 |
 |
Trigonis Tidbits:
Woods Ready For Break-Out July
(June 20, 2008)
While fellow Dominguez teammate 6’7” rising senior Jordan Hamilton has dominated the headlines for the Dons for a large part of the last year, look for 6’5” junior Thurman Woods (Dominguez/Compton CA) to grab his share of the press clippings this July as well as the increased attention of many mid-high major programs.
Woods could be one of the nation’s top sleepers next month when D-I college coaches hit the trail nationwide. Thurman’s game and physique reminds me of former Long Beach State star and Seattle Supersonic James Cotton.
|
|
Woods is a long armed swingman with a very deceptive three-point stroke who is also an excellent defender and rebounder. Thurman (a good student – 3.2 GPA) played well this spring at the Las Vegas Spring Showcase (helped his Belmont Shore squad reach the title game), Arizona Cactus Classic (was an all-tourney selection) and Pangos All-American Camp (picked to the Cream of the Crop Top 25 game). Woods is not the only vastly underrated 2009 prospect on the Dons roster: 6’3” Myron Green is a smooth and very accurate outside shooter, 6’4” Robert Mandingo is maybe as good a defender that exists in California and 6’0” Dominick LaCoste is a very poised point that runs a team very well and hardly ever gets rattled by defensive ball pressure. A Dominguez name for the future is 6’8” 2011 Norvel Pelle – a very thin but active and mobile post player with great upside!……………….After narrowing his list to Cal, Stanford and UCLA, 6’9” rising senior Brendan Lane (Rocklin/Rocklin CA) announced that he was becoming a Bruin while participating in a session of the Adidas Nation program being held recently on the UCLA campus. Lane is an agile and skilled forward who has aspirations of being able to play out on the wing in the Pac-10………………According to very reliable sources, it is official: USC-bound 6’6” Leonard Washington (Marshall/Compton CA) has been approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Washington should be an impact player next season for Tim Floyd’s Trojans……………………..
|
|
|
 |
|
6’3” 2008 James Dean (Hargrave Military Academy/Chatham VA) has officially selected Wisconsin-Milwaukee to be his college destination. The Las Vegas native (and excellent student) picked the Panthers over interest from Long Beach State, New Jersey Tech and UC-Riverside……………………6’6” 2009 Alec Williams (J Serra/San Juan Capistrano CA) has committed to San Diego State. Although slightly undersized, Alec is an excellent perimeter shooter with a solid body that allows him to finish inside. Williams (who played well at the recent Pangos All-American Camp) has a very deceptive bounce in his step…………..
Former UCLA forward 6’7” Chase Stanback is still looking for a new home. Stanback’s search continued this week as he visited NC State. Other schools showing interest include Georgia Tech, Boston College and Loyola Marymount…………………
|
|
Fresh off a 2008 California State JC championship Citrus College (Azusa CA) announced seven college signings earlier this month: 6’3’ Buchi Awaji (Kansas State), Richard Frohlich (Texas-San Antonio), Darren Moore (UC-Irvine), AJ Gasporra (Texas-San Antonio), Virgil Buensuceso (BYU-Hawaii), (Northeastern State-OK) and Nate Richardson (Rocky Mountain-MT). Awaji (a Loyola HS/Los Angeles CA grad) was the MVP of the California state JC tournament. Credit hardworking assistant Josh Dunaj (one of the top up and coming young recruiters on the West Coast) for a large share of Citrus’ success the last few years………… Washington’s Lorenzo Romar dipped into the California JC ranks this month and grabbed Riverside City 6’9” soph PF Charles Garcia for added post depth. Garcia is a Dorsey (Los Angeles CA) product………………….……Speaking of JUCO ball, SoCal native 6’6” swingman JP Olukemi (Stoneridge/Simi Valley CA) has signed a national JC letter intent with powerhouse Vincennes Junior College (IN). Olukemi was an important cog in the championship wheel of the Belmont Shore squad that captured the 2007 Rbk Summer Championships last July. Look for Olukemi to be on the high-major radar for schools coast-to-coast this time next year……….…Former Compton Centennial star 6’9” Genesis Maciel has signed with Hartford. Maciel (who spent the past year at Worcester Academy MA) is a skilled postman with range on his jump shot……………...Every summer usually produces a few West Coast recruiting surprises and this year it could be 7’0” Michael Vantrimpont who has returned from France (his father’s homeland) recently and has quickly attracted interest from the likes of San Diego State (visited un-officially), Loyola Marymount (visited un-officially), San Jose State (visited un-officially), Long Beach State (visited un-officially), San Diego (visited un-officially) and Ohio. Michael is a 2006 graduate of Westchester (Los Angeles CA) where he was a seldom-used reserve. Two years and 2 inches/35 pounds later (he currently weighs in at 225 lbs.), Vantrimpont is a very mobile center whose skill level has remarkably improved from his HS days. Michael spent the last two years playing and developing under the direction of a French club team in southern France. Look for Vantrimpont (who played for Nolan Johnson’s Belmont Shore Up & Coming club squad) to make a decision before July 1st and be a potential impact college player next season…………The 2008 Nike Hoop Jamboree was held recently in St. Louis MO and a few SoCal youngsters were in attendance including 5’11” 2011 Cezar Guerrero (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA), 6’4” 2010 Keala King (Dominguez/Compton CA) and 6’8” 2011 Kevin Johnson (Serra/Gardena CA)…………………………
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A 2010 name to keep a close eye on this summer is 6’7” Jordan Salley (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA). Salley is a strong and physical post-forward built out of the Craig Smith (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Chuck Hayes (Houston Rockets) mold that loves to bang inside and can finish in the pant. Salley was one of the standouts in the recent Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase held on June 8th at Jordan HS (Long Beach CA). Other players making noise here were rising seniors 5’11” Michael Williams (Taft/Woodland Hills CA), 6’3” Garrett Jefferson (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 6’6” Stephon Heard (Jordan/Long Beach CA), 6’8” Alex Osborne (Pacific Hills/Los Angeles CA), 6’7” Kyle Richardson (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 6’5” Devon Goldston (Gahr/Cerritos CA), 6’4” Jordan Sachs (La Habra/La Habra CA), 6’1” Christopher Bearden (Sonora/La Habra CA), 6’0” Donley Minor (Verbum Dei/Los Angeles CA), 6’6” Sean Hinkley (West/Torrance CA), 6’4” Jacob Cheek (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA),
|
|
|
 |
|
6’3” Jacob Slone (Sonora/La Habra CA) and 6’1” Michael Mayes (Poly/Long Beach CA), rising juniors 6’0” LaBradford Franklin (Vista Murrieta/Murrieta CA), 6’2” Julian Benarouche (Pacific Hills/Los Angeles CA), 5’9” Tim Douglas (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 5’10” Keith Shamburger (La Verve Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’6” Greg Latta (La Quinta/La Quinta CA), 6’0” Sam Natt (Dorsey/Los Angeles CA), 5’9” Ervin Ware (Gahr/Cerritos CA) and 6’3” Shaun Norum (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA) rising sophomores 6’5” Jonathan Davis (Simi Valley/Simi Valley CA), 6’3” Dominique Dunning (Centennial/Corona CA), 6’4” Byron Wesley (Rialto/Rialto CA), 6’2” Alex Carmon (Poly/Long Beach CA), 6’0” Clayton Ragsdale (Corona Del Mar/Newport Beach CA), 6’3” Devontay Hennix (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’4” Ryan Anderson (Poly/Long Beach CA), 6’2” Nick Kerr (Torrey Pines/San Diego CA), 5’11” Billy Keller (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA), 6’2” Louis Rose (Los Osos/Rancho Cucamonga CA), 6’6” Justin Kaminski (Los
|
|
Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA), 6’1” Devon Potts (Gahr/Cerritos CA) and 5’9” Max Heller (Torrey Pines/San Diego CA), rising freshmen 6’2” Gabe York (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA), 5’7” Chris Croom (Dominguez/Compton CA), 6’3” Eli Stalzer (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA), 6’4” Nick Colletta (Glendora CA), 6’0” Milton Williams (Chino CA), 6’5” Grant Jerrett (Chino Hills CA), 6’4” Donald Muepo (Dorsey/Los Angeles CA), 5’9” David Travers (Bishop’s/La Jolla CA), 6’1” Michael Alvarez (Calvary Chapel/Downey CA), 5’7” Patrick Scully (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA), 5’8” Anthony Martinez (Gahr/Cerritos CA) and 5’10” Braiten Madrigal (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA). If Kerr’s name looks familiar, it is because he is the son of former Palisades (Los Angeles CA), Arizona and Chicago Bull star Steve Kerr – now in command of the Phoenix Suns…………..Former Paso Robles (CA) star and Kentucky player 6’6” Derek Jasper has transferred to UNLV………..…….6’7” 2009 Aaron Aikman (Desert Christian/Tucson AZ) has committed to Academy of Art University (San Francisco CA) – a Pac-West D-II program. Aikman is a skilled combo-forward with nice face-up offensive ability…………….. USC’s Elite Camp was held earlier this month at the Galen Center amid an official USC Athletic Department declared “media blackout”. 6’5” 2009 Michael Snaer (Rancho Verde/Moreno Valley CA), 6’10” 2010 Jeremy Tyler (San Diego/San Diego CA), 6’2” 2010 Gary Franklin (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA) and 6’5” 2010 Anthony Brown (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA) were reportedly among the top prospects in attendance.
|
|
|
For the Lowest Prices in Travel/Lodging/Car Rental Please visit the Fullcourt Press Travel Center ...
|
