December 2007 Archives

If you're a hard-core high school basketball fan, you've got a lot of viewing options today -- especially if you don't mind making a drive to San Diego County.

First, the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic (selected games)

At Torrey Pines High:
1:55, Jordan vs. Campolindo (7th place/National Division)
3:30, Gahr vs. Seattle Franklin (5th place/National Division)
5:05, Mayfair vs. Eisenhower (Championship/American Division)
6:40, Compton vs. Campbell Hall (3rd place/National Division, and, of course, Demar DeRozan vs. Jrue Holiday)
8:35, Dominguez (10-1) vs. Simi Valley (13-0; championship/National Division)

At LaCosta Canyon
4:05, La Mirada vs. Bishop's (La Jolla/7th place/American Division)

At Rancho Bernardo
7, St. John Bosco vs. Langley, Va. (championship/Governor's Division)

Lynwood High Tournament
(consolation games)
1, Artesia vs. Manual Arts
2:30, Compton Centennial vs. Corona Santiago
7, Lynwood vs. King-Drew (3rd place)
8:30, Fairfax vs. Santa Margarita (championship)

Century Tournament
8, Los Alamitos vs. Glendora

Orange Holiday Classic
at Chapman University
1:50, Poly vs. Diamond Ranch (5th place)
6:50, Anaheim Canyon vs. Foothill (3rd place)
8:30, Mater Dei vs. JSerra (championship

It's 2:36 a.m. and I'm struggling to stay awake but . . . a few quick thoughts on the games I saw Wednesday during the first round of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic:

*Demar DeRozan was spectacular once again, scoring 39 points including the game-deciding three-point play with 11.4 seconds to go for Compton in its 62-60 nail-biter over Tucson Santa Rita.

Remember this name from Santa Rita: Terrell Stoglin, a 6-1 sophomore guard who scored 34 points. He'll be a Best in the West selection in a couple of years.

*Dominguez coasted to a 75-48 victory over Sheldon of Sacramento. The Dons will have to play much better, for 32 minutes, Thursday night in order to knock off Washington's top-ranked team, Seattle Franklin, which has one of the best juniors in the country in 6-1 Peyton Siva.

*Jordan, for much of the way, played poorly but still edged Newark Memorial, 61-51. And the Panthers' reward is a game against Jrue Holiday and Campbell Hall Thursday at 7. Good luck, fellows.

*Gahr wore out Phoenix Desert Vista, 88-69, behind the all-around play of Long Beach State-bound Casper Ware (27 points and 12 assists) and will play Compton at 3:50 Thursday.

I'll be on hand for those four championship quarters (Simi Valley vs. Moraga Campolindo, at 5:55, is the other).

I'm not sure yet where I will be Friday.

High school basketball doesn't get any better than what was played at Ocean View High late Friday night.

Campbell Hall edged Santa Margarita, 61-59, in a Tournament of Champions semifinal, thanks to a left-handed driving layup by -- surprise, surprise -- Jrue Holiday with 3.8 seconds remaining.

After a timeout by the Eagles and then a quick foul by Campbell Hall (which had one to give before getting into the bonus situation), Santa Margarita was left with six-tenths of a second to go.

And the inbounds pass was targeted for 6-7 Best in the West selection Klay Thompson inside the lane, who would have had to catch the ball and just flip it toward the rim in one very quick motion.

Guess who intercepted the pass, sealing the win and a spot in the title game tonight (8 o'clock, vs. Westchester) for the Vikings?

Uh, huh . . . UCLA-bound Jrue Holiday.

Holiday and Thompson guarded one another, straight up, for the entire game and both were outstanding, although their defensive skills hampered one another's shooting performances.

Holiday had 22 points (eight of 18 from the field and six of seven from the line), 10 rebounds, seven assists, seven turnovers, two blocked shots and nine -- yes, nine --- steals.

Thompson had 16 points (seven of 17 from the field and two of three from the line), seven rebounds, five assists, four turnovers, three steals and two blocked shots.

You can catch the webcast of that game, and many others throughout the tournament, on www.vootage.com.

Consolation games began at 8 this morning

If you were among the 2,000 or in were in the Ocean View gymnasium Thursday night, you saw some dandy teams, and players, in Tournament of Champions quarterfinal action.

Jrue Holiday and his Campbell Hall teammates were too balanced and executed too well at both ends of the floor for Demar DeRozan and Compton. The Vikings won by 14 points and the score is indicative of the difference between the teams right now.

Holiday was phenomenal, offensively, defensively and in any other measurable fashion. An argument can be made he is the most "complete" high school player in the country, regardless of class.

And Klay Thompson (38 points) was terrific again in another quarterfinal while leading Santa Margarita to a solid 75-62 win over Renaldo Woolridge (22 points) and Harvard-Westlake.

Today's schedule: (consolation) 3, Valley Christian (how about those Crusaders?!) vs. Temecula Valley (or Cabrillo . . . I'm not sure who won Thursday), 4:15, Lakewood vs. Clovis West, 5:30, Compton vs. Harvard-Westlake, 7, Bakersfield vs. JSerra; (semifinals), 8:15, Ocean View vs. Westchester; 9:30, Santa Margarita vs. Campbell Hall.

In the North Orange County Tourney, Gahr faces Mater Dei in one 8 p.m. semifinal at Sonora, while MLK of Riverside takes on Tesoro in the other, at 8, at Troy.

Sure, there will be a stupendous matchup of the two high school basketball players in the Western United States when Demar DeRozan and his Compton High teammates take on Jrue Holiday and his Campbell Hall budies in a Tournament of Championships bracket play quarterfinal at Ocean View at 8:15 tonight.

But in the the last quarterfinal of the night, Harvard-Westlake (and Renaldo Woolridge) face Santa Margarita (and Klay Thompson) at 9:30. Both of those young gentlemen were also first-team selectons on th Press-Telegram Best in the West team last month.

Here's the entire slate of games at Ocean View:
3, Lakewood vs. Phoenix St. Mary's (consolation)
4:15, Pasadena vs. Clovis West (consolation)
5:30, Bakersfield vs. Ocean View (quarterfinal)
7, JSerra vs. Westchester (quarterfinal)
8:15, Compton vs. Campbell Hall (quarterfinal)
9:30, Santa Margarita vs. Harvard-Westlake (quarterfinal).

In Wednesday night action, DeRozan had a bunch of dunks for Compton in its easy victory over Bakersfield, while Thompson (37 points) was phenomenal in his team's 63-60 win over Pasadena -- which, by the way, was played with the same level of competitiveness as you'd see in a CIF SS title game.

Sorry I haven't been blogging from Ocean View High for the Tournament of Champions but I have no access to power and have to save battery power for writing/filing my stories from the games.

Anyway, plenty of good action, if you're interested, at both Ocean View today for the TOC and at Troy and Sonora High Schools for the North Orange County Championships.

First, the TOC:

A big stunner last night with JSerra knocking off Campbell Hall (and Jrue Holiday), 85-72. The offshoot of that result is that Campbell Hall and Holiday (who has scored 40 and 39 points in the first two games of this event) could hook up with Compton and Demar DeRozan (who scored 38 in the Tarbabes' 71-58 opening-win over Palmdale Knight Tuesday) will play in a quarterfinal game at Ocean View Thursday night at 8:15.

That matchup is based on the assumption that Compton will beat Bakersfield tonight (tipoff is 7 o'clock).

DeRozen (future USC Trojan) vs. Holiday (future UCLA Bruin) . . . a big crowd will be on hand.

Other TOC games today: 3, Lakewood vs. Killarney (Vancouver); 4:15, Valley Christian vs. Palmdale Knight; 5:30, JW North vs. Phoenix St. Mary's; 7, Compton vs. Bakersfield; 8:15, Pasadena vs. Santa Margarita; 9:30, Westchester vs. Clovis West.

I'll update the schedule on this blog later tonight . . .

The quarterfinals of the North OC Tourney are as follows:

At Troy: 7 p.m., Poly vs. Tesoro; 8:30, Riverside Martin Luther King vs. Capistrano Valley.

At Sonora: 7 p.m., Jordan vs. Gahr; 8:30, Mission Viejo vs. Mater Dei.

If I'm not mistaken (no sneers out there!), the semifinals will be played Friday night (8:30) at Troy and Sonora. I think the final is Saturday night at Sonora but I will double-check and let you know!

Poly High's football team overcame one of the best teams in the state, and, at times, some nasty rain, to bag another CIF Southern Section title just now by beating the Crespi Celtics, 13-3, in the Home Depot Center.

And safety Vaughn Telemaque (three interceptions and a couple of big-bang hits) and running back Melvin Richardson (both of the Jackrabbits' touchdowns and 150 yards rushing, give or take), were the proverbial "men playing against boys" against a Crespi team that had beaten Trinity League powers Servite and Mater Dei the previous two games to earn a spot in Saturday night's game.

Props to Coach Raul Lara, his staff (especially defensive coordinator Jeff Turley) and their players for a very impressive 2007 season indeed.

It's going to be a great deal of basketball in the Galen Center (USC vs. Kansas) and Pauley Pavilion (UCLA vs.Texas).

I'm blogging all day, so drop in frequently!

PAULEY PAVILION

7:07 p.m.
I'm rewriting this entry because it was just lost after a power surge in Pauley that cost me five minutes of work.

Anyway, it's over here, following James' dunk of an Augustin missed drive with 8.3 seconds to go and Richard Mbah a Moute's missed 3 from the right wing at the buzzer. Longhorns, 63-61.

Quite a day for the Big 12, knocking off the Trojans and Bruins on their home floors.

Conner Atchley's 3-pointer to tie the score coming out of a timeout with 1:04 was huge for the Longhorns and a great call by Texas Coach Rick Barnes. Mbah a Moute could have put his team up with 23 seconds to go but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.

Look for North Carolina to be the new No. 1 Monday in the polls, followed by Memphis, Kansas, Texas and (I suppose) the Bruins.

Late celebrity sightings: American Gangster (so to speak) Denzell Washington and for Bruin coach-turned ESPN talking head Steve Lavin. There you go!

6:39
TV timeout and the score is tied at 53 . . . the Bruins are much better offensively, this half. But James has kept the Longhorns close or tied or slightly ahead (that about covers it). He's helped his pro stock today.

6:32 p.m.
Bruins trail, 47-45 ...this is going to the wire . . .

6:15 p.m.
TV timeout, 15:40 to go, and Bruins have cut deficit to 39-35, with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute having the opportunity to wrap up a three-point play when play resumes. UCLA's defense much more energetic and the Bruins are converting in transition. It should be an interesting second half . . .

5:50 p.m.
It's halftime and the Longhorns are dominating things, 37-25. This is as well as I've seen a team play against UCLA, at both ends of the floor, in a while. The Bruins are really, really struggling to guard Texas. The Bruins have so much respect for the jump shooting ability of A.J. Abrams, D.J. Augustin and Justin Mason that they are pressuring them hard to the 3-point line. The Longhorns have reacted well, driving them hard for layups or quick passes to open shooters, and that has usually been forward Damion James (nine points in the first half). Offensively, the Bruins struggled to get good shots against Texas' 2-3 zone, which the Longhorns seem to play whenever Kevin Love is on the floor. This game is far from over yet bu the Bruins will need to play much better, at both ends of the floor, to regain control and win this thing.

5:40 p.m.
Well, the bleeding has stoppped a little. After trailing by 16 points (30-14) and missing 14 shots in a row, the Bruins have cut their deficit to 13 (34-21) with 2:35. Texas has slashed the Bruins' man to man as well as anyone has in a while.

5:26 p.m.
Timeout, UCLA. The Longhorns are up, 19-14, and playing very well. UCLA is struggling to guard them and TExas' defense (going from man to man to 2-3) has made the Bruins' offense stagnant.

5:15 p.m.
UCLA got off to a 10-4 but Texas has cut its deficit to 12-11. The Lnghorns, with the Bruins defense stretched because of their ability to jump shoot from range, have beaten them off the dribble three times already. There will have to be adjustments made.

5 p.m.
It's just a couple of minutes before tipoff of UCLA-Texas. I ate at Jerry's Deli, the most over-priced restaurant chain in history. But the food (chicken noodle soup, turkey sandwich, chocolate cake) was its usual excellent self. Lots of NBA personnel and high school players -- Mater Dei twins David and Travis Wear, Jordan Hamilton of Dominguez, among those sighted so far --- in the building. Should be a good one.!

GALEN CENTER
1:02 p.m.
It's over, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, courtesy the shot of the game a 3-pointer from the left wing by Mario Chalmers with 19.3 seconds to go while holding a two-point advantage. That's what we like to call in the trade "a gut-crunching shot". But USC showed a lot of grit in coming back after Kansas seemed to have things well in hand. The Trojans are going to be a very good team by February, if Mayo buys into Floyd's coaching and learns to value the concept of "good shot vs. bad shot". He took a bunch of the latter today.

On to Westwood Village and Jerry's Deli!

12:55 p.m.
Trojans are back in this thing, courtesy some big plays by Jefferson. It's time out with 53.9 seconds to go, and he's shooting two free throws with his team trailing, 55-51.

12:45 p.m.
TV timeout, USC shooting free throws with play resumes with 3:26 to go and Trojans trailing, 53-44. This has been Mayo's worst game in his very short college career. His shot selection has been awful and he gambles far too frequently, defensively. But he's also capable of making enough plays down the stretch to help USC pull this one. He just has to trust his teammates, and his team's half-court offense, more.

12:42 p.m.
Kansas called a 30-second timeout and is holding 51-44 advantage. The Jayhawks are just crushing the Trojans under the offensive boards. USC is in dire straits . . .

12:34 p.m.
Kansas' experience, poise and discipline are proving the difference. The Trojans are trying to do everything off the dribble.

12:20 p.m.
Timeout, 11:22 to play and USC trails, 42-40. The Trojans, with Mayo, Jefferson and Hackett, continue to force us some ill-advised attempts. Kansas is playing with more discipline, offensively. Mayo and Jefferson are showing their lack of experience in truly structured "real" basketball (non-summer stuff) settings. But they are oh-so-talented.

11:50 a.m.
OK, it's halftime and USC is up, 27-25, after a shot from the left corner by Jefferson that was called a 3 and then changed to a 2 after the officials looked at the monitor. It's a bit sloppy and there is some bad shot selection on the Trojans' part (mostly, Mayo, who is hunting a lot of shots against pretty good man-to-man pressure). Mayo and Jefferson have combined for 21 points. Don't bank on them being USC sophomores a year from now, if you catch my drift.

11:17 a.m.
OK, initial thoughts: USC is more talented than Kansas. The Jayhawks haven't been able to exploit the Trojans inside like I thought they could. Of course, as soon as I write that, 6-8 Arthur gets free inside for a layup. Mario Chalmers just fouled Mayo shooting (and missing) a 3-pointer. Not wise. TV timeout: USC 11, Kansas 6.

11:05 a.m.
Both teams are a bit sloppy. Both Jefferson and Mayo haved commited turnovers. In fact, Jefferson just turned it over again. He's trying to do too much off the dribble. THe crowd booed former Trojan Rodrick Stewart when he was introduced as a Kansas starter. Darn them!
10:50 a.m.
The place is packed with NBA scouts and lots of GMs and player personnel director-types

Among those I've tracked down so far: Mitch Kupchak (Lakers), Steve Kerr (Phoenix), Kevin O'Connor (Utah) and Elgin Baylor (Clippers). I'll bet there are 30 NBA employees here to check out the likes of Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush of Kansas and O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson of USC. And they're all headed to UCLA afterwards . . .

I've just watched most of the Fox Sports Prime Ticket replay of the Poly High football team's 2-0 victory over defending champion Orange Lutheran at the Home Depot Center.

A phenomenal defensive effort by the Jackrabbits put them into next Saturday night's title game against Crespi, also in Carson.

How phenomenal was it? It was so phenomenal that Poly will be playing for a championship despite an offensive performance on its end that led to exactly 0 points.

Amazing.

The gut feeling here is that the offense will have to be much, much better against Crespi if Poly is going to celebrate again next Saturday night.

And what about Dominguez losing at Palmdale, 28-27, after a bungled field-goal attempt from the 4-yard line?

Valley Christian got smacked by Santa Clara (42-20) and that wasn't totally unexpected (if the lopside margin was).

That leaves Gahr to play St. Paul Saturday night for the right to play Palmdale in the final.

How about those Gladiators?

Caveat: I'm a 1973 Gahr graduate. The Gators (aka, Gladiators) never played in the CIF SS playoffs during my four years at the school.