A computer/e-mail glitch on my part prevented my column from being posted in time for the Tuesday print edition of the Press-Telegram.
My apologies! Here it is:
As a college basketball commentator the past couple of seasons for the ESPN ``Family of Networks'', former Mater Dei High and University of Arizona standout Miles Simon has witnessed, up close, the evolution of the Long Beach State program under Coach Dan Monson.
And he's impressed with what he watched - from courtside - during the three 49ers' games he's served as an analyst for this season.
``I really like the growth and maturity they've shown as players,'' Simon said prior to working the 49ers' home-finale against UC Santa Barbara for ESPN2 Saturday evening.
``You can tell they are upper-classmen now - they (current starting juniors Larry Anderson, Eugene Phelps, T.J. Robinson and Casper Ware) don't make the same mistakes they did as sophomores.
``As a team, they are much more `under control'. They're not as wild and `loose' with the ball.''
Simon - who worked a few LBSU games last season and has been part of the crews that have broadcast the Jan. 12 and Feb. 19 Montana games with the 49ers in the Walter Pyramid - said the on-court chemistry is quite evident.
``With (senior guard Greg) Plater on there, that's a whole lot of games these guys have played together,'' the 1997 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player said.
``They're playing with great confidence and there doesn't seem to be any jealousy. They've got five guys (scoring) in double figures and that is such a rarity.''
And he likes what he has seen of the 49ers when the cameras are nowhere to be found and there just a handful of people in the Walter Pyramid.
``I'm really impressed at how Monson has them compete in practice,'' he said. ``They really push themselves.''
Simon, who will do commentary during the ESPN broadcasts of the March 11-12 Big West Conference Tournament semifinals in the Honda Center, believes the 49ers - should they win the conference tourney - might not play strictly like a team ``just happy to be there'' if they get to the NCAA Tournament.
``With the right matchup as a 15 or 14 seed, they will give someone problems,'' he said. ``After the tough non-conference schedules they've played the past couple of years, they will have no fear going into a (tournament) game.''
OTHER STUFF
I'm curious to see how many people show up in the 7,000 or so-seat Anaheim Convention Center Arena today and this evening to watch the CIF Southern Section I-AA girls' and boys' playoff semifinals.
The crowd will reach its apex sometime during the 6:30 p.m. Mater Dei-Corona Centennial boys' game - which follows the Monarchs' girls clash with Santa Monica at 4:45 and precedes the Poly-Etiwanda boys' game which is scheduled to tip off at 8:15.
I would guess that that is why Fox Sports decided that the Prime Ticket live broadcast would be of the Mater Dei-Corona Centennial game - because of the probability that the most fans would be in the building at the time.
The Poly-Etiwanda game will be webcast live by www.foxsportswest.com, though.
*There will probably be at least a dozen players from among the four boys' squads in Anaheim tonight that will ultimately play college basketball on the Division I level.
The players with the most immediate Division I futures are Ryan Anderson (Boston College) and Alexis Moore (USC) of Poly; Byron Wesley (USC) and Jordan Daniels (Boston College) of Etiwanda; and Michael Caffey (Long Beach State), Dominique Dunning (New Mexico) and Gelaun Wheelwright (Weber State).
One of Mater Dei's two-best players - 6-5 junior Katin Reinhardt - is committed to USC.
And another Monarchs' junior - 6-7 Xavier Johnson - is being recruited by dozens of programs, including the Trojans and the UCLA Bruins.
The 6-foot Caffey is Casper Ware's heir apparent at point guard for the 49ers and averaging 17.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game for the Huskies.
In the Poly-Etiwanda game, the (probable) Anderson-Wesley and Moore-Daniels matchups could dictate the outcome.
*Can anyone recall a more significant upset involving a Long Beach area-high school team than Poly's girls getting beat - at home - in an I-AA quarterfinal last Wednesday night?
* In terms of college basketball emotion, how can the UCLA walk-on and great-grandson of the late John R. Wooden (Tyler Trapani) scoring the final basket in Pauley Pavilion Saturday afternoon against Arizona before its two-year renovation ever get topped?
*Coach Dan Monson and his staff will hold a couple of sessions of the LBSU Individual Skills Day Camp this summer in the Walter Pyamid.
Session I runs June 27-30 and Session II goes Aug. 1-4, with fundamentals instruction and competition running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The camp is for boys ages 6-14. Each session is $200, with a $25 discount if registered by today.
To register or to get more information, contact Ryan Hellenthal at (562) 985-1610 or rhellent@csulb.edu.
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