Basketball: Pasadena opens as Star-News' No. 1 team
NO. 1 PASADENA -- The Bulldogs finished 22-6 overall last season and won their fourth consecutive Pacific League title. Pasadena has lost just one league game the past four seasons.
But despite all the regular-season success, the Bulldogs were ousted by Arroyo Valley in the second round of last year's CIF-SS playoffs.
"We're optimistic about this year," Pasadena coach Tim Tucker said. "We think we'll have a great year with a number of players returning.
"We have the size and one of the bigger teams in high school basketball."
The Bulldogs will be led by San Jose State-bound Joseph Henson, a 6-foot-9, 255 pound senior who will provide an intimidating presence in the front court.
Henson had an outstanding sophomore season before injuries plagued his junior year in which some major Division I schools pulled the plug on their recruiting interest.
But Henson fought his way back into what may be the best condition of his life.
"It's probably the first time the kid has been in shape," Tucker said.
Henson recovered from hip surgery and earned a scholarship. He signed with San Jose State just a few weeks ago.
"The kid has come back strong and lost all the baby fat," Tucker added. "A lot of schools liked the fact that he got back in shape, but he chose San Jose State because they stuck with him. It shows his character."
Henson will have plenty of good company in the front court with 6-foot-9 junior Steven Adams, who grew three inches in the offseason, and 6-foot-6 small forward Tyler Slye.
Adams is considered one of the best power forwards in the country and is ranked No.4 in the nation in his class by some recruiting publications.
National powerhouse Kentucky and just about every Pac-10 school, including UCLA, have taken a look at Adams.
Slye brings a Michael Cooper-esque style to the Bulldogs this season, and he even wears the same number (No.21) the former Lakers standout and Sparks head coach wore as a Bulldog.
Pasadena hosts the fifth Rose City Classic, a tournament that features the best teams in the Southland. Among some of the best players showcased will be UCLA-bound forward Tyler Honeycutt, who will lead Sylmar.
The Rose City Classic, won by the Bulldogs the past two years, runs through Saturday with the championship set for 8 p.m. at Pasadena.
For the rest of the top ten, click thread
NO. 2 LA CANADA -- The Spartans finished 23-9 overall last season and went unbeaten at 10-0 in the Rio Hondo League. Clark Anderson, a first team all-league selection, is La Canada's lone returning starter.
NO. 3 LA SALLE -- The Lancers (11-15, 5-5) missed the playoffs for the first time in 16 years last season. "We're looking to make amends for last year," said La Salle coach Steve Goldstein, who is in his 19th season at the helm. Drew Assinesi is a returning point guard starter and Matt Nolan, a 6-foot-5 center, also returns. He was the leading rebounder, shot blocker and third-leading scorer for the Lancers.
NO. 4 MARANATHA -- Mark Elffers is a four-year starter and will be at point. Daniel Dingle, a three-year letterman, and Ron Cole will provide experienced presence in the backcourt and Cameron Kanda, a 6-foot-1 senior, is at forward. The fifth spot is still up for grabs, coach Tim Godley said. The Minutemen won the Delphic League title last season and finished 20-8 overall before losing to La Verne Lutheran in the Division V-AA semifinals.
NO. 5 RENAISSANCE ACADEMY -- The Wildcats finished 27-4 last season. There were a lot of key players who transferred to other schools, but a group coming in could bolster their roster and perhaps help them compete for another CIF-SS title.
NO. 6 ALHAMBRA -- The Moors finished 16-11 overall and 5-5 in the Almont League, good for third behind Schurr and Montebello. Alhambra lost to St. Joseph's in the first round of the playoffs on a jumper with five seconds remaining.
Seniors Eric Allen, a first- team all-league selection, Kevin Kwan and Haitham Ali will lead the Moors.
NO. 7 TEMPLE CITY -- The Rams finished 14-13 overall and 5-5 in the Rio Hondo League. Temple City returns senior guard and captain James Chen, who averaged 14.6 points last season as a junior.
NO. 8 ST. FRANCIS -- The Golden Knights will be inexperienced and lack some height, but they will have speed. Malik Speed, a senior guard who averaged 16 points a game, will join the team after football obligations postponed his involvement.
Senior Brandon Ruggles has not been cleared to practice the last three weeks because of back problems. His height (6-foot-2) will be missed. With no real presence at center, St. Francis will spread the court. The Spartans finished 10-15 last season.
NO. 9 MONROVIA -- The Wildcats finished 10-14 last season and were second behind La Ca ada in the Rio Hondo League. Senior Chris Smith will be asked to carry the load offensively. Senior Jonathan Snickles, at 6-foot-3, will provide some height inside. Chris Bullock regained eligibility and the junior will add a soft touch. Derrin Jenkins, a sophomore guard, will see a lot of time on the court.
NO. 10 BLAIR -- The Vikings (12-13) return Jasper Cobb (12.5 points per game) and Deon Geary (12.4). Blair could challenge for a better finish than its 5-5 season in the Rio Hondo League.
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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for No. 8 St. Francis- "The Spartans finished 10-15 last season."
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Miguel are you kidding me? One of the top tournaments in the southland is at PHS and the PSN chooses to run a story on the La Salle girls? Don't get me wrong I appreciate girl’s sports and they deserve their share of exposure but let's be real. I've yet to see anything on this site about the games at PHS since they started. I know this is the tail end of football but I think the PSN can chew gum and count to ten at the same time, or can they? At the very least you should have minimal coverage of this tournament on the site.
Anyone know about Blair? They could either compete for the RHL title or finish in last. They were decent last year.
Muir will sneak up on some people this year. Coach Jones has a year under his belt and this team will come back to respectability. Give Muir another year and they will be back in the top 10. Who knows it might be this year as the season just started and the ones ranking really don't know what their talking about. I agree with Just Me let the season play out a bit before the real talk begins.
PHS will dominate the area but I think they could have trouble with the better teams in the southland because of a lack of a killer instinct.
Where is the PSN coverage of the tournament at PHS this week? A 16 team tournament full of very good teams, a UCLA signee, CIF champ, LA city schools and nothing on the site? C'mon guys you got to do better than this.
Muir is a very good team this year. They put up a fight and scored almost 80 points on Sylmar yesterday. They have the quickest guard in the area James Owens who scored 28 yesterday. Despite losing by 15 plus to Sylmar there still a hell of alot better than most the teams in the top 10.
Muir is a very good team this year. They put up a fight and scored almost 80 points on Sylmar yesterday. They have the quickest guard in the area James Owens who scored 28 yesterday. Despite losing by 15 plus to Sylmar there still a hell of alot better than most the teams in the top 10.
Muir is a very good team this year. They put up a fight and scored almost 80 points on Sylmar yesterday. They have the quickest guard in the area James Owens who scored 28 yesterday. Despite losing by 15 plus to Sylmar there still a hell of alot better than most the teams in the top 10.
Anonymous,
1st off pick a name, secondly the fall means little to nothing other than building a team and working on things. Everyone is missing players or working on things. Maranatha beat PHS in the summer the last two years and would get demolished if they played now. Let the season play out a little bit then talk. Maybe all of your mentioned teams will play over the next month. Oh yeah, and CV is looking good, I agree.
Watch out for san marino! they have a very talented team this year!
CV is looking very good this year. They have a transfer from SF that really helped out their team. they will be up among the top 5.
There is no way Maranatha or La Salle should be up there. St. Francis beat Maranatha this fall without Malik Speed or Brandon Ruggles...
CV is looking very good this year. They have a transfer from SF that really helped out their team. they will be up among the top 5.
There is no way Maranatha or La Salle should be up there. St. Francis beat Maranatha this fall without Malik Speed or Brandon Ruggles...
hahaha.... Bulldog's are so silly!!! Tucks got some bangers this year. 6'9 6'9 and 6'6 sheesh... Thats a good look for the Dogs. Dont really have anything to say other than, I hope the Dogs dominate and rep Dena. I love Tuck as a coach, wish he was here on the North West side, but hey Stangs can't always win, can we. Well we could, but thats a whole different topic and thread. I make a push for Coach Grant to come back... At least restore some respectability back to Muir in hoop. Hasn't been the same since '02 season.
Whip that Stang A$%, stay focused and keep your eye on the prize..
Get'em Dogs!!
Focus will be the Dogs biggest opponent this year. Tucker will make sure the little things are done to achieve that. When your the "top dog" everybody's gunnin for you so bulldogs won't have any nights off. Hopefully they put a little extra on the Muir games as payback for the Tussle. We need that superior feeling back on the eastside of Dena
GO DOGS!