SoCal High School & Prep Report

High School Preview: Moore League
Compton High--(December 3,1997)

This is going to be a combined preview of Compton and a review of their game last night at Compton College in the Reebok Compton Tip-Off Classic. Compton just destroyed Bishop Montgomery 76-46. But before we get to that a little bit about the victorious team.

Here's the roster. The starters last night were:

DeAndre Moore (5'-8" Sr. PG)
Reggie Howard (6'-2" Sr. SG)
Tito Maddox (6-4" Jr. SG)
Milton Riley (6'-7" Sr. PF)
David Hamilton (6'-9" Sr. C/PF)

The reserves were:

James Cummings (5'-10" Jr. PG)
Lanere Anderson (6'-0" Jr. PG)
Dony Legans (6'-0" Jr. SG)
Ray Ross (6'-4" Sr. SF)
Jeremiah Thompson (6'-4" So. PF)
Ellis Myles (6'-4" So. SF)
Terry Hosendove (6'-4" Jr. SF)
Robert Ringer (6'-5" SF)

A few observations: DeAndre Moore is one of the most explosive point guards on the west coast. How the Pac-10 schools let him get away is simply shameful. He'll be attending Vanderbilt next year, so you'll probably get to see a bunch of his games on ESPN, and Vandy is a program which should fit him (or he should fit their program) very nicely. But how great would it have been to see him matching up (or better yet playing with) the likes of Baron Davis, Mike McDonald or Mike Bibby? Whatever you do this season, be sure to get over to see at least one of Compton's games this year. DeAndre just exploded last night, hitting for 17 points (I swear it seemed like twice as many). He was so good, it was like watching the Globetrotters against Washington Generals. No kidding. His dribbling and ball control is incredible. There were at least two occasions when DeAndre came up and stole the ball from a Bishop Montgomery player, and literally took the ball from a "dead on the floor" (i.e., not bouncing at all) position and started his dribble on a break away run, using the ball as a pivot point to dance around and evade the collapsing BM players. It was just a thing of beauty-- awesome. He's got incredible control over the ball, can finish off the fast break, and has one of the nicest pull up j's from the free throw line (actually right at the right side elbow) of any player we've ever seen. His passing was also spectacular (honestly Michael, I don't know what game you were watching :-) ), and he even got up on the glass for a few rebounds and one terrific series of feeds and dunks between he and David Hamilton. DeAndre also plays some of the best defense on the west coast, and has incredibly quick feet and hands. I had him with 4 steals but didn't count the assists. He's a very cool player, never seems to get out of control, and is always very contained. I think he only had one turnover against BM the whole game, and that was right in the first minute of the game, when he was tied up on the sidelines by two Bishop Montgomery players just after the tip. But as the game wore on, his intensity never diminished, and he dove for loose balls, saving at least one under the Bishop basket which turned into the start of the point run in the third quarter, and just played with spectacular energy and intensity. He'll be an All-CIF selection this year, will probably be All-State and might even be All-World. . .seriously, this kid is the real deal. Go see him before it's too late.

David Hamilton against Bishop Montgomery was a story with a similar ending, but the motif was completely different. Whereas Moore plays very much within himself, rarely mugging for the crowd after hitting, for example, on a 27' NBA three pointer, Hamilton was just the opposite. He plays like a maniac, a good maniac and not a crazy person, but he's a real ham, doing his "raise the roof" and Jelani McCoy facial imitations. He had 24 points, and so he can do whatever the hell he wants. He had three big blocks, a bunch of slam dunks, and is really a dominating player. He just personally killed Bishop Montgomery, which did it's best in the first quarter, but simply couldn't contain the big guy. David has signed a letter of intent to attend Auburn (Auburn????) next year, so you won't be seeing too much of him on the west coast or in SoCal except at tourney time (unless you've got ESPN's "Full Court" pay per view package, or a DSS Satellite Dish). So don't miss him this year.

Milton Riley is a quiet, thin but very athletic guy, and is the younger brother of former Michigan star and LA Clipper Eric Riley. He played very well. He just seemed to disappear in last night's game, but he is expected to do very well this season. Maybe he was sick or just had an off night, or maybe Rod Palmer just liked who was in during most of the game. Milton started, and played on and off for most of the first half, but just didn't seem to do much on offense. Maybe that's because Tito Maddox and DeAndre just kept passing to each other, with Hamilton down low, and , and Reggie Howard occasionally getting the call.

Speaking of Tito, he really ought to pull up his pants. He may think it looks cool to have your pants halfway down your butt, but it looked pretty silly. Especially late in the fourth quarter when he was shooting free throws and bending over.

And what's with everybody wiping their hands on their shoes these days. . . It looks cool, but with some of the newer shoe designs, it's gotta hurt. Ah, but we digress.

Even with his butt hanging out, and those very cool high socks of his, Tito played magnificently. He's got this great sort of "light on his feet" walk. . .you know, even when he's walking, he seems like he's running. He's not as quick off the first step as, say, DeAndre, but he's probably quicker than most other shooting guards you'll see anywhere else this year. He has great hands, a great pull up 17' j, and can cut to the hole as well as anybody playing high school ball today. Tito is one of the coolest and most collected players on the floor, and he's got great court vision. We had him at 9 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. We lost track of his rebounds. Tito is only a junior, and he's going to be a major D-I prospect next year. Tito didn't have a great first quarter, and Tony Booker of Bishop Montgomery was doing a pretty good job keeping him under control. Most of his shots were perimeter shots, and they weren't dropping, unlike his pants. But Hamilton's shots were, so it was very close in the first quarter, and at the end of the quarter it was 15-19, with Bishop Montgomery winning. Didn't anyone tell them that it's not polite to come in and make a mess on the host's floor, or that you shouldn't make your host feel like a fool. Even though Hamilton was fired up, Compton really couldn't get it moving much in the first quarter.

The tight play continued into the second quarter and with 5:46 left in the second Reggie Howard hit a very big three to tie it at 19- 19, and Compton never really looked back again. On the next set, DeAndre stole the ball, and on a give & go with David Hamilton, David laid the ball in to make it 21-19. On the very next play, Moore stole the ball again, and gave Hamilton another no-look pass for a big SLAAAAM Dunk by David which drove the crowd nuts. On the next series for Compton down the floor, Hosendove, who had come into the game for Riley, was injured (not seriously) and had to leave the game. The scoring fest continued in this fashion and at the half, Compton had a 10 point lead.

As the half opened, Marvin Perez (6'-4" Jr. SG/SF) of Bishop hit a two pointer to bring the score to 37-29. Perez played well, but the Bishop coach was like a madman, and his screaming and gesturing seemed to take Perez a little out of his game. He's a very smooth player, with a nice shot, and pretty quick moves, nice hands and a soft shooting touch, but Bishop for some reason (how about Hamilton for starters) couldn't seem to penetrate, and the three-point shot doesn't seem to be a specialty for Bishop. As a result, they weren't getting much point production.

So with a minute gone from the third quarter, Compton just decides they've had enough. It's hammer time. At the end of the third quarter, in a little more than 6 minutes, Compton took a 10 point lead and stretched it to a 23 point lead. Jeremiah Thompson helped in the scoring fest, as did Ellis Myles, DeAndre and David Hamilton. At the end of the third the score was 54-31, with Compton going on a 12-0 run.

With the score looking like a blow out, and Bishop Montgomery just out of fresh bodies, Palmer put in Legans and kept Myles in. In the fourth quarter, it was a lot of the same. Palmer started the fourth quarter with Riley, Ray Ross, Ellis Myles Lanere Anderson and Tito. Compton just dominated, and Bishop couldn't connect. Bishop only scored 15 points, which actually was a major accomplishment, considering Bishop only scored four points in the entire third period.

So that's the story of the Reebok Compton Tip Off Classic. But that's just the beginning for this team. Tonight they're playing in the Tournament of Champions in Orange County, and they'll be going to Las Vegas in two weeks for the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic from the 19th through the 23rd, and they'll be at The Best in the West Tournament from December 26th-30th at Long Beach City College. Look for Compton to take it well beyond their league championship, deep into the CIF Finals and possibly to a State Championship. Catch these guys while you still can, because they're so quick, if you blink, they'll be gone.

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