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Trigonis Tidbits: Jones Makes Strong Case for West’s Top Prospect
(August 31, 2009)
While 6’10” Josh Smith (Kentwood/Kent WA) has long been mentioned by many as the West Coast’s (and by some, the nation’s) top 2010 prospect, the summer play of his Northwest neighbor 6’9” senior Terrence Jones (Jefferson/Portland OR) has now made the race for #1 status in the West a two horse race. Jones was terrific at the Pangos All-American Camp (made the Top 20 game there) as well as the NBPA Camp in Virginia, Nike Peach Jam and Center Stage (Las Vegas NV) where he led his team to the tourney championship) but it was at the 2009 GBOA Challenge of Champions (Las Vegas NV) on July
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22nd that he served notice in a big-time way that his multi-dimensional talents deserve Top 10 national consideration. The GBOA Challenge of Champions attracted 22 of the nation’s top club teams as well as all of the eventual winners of the four Las Vegas week tourneys: Memphis Magic (adidas Super 64), Team Detroit (Rbk Summer Championships), Jones’ I-5 Elite squad (Center Stage) and Nike Team Florida (Main Event) and several of the nation’s top players including Josh Smith, Tristan Thompson, Joe Jackson, Quincy Miller, Tony Wroten, Gary Franklin, Jalon Kendrick, Ray McCallum, Josh Hairston, Corey Joseph, Jayvaughn Pinkston, Okaro White, Trae Golden, Keala King, Bryce Jones, DeAndre Daniels, Myck Kabongo, Trey Zeigler, JT Terrell, Dominique Ferguson, Tarik Black, Richard Solomon, Rod Odom, JJ Moore, Josh Huestis, Quddus Bello, Daryl Traynham, Tyler Thornton, Alex Dragicevich, Dwight Powell, Godwin Okonji, Stephen Holt,
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Ashton Pankey, Isaiah Epps, Gary Bell, Brandon Dawson, Adonis Thomas, Norvel Pelle and Deion Houston. Throw in an A-list of elite high major coaches including Roy Williams (North Carolina), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jim Calhoun (UConn), Billy Donovan (Florida), Ben Howland (UCLA), Jay Wright (Villanova), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Bobby Huggins (West Virginia), John Thompson III (Georgetown), Mike Montgomery (Cal), Tom Crean (Indiana), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Herb Sendek (Arizona State), Jeff Capel (Oklahoma), Jamie Dixon (Pitt), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Johnny Dawkins (Stanford), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech), Craig Robinson (Oregon State), Kevin O’Neil (USC), Buzz Williams (Marquette), Scott Drew (Baylor), Matt Painter (Purdue), Frank Haith (Miami FL), Mike Anderson (Missouri) and Isiah Thomas (Florida International) as well as nearly every major national scout and you had the most star-packed day in Vegas that
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week. It was on this stage that Jones rose to the occasion (and in a sense to the top of his class) displaying a confident court presence, exceptional ballhandling for a 6’9” player, deep NBA perimeter range and ability to make big plays at both ends. Jones’ impressive overall skill set makes him one of 2010’s best NBA prospects in this class! The schools in the hunt for “T Jones” include Arizona, North Carolina, Washington, Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky………………Another player that emerged on the scene in a major way this past spring and summer is 6’9” senior James Johnson. Johnson (who spent last season at Morse HS/San Diego CA and is now at Elsinore HS/Lake Elsinore CA) is currently down to Arizona (has unofficially visited), Arizona State (has unofficially visited), Cal (will visit Labor Day weekend),
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Oklahoma State (has unofficially visited), Oklahoma (has unofficially visited) and Virginia (will visit the weekend of September 12th)……..……….…One of the most underrated 2010 wings in the nation is 6’6” rising senior Bryce Jones (Taft/Woodland Hills CA). Arizona, Oregon State, USC and Arizona State lead for Jones although Gonzaga, Washington State and UNLV are still trying to stay in the mix………….It’s coming down the stretch for versatile 6’6” senior Anthony Brown (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA). Brown’s final four includes Stanford, Arizona, UCLA and Cal. Brown will visit all four schools during the next month or so before making a final decision………...After parting ways with UCLA, 6’4” senior point guard Kendall Williams (Los Osos/Rancho Cucamonga CA) ventured north to unofficially visit both Stanford and Cal earlier this month. Look for increased spring interest for Williams if he doesn’t sign in November…………………………One of the hottest 2010 West Coast lead guard prospects this summer is 6’2” LaBradford Franklin (Great Oak/Temecula CA) “LB” visited Marquette (offer) this past weekend (attended Marquette’s elite camp) and is slated to be at Cal (offer) during Labor Day weekend. Other schools in the mix for Franklin include Washington State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Fresno State, Pepperdine and Gonzaga………………………The latest action for 6’9” senior Godwin Okonji (Findlay Prep/Henderson NV) includes New Mexico (will visit), Hawaii (will visit), San Diego (will visit), Utah, San Diego State, Stanford and Colorado………….…....Five schools lead for 2009 summer revelation and stellar student 6’7” senior swingman Josh Huestis (CM Russell/Great Falls MT): Stanford, USC (will visit Labor Day weekend), Gonzaga, Harvard and Oregon State……………….…Stanford scored a Northwest daily-double in August when both 5’11” Aaron Bright (Bellevue/Bellevue WA) and 6’10” John Gage (Vashon Island/Vashon Island WA) committed to the Cardinal. Bright is a heady floor-general with tremendous passing ability and a knack for knocking down perimeter shots while Gage is a sharp-shooting center with nice length………………Other 2010 prospects that committed in August were 6’9” Richard Solomon (Price/Los Angeles CA) to Cal, 6’5” Ben Vozzola (Centennial/Las Vegas NV) to San Diego, 6’7” Alex Tiffin (Thousand Oaks/Thousand Oaks CA) to UC-Davis, 6’6” Kevin Mulloy (Oxnard/Oxnard CA) to UC-Irvine, 6’8” Kevin Panzer (Capistrano Valley/Mission Viejo CA) to Penn and 6’2” Vaughn Autry (Serra/Gardena CA) to Utah State. A 2011 player that pulled the trigger early recently is 6’4” wing Dominique Dunning (Centennial/Corona CA) who said yes to Steve Alford and New Mexico……………The early list of front-runners for very long and athletic 6’9” rising junior Norvel Pelle (Dominguez/Compton CA) include Washington (attended UW’s elite camp in mid-August), UCLA, Arizona, Kansas, Cal and Arizona State. Pelle will be transferring from Dominguez this fall and will be announcing his new school soon…………While an early July period injury (collar bone) cut 6’0” rising junior point guard Cezar Guerrero’s summer exposure stint short and limited many schools from getting a first-hand look, it hasn’t stopped several programs from expressing sincere interest in this very skilled lead guard. The list for Guerrero (now back at St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA) includes Arizona, Stanford, Washington, New Mexico, USC (unofficially visited this past weekend), Marquette, Oregon State, SMU, Washington State, UNLV, Utah, Maryland, Notre Dame, Gonzaga, UTEP, Pepperdine and Long Beach State. Guerrero (currently ranked #61 in the 2011 class by Hoopmasters.com) will be back on the court this fall at the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic (September 19-20 @ Lynwood CA) and Gymrats Midnight Madness (September 26 @ Vorhees NJ)……………It seems like the whole Pac-10 is showing love for 6’5” rising junior swingman Wesley Saunders (Windward/Los Angeles CA) with Arizona, Stanford and USC currently at the top of his list….………...The early list for big-time rising freshman 6’2” Eric Cooper (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA) includes Arizona, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal, Washington, Oregon State, UConn, West Virginia and UNLV…………One of the fastest rising sophomores in the nation is Cooper’s HS teammate 6’8” ultra-skilled Grant Jerrett (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA). Jerrett is a “face-up” power-forward who is as dangerous a threat from the 3-point stripe as he is attacking the basket with a wide variety of seasoned post moves. Arizona, USC, UCLA, Cal, Washington and UNLV form what looks to be a growing line of high-major programs that recognize this young prospect’s upside……………..The Fullcourt Press Lead Guard Camps were held in Phoenix AZ and Carson CA earlier this month. Standouts at the Phoenix session included 6’3” senior Martyre Demarco (Shadow Mountain/Phoenix AZ), 6’1” soph Demetrius Balark (Kellis/Glendale AZ) and 5’10” soph Anthony Lianzo (Desert Oasis/Las Vegas NV). Those that impressed at the Carson CA session included 6’8” junior DeAndre Daniels (Taft/Woodland Hills CA), 6’2” senior Jordan Gathers (Loyola/Los Angeles CA), 6’1” junior Bruce English (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’2” freshman Eric Cooper (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 5’10” soph Chass Bryant (Oaks Christian/Woodland Hills CA), 5’11” junior CJ Cooper (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’2” senior Ira Haywood (Legacy/Las Vegas NV), 6’0” Lawrence King (Bishop Montgomery/Torrance CA) and 6’4” senior Calvin Smith (Glendora/Glendora CA)…………Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos CA) head coach Russ May has been named the new head coach at his alma mater Cerritos College. This late JC coaching hire was due to the abrupt departure of former Cerritos coach Jesse Teplitzky who is now coaching as an assistant in Mexico’s pro league.
*** Photos courtesy of Nick Koza (SportsAmp.com
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