SoCal High School & Prep Report

Pooh Richardson Stealth: Westchester vs. Morningside--(December 16,1997)

Here's one we've been waiting--no salivating--for the past few days ever since we heard about this super-secret stealth tourney that no one knew about. Read it. And weep because you weren't there.

THE POOH RICHARDSON CLASSIC

WESTCHESTER WINS IN THIS YEAR’S LOCAL DEBUT (DEC. 13)

By Jason Day

Game three of the Pooh Richardson Classic, better known as the "Stealth Tournament" (see accompanying article for an explanation) featured the West Coast debut of the highly touted Westchester Comets vs. Morningside High. Westchester, rated in the national top 10 by damn near everybody, competed last week in the Philadelphia version of the Pooh Classic and this was their first game back this way.

They took on a Morningside team that was game, has some players, and played hard. Trouble was they were playing Westchester.

So. Are the Comets as good as they would appear to be on paper? Does Brandon Granville bring another dimension to an already multi-faceted team? Is Tony Bland better at the 2 than as the "combo"? Can Coach Ed Azzam keep this many super-stars happy enough to play together and win?

Answers? In my humble opinion. Yes. Yes. Yes. And, hell yes.

And before you start with the "well they were only playing Morningside" stuff, let me tell you. This team is one great high school basketball TEAM, now, early in the season, before they’ve had time to "gel". The operative word being TEAM. Watching these guys reminds me of watching Temple. Defense, defense, defense. Turnovers, fast break, unselfish passes, easy buckets. Feel a little feisty, really turn it on and finish with a NBA dunk, pass, or outside jumper. Awesome!!

Westchester trapped all over the floor. This strategy was indicated the minute it was apparent the Morningside guards were inexperienced and just a little bit intimidated early on. Granville, the senior transfer from Playa Del Rey St. Bernard’s, is a tenacious and strong defensive point. When he or C.J. Williams, the other senior PG who has apparently been on the weights a little, go after the ball, one or the other is going to come up with it. Granville is 5’-11" Williams 6’-0", and both play 2-3 inches taller. Throw in "all everything" Bland and 6'-3" Sr. Albert Miller, who is probably the teams BEST defender, and guards everywhere are going to have some problems. Then you have 6’-9" Jr. PF/C, Chris Osborne to anchor the paint and help out on traps… anywhere on the floor, he’s that athletic. Oh, and don’t forget that 6’-7", 230 lb. PF David Bluthenthal isn’t playing while recovering from knee surgery. Think about it.

These guys play consummate team / help defense. When they get the turnover, they’ve usually got 3 or 4 guys on the floor who can get it up the court in a hurry, and 3 or 4 who can, and will, finish.

The Granville and Bland tandem will be the talk of SoCal this year. They were a show to see Saturday night. Brandon dropping dime after dime to any and everybody, and Bland swooping in from the wings to finish with circus shots or monster dunks. Granville is a great passer and has the more polished point guard game when compared to Bland. But Tony seems more than comfortable running the floor on the break or getting the ball on the wing in the half court offense. There he gets to use his considerable ball handling or great athleticism to blow by defenders and elevate for the slam, or pull up for the jumper. The jumper is still somewhat sporadic, but he can get an open look whenever he wants. His days at the point have also helped him develop good passing instincts. Granville, on the other hand, is a deadly outside shooter. After he’s softened up the defense with his penetration, he will pull up from the outside, way outside, and drop it with impunity. At the half, Bland had 12 and Granville had 14 (2 for 2 from 3).

There was another team on the floor, but Morningside just didn’t have anything for Westchester on this night. This team, made up of almost all Juniors and Seniors, had lost the previous night to Inglewood by 18. I was also told that their long time coach, Carl Franklin, had suffered a stroke earlier in the week. (I verified this with the school and am pleased to report that he is doing well and is expected to recover and return to the bench.)

These setbacks aside, anyone in the stands had to conclude that Westchester was just a far superior team on this night. Morningside senior guard/forward, Vollon Dixon is a talented player with a strong aggressive style of play. Even though his team went down by 19 after one quarter, he never stopped trying to take the ball to the rack. He also showed a nice touch from outside and finished with 12. Senior Terrell Baker also had a strong game in defeat. A deceptively quick, but undersized, forward, he showed his versatility several times when he took over the task of getting the ball up against the press when his guards couldn’t. He was also a presence on the boards. Dirk Lawrence also put in a good effort and finished with12.

But, this was definitely Westchester’s night. They went on to win 98-38.

Everybody I spoke to was impressed. And all couldn’t wait to see them against a team that gives them a little more competition than Morningside was able to muster. I can’t wait either. This team is rightfully considered one of the best in the country. So I want to see them against some of the other highly touted teams too. They’ll be in Vegas for the Reebok Classic starting this weekend and open against South Mountain (Phoenix, AZ) on Friday night.

I will be there and will keep you posted.

Jason Day

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