournament Championship with a win over the Cerritos Hoyas, 76 - 71. In what was described as one of the greatest games (in any division) in the 9 year history of the event, the Blue Team outlasted a very strong Cerritos squad.

These two teams have met three times before this game. In Spring league USA defeated the Hoyas in two close games. Then in Summer League, the Hoyas crushed the "Blues" by 20 to hand them their only loss in league play. So the stage was set for a war between two of the elite JV teams on the So Cal traveling team circuit.

Cerritos got to the championship by virtue of a stunning comeback against 4D's own JV team in a semi-final game last night. In that one, 4D was up by 19 points with 2 minutes left in the game. Somehow, (and I assure you I have no idea how), the 4D squad suffered a massive collapse, and gave up 19 unanswered points and found themselves in overtime. Cerritos went on to outscore 4D by 6 in the 3 minute OT, and walked away with the win.

USA got there after a tough opener against Future Stars (Long Beach) that saw the Blue Team give up most of a 15 point lead to hold on and win by five. That game was also decribed by many as one of the best of the tourney. Then USA faced Lancaster in yesterday's other semi. In that one, USA, playing with only eight of their eleven man roster, served notice that they were deserving of the high seed as they destroyed the opponent by 37 points.

Today's championship game was as close and competitive as anyone could have expected. Both teams feature quick athletic players who like to run and will crush an opponent with smothering defense. Cerritos zoned early on in an attempt to keep wing players Twaine Waite, Andre Johnson, and Ronald Gray away from the paint. That didn't work. Waite and Johnson got to the rack whenever they wanted, and either dropped the shot or went to the foul line.

The problem though for USA was that the defense didn't keep Cerritos from scoring much either. USA played a 2-3 zone that was pretty effective until Cerritos little guard, Hong, started raining 3's. So Cerritos took a 6 or 7 point lead late in the 1st half that quickly disappeard as Gray hit a couple of key jumpers, and the defense of reserves Senian Norman and Kenneth McCullum brought USA back to a 35 - 35 tie at the half.

In the 2nd half neither team could gain more than a 3 pt. lead until the very end. Cerritos switched to their full court press that had been very effective against the Blue Team in the past. USA, however, displayed a poise and confidence against the press that they haven't always shown. They had a plan, executed it, and ended up with a lot of easy baskets. So many that some observers wonderd why the Hoyas stayed with it for so long.

Two guard, Andre Johnson, was the clear star for USA in the second half. If he wasn't hitting the sweet jumper, he was stealing the ball, and if he wasn't stealing the ball, he was rebounding over everybody, refusing to let his team lose. Point Randal Odums, who gets better with every game he plays, had another stellar performance to cap a great tournament. Odums doesn't score alot, but he's the man who controls the ball on this team and his ablility to keep the ball, break the defender, then drop the nice dime was just what the team needed all through this tournament. He tired early in the 3rd, so the coaches went with newcomer Robert Cave at the point. With the steadiest performance of his brief USA career, Cave stepped in and did a masterful job on both ends of the court. Center Otis Hankins was a terror on the boards and had some great offensive moves for buckets. He was tremendous on defense with real smart man to man play then made the heads up decisions that helped break the Hoya's press. When Hankins got in foul trouble, Jed Harmsen stepped in and anchored the team. His rebounding late in the game was key, as was his work on the press break.

Coach Gray saved special praise for wingman Ronald Gray. No they're not related but they are very close, and Coach Larry Gray wanted everyone to know that Player Gray played the whole tournament on a bad ankle that he had to ice constantly when not playing. The Taft High junior, who will play varsity for them this season (as will Waite and Johnson for Carson, and Hankins for Inglewood) was clearly the floor leader and inspiration for this team. "He just wasn't gonna let them lose, that's all there was to it", said Coach Gray. "It didn't matter whether they needed a key three pointer or a kick in the butt, he was there to deliver."

Congratulations to the JV-Blue team and to the 4D stars organization for another fine event.

Jason Day