Trigonis Tidbits: “Arizona Catcus Classic To Showcase Best of the West”

(May 15, 2006)

The inaugural Arizona Cactus Classic being held next weekend May 19-21 at the University of Arizona promises to be one of the top West Coast events this club season.  The brainchild of this 32 team event is GoAZCats.com chief Jim Storey who has done a magnificent job of assembling this top-notch field and organizing the logistics of the event. While there are only a few “national name” club teams like Houston Hoops and Illinois Warriors scheduled to participate, most of the top Western teams will be in attendance to battle in the desert including SCA, H-Squad, Compton Magic, EBO-EA Sports, Belmont Shore, Arizona Magic, Seattle Rotary Select, Las Vegas Prospects, TKO, Pump-n-Run and Sporting Chance.   Information on this event can be obtained online at: www.azcactusclassic.com………… 6’6” junior Omondi Amoke (Oxnard/Oxnard CA) has committed to Cal after visiting the Berkeley campus last weekend.  Omondi is a very athletic forward that runs the floor well and finishes in transition as well as being a dependable rebounder and scorer in the paint.   Amoke (who also considered Arizona State, Washington and Utah) has improved his perimeter shooting and is versatile enough to see minutes at both the “3” and “4” positions for the Golden Bears……..6’10” junior Austin Daye (Woodbridge/Irvine CA) visited Gongaza with his father Darren last weekend and was impressed with the Gonzaga program and campus.  Arizona, Arizona State and Washington are among the other schools interested in this versatile and skilled forward with considerable upside…….6’3” off-guard Mike Hornbuckle has transferred from NAIA power Azusa Pacific to Pepperdine.  Hornbuckle (a excellent shooter who should be effective in new Wave coach Vance Walberg’s up-tempo system) spent 2 years at Azusa Pacific and will have 2 years of eligibility in Malibu………..6’9” senior Mason Maynard (Mountain Ridge/Phoenix AZ) signed with Loyola Marymount recently giving Lion coach Rodney Tention an athletic big man that is active on the boards and can score in traffic.  Maynard picked LMU over Creighton and Idaho State…..Maynard’s Arizona Magic teammate 6’4” Eric Hippolito (Mountain  Pointe/Phoenix AZ) signed with New Orleans……….6’1” senior Darryl Felder (Diamond Bar/Diamond Bar CA) was an unknown commodity coming into this spring after returning to California from a two year stint in Kennesaw GA late this past basketball season, but after strong performances at the Fullcourt Press Spring League in March and in Las Vegas and Houston in April (playing with Mike Lewis’ Nike California Hoops), the high-scoring combo-guard parlayed that effort into a signed LOI with UNC-Wilmington………6’6” wing forward Jason Deutchman has accepted a guaranteed walk-on position at Colorado State.  Deutchman (a 2005 Santa Monica HS graduate) sat out all last season due to a knee injury and had played well this spring before re-injuring the same knee……....6’6” senior Bernard Burrell (Centennial/Compton CA) is attracting late year attention after a strong April.  The athletic combo-forward has visited Northern Arizona and Southern Utah with Cal State Northridge, UC-Santa Barbara, Texas-San Antonio and Colorado State also in the mix…….. We had an opportunity to check out Larry Drew’s Advanced Guard Camp this past weekend at LACES High School in Los Angeles.  The camp (organized by Ed Song) was outstanding, especially focusing on the elements of proper attitude, work ethic and intensity which are required to be successful at the next levels.  Players that stood out at the camp include camp MOP 6’0” soph Kelly Gibson (Tucson/Tucson AZ), 6’1” soph Larry Drew Jr. (Taft/Woodland Hills CA), 6’6” junior Dane Suttle (Westchester/Los Angeles CA), 6’6” soph Matt Johnson (Oaks Christian/Westlake Village CA), 6'0" Dijon Horne (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA) and 6’3” junior Avner Alkhas (Northwood/Irvine CA).  More info on upcoming Larry Drew Advanced Guard Camps can be obtained online at www.advguardcamp.com   ....... Artesia’s Scott Pera has officially resigned from his head coaching position this past week amid reports that he is involved in several college assistant coaching openings – notably positions at Pittsburgh, Washington State and USC………Former long time Riverside CC coach Bob Schermerhorn has returned to the JC ranks - accepting the head coaching position at Fullerton College. Schermerhorn (who also served as head coach at Southern Utah years ago where he coached the likes of Dominguez HS head coach Russell Otis and former UCI assistant Maz Trakh) compiled a 225–98 record in 9 seasons while at Riverside.  Fullerton became open when Dieter Horton left the Hornets for Antelope Valley after an undefeated season and California state JC championship…...Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of USC point guard Ryan Francis as well as Tim Floyd and the entire USC basketball community.  Ryan who had just finished his freshman year at Southern Cal had just returned home to Baton Rouge LA to visit family when he was tragically gunned down when riding in a friend’s car early Saturday - apparently the victim of a dispute between the gunman and the driver of the vehicle Francis was in.  Francis had an excellent freshman campaign – directing the Trojans to a winning record and notable wins over North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona.  May he rest in peace.