SoCal High School & Prep Report

Reebok Compton Tip Off--
Dominguez v. Perris--(December 3,1997)

This was a great game, because we all got to see Tyson Chandler play a little, got to see Pat Barrett looking for more talent in the stands, Issy Washington oohing and ahhing over the crowd, the Reebok guys selling those great T-shirts, the nice lady from Spot-Up sports with all her great stuff, and yes, hot dogs for a buck. I don't care what some people say, there's nothing like a cold hot dog, a couple of snickers bars, and a grape soda (they didn't have any Coke or Pepsi. . . nothing with a name brand on it) and all for three bucks. So between the food, the crowd and all the hoopla, there was also a basketball game going on. Actually it was Nike v. Adidas (and at the Reebok Classic no less). Nike Dominguez, with all the players in their matching shoes and with swooshes everywhere, and Perris in their green and white adidas gear.

Nike won 53-42. But Perris made it a lot closer for Dominguez at times than the final score would indicate.

Tayshaun Prince played one of the weirdest games I've ever seen. Half the time he looked like he was asleep, almost no facial expression, skinny as a rail, all 6'-8" of him; the rest of the time he was just exploding all over the court, playing the point, playing forward, playing center when Tyson wasn't in, dunking and scoring, driving the lane, cross-over dribbles, behind the back dribbles and great passing into the lanes. Even a couple of consecutive slam dunks. About the only thing I don't remember him doing was a no-look pass on the drive to the hole. But I'm sure he could have.

But somebody buy that kid a meal. Feed him something. He needs to put on some pounds, especially in the ACC next year. But he'll do fine here, just fine, thank you.

Russell Otis, the coach of Dominguez, started Janal Johnson (5'-8" Sr. PG), Keith Kincade (6'-4" Jr. SG/SF), Michael Carson (6'-5" Sr. G), Walt Small (6'-5" Sr. F) and Tayshaun Prince (6'-8" Sr. G/F/C).

Perris started Ryan Ruiz (6'-0" Sr. PG), Anthony Lloyd (6'-2" Sr. G), Damon Jackson (6'-4" Sr. SG/F), Isaac Williamson (6'-4" Sr. F) and Tim Provost (6'-6" Sr. C).

Perris plays in the Sunbelt League in the Riverside/San Bernardino area with schools such as Hemet, Moreno Valley, Rancho Verde, Temecula Valley and Valley View. They don't grow them real tall out there, but they are very fast.

The only real problem for Perris was that they ran themselves out in the first half of this game. They run two plays they call "double X" against a 2-1-2 defense; it's an incredibly fast motion offense, which is really pretty blinding on the passing. This is a well-disciplined team, and they've got some great guards, who really understand ball movement, passing, and motion. It was actually dizzying to watch, and against a team other than the caliber of a Dominguez, Perris must be pretty awesome to watch. The only problem Perris seemed to have with this offense was that they rarely used it to reverse the ball back to the penetration, and instead opted for the outside shot, which left them with virtually no one under the basket, leaving almost all the offensive rebounds to Dominguez (actually for Dominguez it was their defensive board play which seemed to make the difference in the game).

Perris has this great point guard in Ryan Ruiz. He can run, cut, jump and pass like nobody's business. And they've also got this pretty good player in Damon Jackson, who looks like he shouldn't be able to play, but he can really play great defense, and threw up a bunch of three's for Perris.

Tyson Chandler is going to be a god. He's just amazing, considering he just turned 15, is a freshman, and is now 7 feet tall. He had four solid blocked shots, a couple of slams, played pretty good defense, and unfortunately for the crowd, was not in long enough. Some people say he has trouble getting up and down the floor; they're wrong. He plays a lot like a young Lew Alcindor, and it's really too bad that Dominguez isn't playing tomorrow night in the Wooden Classic, because it would make John Wooden feel about 30 years younger just to watch Tyson play. For a young guy, he's got very good footwork, can get in down low and rebounds well. He was getting pushed all over the place in the post by Tim Provost, Perris' center, but then he looks like he weighed about 250; Tyson is listed at 205, and other than initially getting shoved around a bit, he's slippery enough that he managed to always re-establish himself under the basket.

Perris also has this other terrific guard, #23 Anthony Lloyd, who did most of the penetration and driving for them. And he was getting it done too, and had about 15 points. He's got a smooth jumper, and can bring the ball up very high on the crossover drive to the hole, almost pump-faking the ball way outside with his left hand while his body goes up and to the right, for a nice swooping left handed lay-in. A very quick player, with a great head for the ball and great court vision.

For Dominguez, Janal played most of the game, and did very well, and when he wasn't in at the point, Tayshaun played there, and in the third quarter he really lit it up. Keith Kincade also played well. Tony Cole who usually would start at the point still hurting from his broken foot and didn't play. Jason Thomas and point guard Willie Hurst also didn't play, still injured. and Freshman point guard and Tyson's buddy Keilon Fortune didn't play because he was a bad boy. Actually, Frank Burlison at the game said it was "a disciplinary problem." None of the Dominguez coaches would elaborate, and Pat Barrett didn't know either. So, when Janal wasn't at the point, Prince took over, really dominating the floor. Tayshaun had 21 points, Small had 14 points and 16 boards (amazing).

Throughout the second half though, Perris just kept hovering at about 8-10 points behind, making these little runs, and then letting it get away. The score was 39-91 with 4 minutes. Then 39-34. Back to 41-34 with a Carson shot; then Lloyd of Perris hits for two and its back to Dominguez 41, Perris 36. Then they trade baskets, 43-38, then Dominguez goes on a little run and Small hits a free throw after being fouled, score 48-38. But with 1:19 left, the score is back to 48-40 and Perris might just be able to make a run. But it's not going to happen. Dominguez goes into a spread offense, eating up the clock and shooting a couple more times including the garbage fouls, and they win it 53-42. Game over, end of story.

Not quite. This is just the beginning for Dominguez, which will be going to the Ft. Myers, Florida Barnett Bank/City of Palms Classic December 18- 22, 1997, where they'll play in the same tourney with University of San Diego and the Waltons, Abramowitz & Co. Dominguez will first match up with Slidell High, Slidell, Louisiana, and we offer our condolences to Coach Rick Spring, the Slidell Coach.

Here's a suggestion for Rick Spring: Go tall. . . really tall. . . because really really fast (as in Perris) doesn't bother these guys a bit.

For Dominguez it's then on to the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, Delaware along with Alameda St. Joseph-Notre Dame (Ray Young, et. al), which will be held December 26-30.

Then to the NBA.

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