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Trigonis Tidbits: Jennings, Holiday, DeRozan, Babbit, Lee and Drew Represent
West at 2008 McDonald's Game
(February 29, 2008)
When the 2008 McDonald’s All-American Game selections were announced on ESPNU recently, 6 West Coast players made the cut: Southern California native 6’2” Brandon Jennings (Oak Hill/Mouth of Wilson VA/Arizona signee), 6’3” Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall/North Hollywood CA/UCLA signee), 6’6” DeMar DeRozan (Compton/Compton CA/USC signee), 6’7” Luke Babbitt (Galena/Reno NV/Nevada signee), Malcolm Lee (JW North/Riverside CA/USC signee), and 6’0” Larry Drew (Taft/Woodland Hills CA/North Carolina signee). The last time Holiday crossed paths with Jennings in a team tournament setting, it was at the 2007 Arizona Cactus
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Classic last May in Tucson AZ where on the event’s opening night Jennings (along with some athletic help from DeRozan who scored a game-high 29 points) willed eventual tourney finalist Belmont Shore to an exciting 98-91 win over Holiday’s Pump-n-Run squad. Jennings finished with 28 points/10 boards/5 assists while Jrue countered with 27 points/6 rebounds/4 assists of his own. On March 26th at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee WI (the site of this year’s McDonald’s Game), Jennings, Holiday and DeRozan will join forces and form perhaps the finest perimeter trio to ever come out of Southern California as they attempt to lead the West Squad to this year’s McDonald’s title. After less than stellar spring season where they saw their recruiting stock drop substantially, Babbitt and Drew finished the summer strong and followed that effort up with very productive high school senior seasons that propelled them to be named to this year’s team. Speaking of Jennings, Brandon recently poured in an Oak Hill single game school record 63 points (as well as dishing out 7 assists) to lead Oak Hill to a 123-58 win over Bonnor Academy (NC). BJ has also surpassed the Oak Hill single season scoring record previously held by Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks) this year. Those kind of eye-popping numbers have positioned Jennings to be a strong favorite for numerous post-season national “player of the year” awards……….
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Just when you thought the high school competition was on the verge of seeing the last of Jennings, Brandon’s younger brother – 6th grader 5’0” Terrence (T-Money) Phillips is making his way up the hoop circuit and by all accounts he looks to have the potential be every-bit the player Brandon is. Wise beyond his years, “T” has a rock-solid handle and amazing passing ability to go along with legitimate three-point range. Stay tuned……………Another talented member of the Southern California Class of 2008, 6’3” lead guard Oscar Bellfield (Westchester/Los Angeles CA) has a new spring leader – UNLV – and is now leaning toward committing to the Runnin’ Rebels. Bellfield (a 2007 Pangos All-American Camp Top 20 Game pick) is an athletic defender that has really improved his ballhandling and perimeter shooting. It seems like only yesterday that I was working with three young and promising rising freshmen point guards named Bellfield, Jennings and Drew at the 2004 Fullcourt Press Lead Guard Camp at El Camino College in Torrance CA. Its amazing how time
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flys!……………..Speaking of the FCP Lead Guard Camp, another camp alum 6’0” junior point guard Austin Morgan was impressive last weekend in Reno NV - scoring 32 points to lead Reno (Reno NV) past Cheyenne (Las Vegas NV) 76-72 en route to capturing the 2008 Nevada 4A state title. Morgan’s teammate and Duke-signee 6’8” senior Olek Czyz added 18 points/10 boards. 6’3” senior Christian Lightbourne scored 20 points while heralded 6’3” junior Elijah Johnson had 19 points/8 boards/5 steals/4 assists for Cheyenne. While Johnson (being recruited by the likes of UCLA, Arizona, Kansas and UNLV) was supposed to be the dominant perimeter performer in this championship game, it was his 2009 counterpart Morgan who stole the show (scoring 16 4th quarter points) and sparking Reno to the win. Morgan is a heady floor-leader who plays with poise and has ability to score as well as set the table for teammates………..…
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6’10” junior Renardo Sidney (Fairfax/Los Angeles CA) provided some late-game heroics this past weekend at USC’s Galen Center when he scored Fax’s final 11 points including an 18-foot shot with 2 seconds left to push the Lions past Westchester (Los Angeles CA) 55-53 and into this Saturday’s LA-City CIF title game against Taft (Woodland Hills CA) at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. There is not a player in the national junior class that has a better package of size, skills and athleticism than Renardo, although I’d like to see the “Difference” display those qualities on the court on a much more consistent basis as was the case with his 32 point outburst against Westchester………… 6’8” junior post-forward Joe Burton (West Valley/Hemet CA) has rebounded from injuries and weight issues that hobbled him during his sophomore season and has powered West Valley to upset victories over Corona Del Mar and Renaissance Academy to move
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his Mustangs into the CIF III-A championship game this Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Besides being a load down low, Burton is very mobile for his size and an excellent passer whose stock is rising again thanks to his fine junior season………... 6’0” senior Darian Norris (Mojave/Las Vegas NV) had signed with South Carolina State during last November’s signing period but recently asked for and was granted an official release from the Bulldogs due to turmoil relating to the program and university. Norris is a crafty point that can score and has the strength and quickness to be an effective driver to the basket which makes him an attractive mid-major prospect for programs looking for a floor-leader this spring……………6’0” senior point guard Trevor Hopkins (San Marcos/Santa Barbara CA) just concluded a solid senior campaign – averaging 10.3 ppg/4.7 apg and leading his team (21-8) to the second round of the CIF I-A playoffs, where they were defeated by #1 seed King (Riverside CA). Portland State is among the schools showing interest in Hopkins……………6’7” soph Jordan Salley was a mid-season transfer from Bishop Amat (La Puente CA) to La Verne Lutheran (La Verne CA) this year and he has proven to be a big addition – helping the Trojans to the CIF V-AA Finals on Thursday night where they edged Pacific Hills (Los Angeles CA) 57-56 on a lay-up by Salley with 20 seconds left to win the crown. 5’10” soph Keith Shamburger led the Trojans with 19 points. Salley is a strong and physical defender that plays hard all game long and has the potential to be an offensive force on the block……………..
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The 2008 Fullcourt Press Spring League tipped-off last Sunday at Cabrillo HS (Long Beach CA) and the talent level was as high as ever. Opening week standouts included Tennessee signee 6’7” senior Renaldo Woolridge (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA), 6’8” junior Victor Rudd (Van Nuys/Van Nuys CA), 6’6” senior JP Olukemi (Stoneridge/Simi Valley CA), 6’2” senior Charles Odum (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 6’6” junior Jerry Evans (Leuzinger/Lawndale CA), 6’3” senior Kyle Fogg (Brea-Olinda/Brea CA), 6’2” soph Deonta Burton (Cabrillo/Long Beach CA), 6’4” junior RJ Farrell (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’6” frosh Damien Cain (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA), 6’5” senior Guy Landry (Van Nuys/Van Nuys CA), 6’7” soph Michael Atwater (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’1” junior LaBradford Franklin (Vista del Lago/Temecula CA), 6’6” soph Clint Bozner (Centennial/Corona CA), 6’2” senior Jason Pruitt
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(Fremont/Los Angeles CA), 6’11” senior Kyle Clark (Lakewood/Lakewood CA), 5’8” soph Tim Douglas (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 6’5” senior Cameron Nettles (Gahr/Cerritos CA), 6’4” senior John Paul Olukemi (La Habra/La Habra CA), 6’0” junior Jeff Jefferson (Brethren Christian/Huntington Beach CA), 6’2” junior Chris Bearden (Sonora/La Habra CA), 6’1” soph Andre Marquez (Lakewood/Lakewood CA), 6’8” soph Johnny Ryan (El Segundo/El Segundo CA), 6’4” senior Keith Davis (Jordan/Long Beach CA), 6’1” senior Benjamin Ates (Muir/Pasadena CA), 6’7” soph Steve Gallion (Corona del Mar/Corona del Mar CA), 6’5” junior Eric Zickefoose (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA), 6’1” junior Robert Allen (Crossroads/Santa Monica CA), 6’6” senior Adam Brakeville (Corona del Mar/Corona del Mar CA), 6’3” junior Shaun Norum (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA), 5’11” junior Kenny Robinson (King-Drew/Los Angeles CA), 6’2” senior Paul Frazell (Servite/Anaheim CA), 6’4” senior Ryan Arbues (Laguna Hills/Laguna Hills CA), 5’10” frosh Billy Keller (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA), 6’0” junior Donley Minor (Verbum Dei/Los Angeles CA), 6’7” soph Darius Williams (Jordan/Long Beach CA) and 6’6” frosh Justin Kaminski (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos CA).
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