Trigonis Tidbits: Martin Making His Mark (December 20, 2006)   While Laguna Beach is well-known for its beautiful beaches, ritzy arts district and quaint retail boutiques as well as the shooting location for the popular MTV hit series “Laguna Beach”, 6’2” senior combo-guard Cheyne Martin (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach CA) is also putting Laguna on the map for high school basketball this

season.  Martin is currently one of the top scorers in the nation - averaging 31 ppg, including an outstanding 47 point effort versus Cypress as well as five other 30-plus point games.  Cheyne has also led Laguna Beach to 10-1 record (including a 10 game winning streak) and the championship of the SoCal Optimist Tourney (where he poured in 38 points versus Torrance in the title game and was named tourney MVP).  Martin is a clever lefty ballhandler with very deep perimeter range and an extremely quick release as well as a deceptively good athlete who reacts well to the ball and has quick hands on the defensive end.  Cheyne did not have much summer exposure last July (mostly due to summer school), playing mainly at the Las Vegas Big Time where he fared well playing for Belmont Shore (had a double figure scoring game against Spiece Central Indy).  Don’t let that bleach-blond hair fool you, Cheyne is a tough competitor who has endured his share of adversity in his HS career – bouncing back from a severe case of mono during his junior season while at Santa Margarita which caused him to miss virtually all of the 2005-06 season.  That illness also resulted in him falling behind academically at Santa Margarita and led to his transfer to back to Laguna Beach where he began his high school career as a freshman.  Coming back to Laguna also allowed Cheyne to catch up academically and be on track to qualify.  As Martin continues to lead Orange County in scoring and his team to more wins, look for recruiting interest in him to heat up as he is one of the top sleepers in the Class of 2008 as well as a player with the skill level and basketball IQ to be a potential mid-major-plus prospect…………….Another big time scorer this season is 6’0” senior Troy Draves (Wilson/Hacienda Heights CA).  Draves is averaging 34.4 ppg (through 7 games so far this year) with a high of 53 points versus Pasadena…………….Another senior having a season to remember is 6’6” lead guard Julyan Stone (Dos Pueblos/Goleta CA).  Stone is averaging 17 points/10 boards/8 assists per game this season – leading the Chargers to a 10-1 record and titles of the Simi Valley and Oak Park tourneys (named MVP of both events).  Stone’s high scoring game of the year was 26 points against Golden Valley.  Julyan is also a very good defensive player (can defend all three perimeter positions) and held Cal signee 6’6” Omondi Amoke to 12 points in Dos Pueblos’ 65-60 win over Oxnard.  Offensively, Stone projects as a “pass-first” point guard with an improved perimeter shot and the size to play out on the wing as well.  Julyan is definitely one of the most intriguing players on the West Coast and perhaps among the top potential spring signees  …………Burly and athletic 6’7” 240 lbs. junior power forward Tyreese Breshers (Price/Los Angeles CA), is continuing to improve and his production is substantially up over a year ago.  Tyreese (who Price coach Mike Lynch describes as a “total beast” on both ends of the floor so far this season) had 25 points/20 boards/8 blocks versus St. Bernard (Playa del Rey CA).  Miami FL and Washington State are among the increasing number of schools showing interest……..….6’3” senior guard Avner Alkhas (Northwood/Irvine CA) continues to have a strong senior year – shooting the ball extremely well from beyond the 3-point arc.  Alkhas’ 23 points (including a game-high 6 three-point shots) helped Northwood jump all over Santa Margarita in the championship game of the Irvine World News tourney (Northwood led the game by 17 points at one point) before SM staged a furious 4th quarter rally to take the lead for the first time with seconds remaining and finally overtake the Timberwolves 68-66.  Alkhas senior teammate 6’4” Chris O’Brien (son of Northwood coach Tim O’Brien) is also having a very good year as his 25 points versus Santa Margarita demonstrates. Santa Margarita’s 6’5” junior national sleeper Klay Thompson was also impressive – scoring 20 points for the Eagles.  Klay’s dad Mychal Thompson was a star at Minnesota before becoming the #1 pick of the 1978 NBA Draft (selected by the Portland Trailblazers)…………6’1” soph point Justin Cobbs (Bishop Montgomery/Torrance CA) scored 23 points (earning MVP honors in the process) as the Knights knocked off host St. John Bosco to capture the St. John Bosco tourney…………..6’4” redshirt freshman Harvey Perry is transferring from Washington.  Look for the athletic slashing scorer to garner a lot of WAC, Mountain West, WCC and Big West interest for his future services…………Tourney MVP 6’3” senior point guard Donnell Beverly (Leuzinger/Lawndale CA) had 30 points in a 65-47 win over host Hollywood in the championship game of the Hollywood tourney.  When will college coaches finally learn that Leuzinger is the capital of “late-bloomers” (Miami Heat’s Dorrell Wright and UCLA’s Russell Westbrook come to mind) and start trying to sign coach Reggie Morris’ star players early?………..6’9” junior stud Drew Gordon (Mitty/San Jose CA) went on an East Coast recruiting tour recently, visiting Tobacco Road powerhouses Duke and North Carolina.  Gordon enjoyed his time with the Blue Devils and Tar Heels and is in the process of figuring out a “time-table” to come to a college decision.  Besides Duke and North Carolina, Cal, Washington, Arizona, UCLA and many others hope to be the last team standing for Gordon……….Former Campbell Hall (North Hollywood CA) star 6’6” Connor Turley had originally committed to Brown as a HS senior before starting his two year Mormon mission in the tough streets of Chicago, but has now decided to change course and follow former Brown and new Quaker coach Glen Miller to Penn when his mission ends next summer.  Turley was a central figure on a 2005 Campbell Hall squad that won a California State Division IV title and included current Pacific guard/forward Joe Ford, Washington signee Justin Holiday (then a soph) and super junior Jrue Holiday (then just a frosh)…………5’9” senior point Jay Dee Luster (Hoover/San Diego CA) made it official recently when he announced his intention to sign a letter of intent next spring with Reggie Theus and New Mexico State.  Luster is attempting to join Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) as the 2nd player in U.S. history to have 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 500 steals in a high school career.  Luster presently has 1,765 points, 803 assists and 514 steals.  Hoover coach Ollie Goulston told Rivals’ Jerry Meyer: “I really think New Mexico State got a steal”………………..

Duke transfer 6’7” Jamal Boykin also made his future college plans official – announcing his move to Cal (after visiting the Berkeley campus last weekend).  Boykin will start classes at Cal in January and be eligible in late December 2007.  Jamal, who played just 3 games this season at Duke before coming down with mono, hopes to recover this year (his sophomore season) as a medical redshirt year and have 2 ½ years of eligibility for the Golden Bears.  Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Florida, Tennessee, Fresno State, Idaho, San Francisco, Nevada, Portland and Ball State were among the many other schools that had shown interest in Boykin.

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