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as the rising sophomore combo of 6’2” Avery Johnson and 6’3” Anthony Brown are a backcourt that will soon be the object of intense D-I attention. Avery is a long combo-guard that is an impressive slashing scorer with the length to be an excellent defender while Brown is a rapidly growing lead guard that has a very nice handle with ability to beat defenders off the dribble. Brown projects to be a 6’5”-6’6” guard in the mold of a Dijon Thompson-type player as his father Quentin Brown (former UC-Irvine player and past head coach at Long Beach Wilson HS) stands 6’6”……………..The Reebok Summer Championships (Rbk’s replacement for the legendary Big Time tourney will be headquartered at Foothill HS (Henderson NV) on July 22-26 and like its predecessor, it will be a loaded affair – especially at the top. Reebok’s Chris Rivers has created a mini-tourney within the tourney as the event’s top 8 seeded teams will battle the first two days with a Super 8 team bracket that will occur just prior to the start of the official tourney play-offs. The top 8 seeds include D-I Greyhounds (Cincinnati OH), Southeast Elite (Huntsville AL), King of the Court (Ohio), Illinois Wolves, Texas Blue-Chip (Dallas TX), Triple Threat (Washington DC), LA Dream Team (Los Angeles CA) and Belmont Shore (Long Beach CA). Top players to be on display here include 6’2” rising senior Brandon Jennings (Oak Hill Academy/Mouth of Wilson VA/committed to Arizona), 6’7” rising senior Delvon Roe (St. Edward/Lakewood OH/committed to Michigan State), 6’10” rising junior Renardo Sidney (Artesia/Lakewood CA), 6’6” rising senior DeMar DeRozan (Compton/Compton CA/committed to USC), 6’4” rising senior William Buford (Libbey/Toledo OH/committed to Ohio State), 6’7” rising senior Romero Osby (Northeast Lauderdale/Meridian MS/committed to Mississippi State) 6’2” rising junior Kenny Boynton (Ely/Pompano Beach FL), 6’2” rising sophomore Brandon Knight (Pine Crest/Coral Springs FL), 6’8” rising senior Chris Braswell (DeMatha/Hyattsville MD/committed to Georgetown), 6’6” rising senior Darius Miller (Mason County/Maysville KY), 6’8” rising junior Quincy Acy (Horn/Mesquite TX) and 6’8” rising senior Renaldo Woolridge (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA)………………6’2” rising senior Will Brew (St. Mary’s/Berkeley CA) has committed to UC-Santa Barbara…………….Former UC-Davis assistant Bobby Steinburg is now the head coach at Motlow State JC (TN) where he has quickly assembled a strong squad including former Cincinnati signee 6’3” soph Tyree Evans and UC-Davis transfer and former Price (Los Angeles CA) star 6’5” soph Frank Henry-Ala…………….Poly (Long Beach CA) nipped Mater Dei (Santa Ana CA) 82-81 to win the Fairfax tourney last weekend despite a combined 57 points/20 boards from the rising junior MD trio of 6’9” Travis and David Wear and 6’8” Andy Brown. 6’1” rising senior Terance Reeves was the catalyst for Poly as he scored 24 points (on 11/17 shooting) to lead the Jackrabbits. Other players that impressed at the Fairfax tourney include 6’2” rising senior Chris Solomon (Fairfax/Los Angeles CA), 6’8” rising senior Renaldo Woolridge (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA), 6’6” rising junior Solomon Hill (Fairfax/Los Angeles CA) and 6’3” rising senior Jamal Trice (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA). Solomon’s jump shot was falling all tourney long and it appears that the lefty combo-guard is regaining the form that once made him a heralded prospect in his earlier underclass years. Woolridge continues to improve at a rapid clip and his offensive confidence has soared as his 37 point performance versus Jrue Holiday and Campbell Hall attests. Hill is an underrated 2009 combo-forward that has improved his perimeter skills and Trice is a gritty defender with a better-than-expected perimeter shot……………..The Say No Classic college summer league tipped off last weekend at Nike’s private basketball court “The Pointe” in Hollywood CA and several college players made very positive impressions with their play so far. 6’7” soph Jamal Boykin (Cal) led Belmont Shore/BTI to a pair of opening weekend victories – averaging 23 ppg and 10 rpg in the process. 6’9” soph Alex Stepheson (North Carolina) looks in great shape with a terrific physique which should allow him to battle with success in the tough ACC as well as displaying an improved scoring touch inside the paint. 6’8” frosh Davon Jefferson (USC) also looks to be in great physical condition and his ultra-athleticism allows him to finish plays most players can only dream about. The league (which is NCAA certified) runs every weekend until it crowns its champ on Saturday August 11th.
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