DON'T THINK. IT CAN ONLY HURT THE BALLCLUB

I followed Baseline League boys basketball more closely than any other league in any other winter sport, thus, I feel knowledgeable enough to comment on the selections. Take a look:

BOYS BASKETBALL
MVP
Erick Ellis Etiwanda 12 G
1st Team
J.J. O'Brien Alta Loma 10 G
Chris Confair Claremont 12 G
Rome Draper Etiwanda 11 G
Kendall Williams Los Osos 10 G
Nick Bennett Rancho 12 G
Rashad Bowie Rancho 12 G
Kevin Bradshaw Upland 12 F
Danny Redmon Upland 12 G

2nd Team
Kyli Crooms Alta Loma 12 G
Sean Carraway Claremont 12 G
Derrick Rodgers Los Osos 12 G
Justin Long Rancho 10 G
Teminiro E-Nunu Rancho 12 F/C
Thomas Colbert Upland 12 F/C
Christian Katuala Etiwanda 11 F
Honerable Mention
D.J. James Alta Loma 12 G
Nate Griffy Alta Loma 10 G
Omar Faal Claremont 12 F
Tre Brewer Etiwanda 12 G
Jordan Finn Etiwanda 11 G
Chinedu Amajoyi Los Osos 10 G
Mychal Blaylock Los Osos 12 F
Kwasi Mensah Rancho 12 G
Chaz Hayman Rancho 12 G
Zach Robbins Upland 11 F
Brett Manisco Upland 12 G

MVP Erick Ellis averaged 9.8 points per game, but don't let that fool you into thinking he isn't worthy of the award. Had the 6-foot-1 guard played for an up-tempo team or one that wasn't, say, 14-deep, he could easily averaged 20 points per game. The perfect illustration of Etiwanda's depth: Ellis didn't even start in the playoffs. You read that correctly, the MVP of the best league in the Inland Valley came off the bench. And the strategy worked; he was instant offense as a sixth man.

The only omission from the first team that really shocks me is Rancho Cucamonga point guard Justin Long. Of course, the second time I saw Long play was when he dropped 32 on Riverside King in a narrow loss to the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS quarterfinals.

The competition at guard in the Baseline League is fierce, to say the least (I'm sorting out my All-Inland Valley teams right now from a field of roughly 40 schools. Based strictly on ability, not ability at alloted positions, I could probably justify having four Baseline League guards on my five-man first team).

Based on his performance in the playoffs, Etiwanda's Tre Brewer certainly merited more than honorable mention. He was Etiwanda's second option behind Ellis during its run to the second round of the state tournament.

BOYS SOCCER
Co-MVP's
James Iles Claremont 12 GK
Steven Wagner Los Osos 12 GK
1st Team
Larry Llamas Alta Loma 11 MF
Nathan Ono Alta Loma 12 D
Jonathan Cabrera Alta Loma 12 D
Tim Duir Claremont 12 MF
Matt OH Claremont 12 D
Kyu Hwang Claremont 11 F
Isaac Gomez Etiwanda 12 MF
Jaime Garcia Los Osos 12 F
Alejandro Serrano Los Osos 12 MF
Lee Nishanian Los Osos 10 D
Alex Zapata Los Osos 12 D
Ryan Barksdale Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Felix Cruz Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
J.P. Hennes Upland 12 MF
Beto Becerril Upland 11 F
Kameron Bechler Upland 12 D
2nd Team
T.J Shaffer Alta Loma 12 GK
Chase Morales Alta Loma 11 D
James Rice Alta Loma 11 MF
Evan Seder Claremont 12 F
Jordan Fisher Claremont 11 F
Jeff Lopez Claremont 11 D
Pablo Castro Etiwanda 12 D
Dane Johnson Los Osos 9 D
Andres Adame Los Osos 11 MF
Steven Melara Los Osos 12 MF
Danny Hidalgo Rancho Cucamonga 12 MF
Kevin Lavatu Rancho Cucamonga 11 MF
Freddie Lopez Upland 12 MF
Steven Bagheri Upland 11 D
Javier Brown Upland 11 MF
Zach Scotton Upland 11 MF
Honorable Mention
Jacob Davies Alta Loma 10 D
George Hewett Alta Loma 11 MF
Spencer Eckert Claremont 11 D
Sean West Claremont 12 D
David Ikeda Claremont 11 MF
Steven Odien Etiwanda 12 D
Ben Dufour Los Osos 12 F
Axel Santana Los Osos 12 D
Dane Sandello Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kyle Mandala Rancho Cucamonga 12 GK
Jordan Gibbs Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Sal Jimenez Upland 12 MF
Kyle Lawrence Upland 11 D
Josh Lavalle Upland 12 GK

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Co-MVP'S
Amber Williams Etiwanda 11 G
Ciera Warren Los Osos 11 F
1st Team
Amber Williams Claremont 12 F
Brandi Brown Claremont 11 C
Page Rhodes Etiwanda 11 F
Natalia Hawthorne Etiwanda 10 G
Amanda Copas Los Osos 11 G
Joanna Matthews Rancho Cucamonga 11 G
2nd Team
Tiana Jones Alta Loma 10 G
Janee Goodman Upland 12 G
Ailine Fonua Rancho Cucamonga 12 F
Sylvia Shepard Alta Loma 10 F
Michelle Dobbs Los Osos 12 F
Jada Blackwell Etiwanda 9 F
Chris Huma Claremont 11 G
Jasmine Bernard Etiwanda 10 C
Honerable Mention
Kearstie Hernandez Alta Loma 11 G
Ashley Hernandez Alta Loma 10 F
Kori Carter Claremont 10 G
Vanessa Wright Claremont 10 G
Laura Ramos Etiwanda 12 G
Kyla Smith Los Osos 12 G
Katie Anderson Los Osos 10 G
Ashley Huggins Rancho Cucamonga 12 G
Kathleen Iwohua Rancho Cucamonga 9 C
Heather Brown Upland 12 G
Emily Brown Upland 12 G

GIRLS SOCCER
Co-MVP's
Kylie Nicassio Los Osos 12 F
Judy Christopher Upland 12 MF
1st Team
Jordan Cleary Alta Loma 11 MF
Emily Kinsey Alta Loma 12 MF
Jordan Bryant Claremont 11 D
Jessica Garcia Etiwanda 12 GK
Monique Reyes Etiwanda 12 F
Stacy Huddleston Etiwanda 9 D
Shawna Gordon Los Osos 12 MF
Kelsey Holm Los Osos 12 D
McKenzie Dill Los Osos 12 D
Lo Labonta Los Osos 9 F
Jalissa Kluz Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kristen Carmichael Upland 12 D
Dana Sanderlin Upland 11 F
Kacie Lacata Upland 10 MF
Rachael Harding Upland 11 D
2nd Team
Kayla Cerda Alta Loma 11 D
Lauren Carpenter Claremont 12 F
Wendy Espejel Rancho Cucamonga 12 GK
Carly Coons Alta Loma 12 MF
Katie Frazer Claremont 12 MF
Alix Gonzalez Etiwanda 12 MF
Kelli Haddock Etiwanda 11 D
Jazmin Reyes Etiwanda 11 MF
Jaclyn Clark Los Osos 12 MF
Paige Silva Los Osos 12 D
Sharlyn Carter Los Osos 12 D
Haylee Eguchi Los Osos 11 MF
Aryn Alex Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Briana Roman Rancho Cucamonga 11 MF
Raquel Gervas Upland 11 MF
Ashton Horowitz Upland 11 D
Chenin Young Upland 12 F
Honorable Mention
Andrea Gutierrez Alta Loma 12 GK
Danielle Parker Alta Loma 10 F
Kristie Valencia Alta Loma 12 D
Lexi Shapiro Claremont 12 D
Lauren Adez Etiwanda 10 MF
Sarah Dowell Etiwanda 9 D
Kimber Kelsey Etiwanda 9 MF
Ashley Daniels Los Osos 12 D
Lindsey Maricic Los Osos 10 GK
Megan Perry Rancho Cucamonga 9 D
Krystina Aguilera Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Amanda DiCamillo Rancho Cucamonga 12 D
Kelli Milakovich Upland 11 MF
Katrina Kedzoir Upland 9 D
Savannah Thompson Upland 10 GK

GIRLS WATER POLO
Co-MVP's
Randi Bresee Los Osos 12
Leanne Ford Upland 12
1st Team
Jaimie Jackson Alta Loma 12
Madison McDonald Alta Loma 12
Brittany Strong Los Osos 12
Miranda Furuto Los Osos 11
Caitlyn Stephenson Los Osos 11
Shannon Mckenzie Rancho Cucamonga 12
Alex Gudenua Rancho Cucamonga 11
Lexi Anderson Upland 12
Allison Bartosik Upland 11
2nd Team
Andrea Gomez Alta Loma 11
Katherine Dineen Alta Loma 10
Anne Eagleton Claremont 11
Nicole Koorndyk Claremont 9
Lexi Powell Etiwanda 12
Marisol Hernandez Los Osos 11
Tara Scheibeler Los Osos 10
Alex Reddin Rancho Cucamonga 10
Bethy Ross Upland 10
Nicole Berry Upland 10
Shelby Buchanan Upland 12
Honorable Mention
Kiley Foster Alta Loma 11
Sara Harris Alta Loma 12
Heather Domonoske Claremont 11
Emma Randles Claremont 11
Andrea Carreon Etiwanda 11
Sabrina Samaniego Etiwanda 11
Ashley Armstrong Los Osos 10
Candice Milippelli Los Osos 10
Sam Bennett Rancho Cucamonga 11
Hailey Henderson Rancho Cucamonga 10
Camille Keegan Upland 12
McCall Packer Upland 10

Posted by Clay Fowler at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Osos High School's Richard Brehaut and Upland's Josh Nunes were both offered scholarships by San Diego State during the past week, according to Upland assistant coach Mike Esquivel.

Both members of the class of 2009 have been starting quarterbacks at their respective schools since they were sophomores.

SDSU is Brehaut's first offer. Nunes also has offers from Stanford, Arizona, Hawaii and Colorado.

SDSU offered Brehaut over the weekend and Nunes via letter on Thursday.

"Coach Toby Nines, our Inland Empire recruiter for San Diego State, has been by my side and very supportive about my football skills since he first saw me last spring on campus when I was a sophomore," Nunes said. "I had an instant liking to him."

SDSU graduates quarterback Kevin O’Connell, who last season completed 58 percent of his passes in the Aztecs' pass-happy offense for 3,063 yards, 15 TD's and 8 interceptions.

Nunes, who has expressed high interest in UCLA, will attend the Bruins junior day on Saturday and plans to attend SDSU's junior day.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday night I saw the best high school basketball player I’ve ever seen.
So did Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner.
Los Angeles Fairfax center Renardo Sidney showed why he is widely considered the top junior center prospect in the country in a 66-54 win over Etiwanda in the second round of the CIF Division I state tournament.
The 6-foot-10, 235-pounder was absolutely unguardable.

Kleckner said as much.
Sidney was dangerous from 3-point range, so you can imagine how difficult the powerful teenager was to stop in the lane.
He scored 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting, had 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Etiwanda did about as well against him as could have been expected, even pulled within four with 4:09 left before a game-sealing Fairfax run.
Sidney sat for a couple of extended stretches, allowing Etiwanda back in the game several times. But when he wanted to dominate, he did.
For all the physical attributes, one of the most impressive things about him was his efficiency. Considering his range and ability to shoot over anybody, I’m not sure there is a shot that qualifies as bad for this kid. But he never forced up anything or hoarded the ball. He looked like he probably could have scored 50, but maybe that was just because he picked his spots well.
It wasn’t just his quickness that struck me, but his body control. As he was careening towards the basket during a second-quarter drive on the baseline, he managed to lay the ball ever so softly off the glass even as converging defenders attempted to swat it off the backboard.
Then, of course, there were the flashy plays. A thunderous one-handed put-back dunk in the fourth quarter topped the list. Not 15 seconds into the game he knocked down a fading 15 footer with a hand in his face. He drained a pull-up 3-pointer a few minutes later. Half of the six shots he missed were attempted put-backs that he eventually did put back (Did I mention his efficiency?).
Kleckner first attempted to guard Sidney with strong, athletic 6-5 post man Christian Katuala but Sidney was too big for him, if not just as quick. Kleckner then threw 6-8, 245-pound Perris Blackwell at Sidney, whom he promptly took to the perimeter.
HoopScoopOnline.com ranks Sidney the No. 5 junior in the nation.
In 2006 he moved from Mississippi to Lakewood Artesia, where he won a Division III California state title as a sophomore. He transferred to Fairfax in September and took the Lions (27-5) to the City Section championship game where they lost to Woodland Hills Taft.
Here is an L.A. Times column about him by Kurt Streeter, who was in attendance at the City Section Title game.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Etiwanda boys basketball team was robbed of a CIF title Saturday night.
The officials made the wrong call when they whistled Eagles guard Erick Ellis for traveling with 16 seconds left in the CIF-SS Division I-A championship game against top-seeded Riverside King.
With his second-seeded Eagles up two points, Ellis was taken to the ground after he grabbed what should have been the game-sealing rebound. The whistle blew before he even had time to travel, all the more reason I was sure the call was on King. And the way Ellis was playing – he scored 15 of his team-high 21 points after the third quarter - I wouldn’t have bet against him making those free throws.

Instead, King got the ball back and 6-foot-7 Kawhi Leonard made a putback with 7.3 seconds left.
Ellis nearly won the game anyway: As time in regulation expired, he got a good look at a 3-pointer that rimmed out.
Etiwanda was clearly deflated in overtime, as evidenced by the 79-69 final score in favor of King. After Ellis pulled the Eagles within two with 2:37 left in overtime, King went on an 11-2 run.
The confrontation between the top two seeds in Division I-A had been building all season. The game lived up to the hype, too, until the referees took the game into their hands.
Etiwanda couldn’t match the inside game of 6-6, wide-bodied King forward Eric Wise (27 points, 9 rebounds) or Leonard (15 points, 8 rebounds). But the Eagles found their shooting touch just in time to hit their first three 3-pointers of the game in a fourth quarter they entered trailing by five.
Etiwanda’s best shooter, junior Rome Draper, who was visibly tight most of the game, buried a clutch 3-pointer from the corner with 38 seconds to give Etiwanda the 59-57 lead Ellis was trying to protect when he grabbed that rebound. It’s too bad the game was taken out of his hands.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)