regional players

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Brick Oettinger's Regional
Player Highlights--(January 1, 1998)

In his review of the Beach Ball Classic in his recent The Sporting News' Online article, college basketball recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger also listed his "Regional Highlights" for the basketball year (i.e., the 1997 early tourney period) thus far, consisting of his impressions of several of the players he has seen, not only at the Beach Ball Classic which he partially reviewed, but from all the tournaments --some he's seen and others only heard about-- including the Beach Ball, Slam Dunk to the Beach, City of Palms Ft. Meyers Classic, Vegas, and the Glaxo Wellcome tourney.

We'll only list those impressions of his that we believe are of particular interest to SoCal and the West Coast in general, either from a recruiting standpoint, or just because you and we have become familiar with some of the players he mentions. Specifically, we've omitted some of the east coast players--either because they've already committed to schools in the east or they won't even think about coming west-- the entire Midwest--we'll leave that to Greg Swaim, since he's got a far better take on that region than Oettinger, as least in our opinion-- and a couple of players from the south, for the same reason we're leaving out some from the east.

So, edited, bowderlized, and fully-expurgated, here's Brick Oettinger's "regional highlights" of various players:

"EAST -- 6'-7" junior power forward Jamal Brown and 5-11 junior point guard Tim Lyles, both of Baltimore (Md.) Dunbar, have stood out at the superb Slam Dunk at the Beach tournament at Cape Henlopen High in Lewes, Dela. [Note: His team beat Dominguez and Tayshaun and Tyson in the first round of the Slam Dunk, sending them to the consolation bracket]. "Brown is an academic junior but age-wise a senior, hence he'll apparently be a fifth-year player at a prep school in 1998-99. Lyles has a great handle and can really distribute the ball, although he shoots more than most point guards. Both are elite prospects in the prep class of '99.

"6-5 New York (N.Y.) Rice combination forward Anthony Glover is already ranked number 45 among seniors, and he's been a man among boys at the Slam Dunk to the Beach. He outworks everybody and just might be McDonald's All-American Game timber! Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence and Rutgers are involved, although his academic credentials are a current issue. [Note: In the Championship game in Vegas, he was held to 18 points by Mt. Zion's Travis Robinson and Kenneth Booker]

"SOUTH -- 6'-2" Baton Rouge (La.) Parkview Baptist senior combo guard William "Shon" Robinson didn't really shine last summer at the Adidas ABCD Camp, but he was truly outstanding this past week in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. MVP Robinson scored 25 points in the finals as Parkview Baptist stunned Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick's 71-63, 23 points (including two clutch free throws) in a 65-63 semifinal upset of Compton (Cal.) Dominguez, and 27 points in an 86-70 quarterfinals win over Cincinnati (Ohio) Roger Bacon.

"5'-10" Cape Coral (Fla.) Mariner point guard Teddy Dupay, a Florida signee whom we currently rank number 25 among all seniors nationally, has been absolutely sensational versus strong opponents. In the City of Palms Classic, he scored 49 and 56 points in consecutive games against Compton (Cal.) Dominguez and Cincinnati (Ohio) Roger Bacon, respectively! You may recall that earlier this season he scored an event record 46 points in the Coca Cola-KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, Mo.

"SOUTHWEST: -- 6'-7" Reno (Nev.) Galena forward Matt Siebrandt plays inside quite well in high school but has the skills to make the transition to small forward in college. A November signee with UNLV, ambidextrous Matt has led Galena to the finals of the misnamed eight-team "South Carolina Tournament" at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"WEST: -- 6'-8" San Diego (Cal.) University High combo forward Luke Walton, Bill's son whom we already rank number 72 in the senior class, badly sprained an ankle after scoring 35 points in his team's opening game at the City of Palms Classic. A few days later the Arizona recruit put on a gutsy performance at the Beach Ball Classic, scoring 22 points (including University High's final 10) while in obvious pain in a come from behind overtime victory over Cathedral Prep of Erie, Pa.

"Untouted Eric Jackson of Provo (Utah) High carried his team to the finals of the Iolani Classic in Honolulu (Haw.) by scoring 24 points in a 47-46 quarterfinal triumph over Alameda (Cal.) St. Joseph Notre Dame and 29 points in a stunning 67-66 semifinal victory over previously undefeated Miami (Fla.) Miami Senior High. Both opponents had been nationally ranked in the top 10 by USA Today."