SoCal Lead Guard Class of 2015 Poised to Rival SoCal’s Terrific 2008 Playmaker Group; CIF-SS Names Wigod as New Chief
(September 21, 2011)
In August of 2004, four talented incoming freshmen attended the high school session of my Fullcourt Press Lead Guard Camp held at El Camino College in Torrance, CA. There was something special about this young group of floor-leaders which included the likes of Brandon Jennings, Larry Drew Jr.,Oscar Bellfield and Jason Pruitt. Wise and talented beyond their years, they had a skill set and basketball IQ that indicated that each had the potential to be high major guards. While Pruitt (the younger brother of former USC and Boston Celtic guard Gabe Pruitt) had academic issues that limited his D-I college opportunities, Jennings (the #10 pick of the 2009 NBA Draft – Milwaukee Bucks), Drew (North Carolina/UCLA) and Bellfield a solid 4 year starter at UNLV) would join fellow 2008 grads like DeMar DeRozan (USC/Toronto Raptors), Jrue Holiday (UCLA/Philadelphia 76’ers), Malcolm Lee (UCLA/Minnesota Timberwolves), Klay Thompson (Washington State/Golden State Warriors), Jerime Anderson (UCLA), Casper Ware (Long Beach State – 2010-11 Big West Player of the Year), Malik Story (Indiana/Nevada) and Bryce Cartwright (Iowa) to form arguably the best guard contingent out of Southern California in several years. Not only would Jennings, DeRozan, Holiday, Lee and Drew be selected to the 2008 McDonalds All-American Game, Jennings (#1), Holiday (#4) and DeRozan (#6) would also sit at the top of the national rankings of Scout.com as well as several other major recruiting sources like Rivals.com, ESPN.com, Hoop Scoop, Hoopmasters and Prepstars. Fast-forward to the Fall of 2011 and again a very
talented bunch of Southern California perimeter players have already flashed similar potential to that great 2008 group. Sitting currently at the top of this 2015 Class of lead guards are Pasadena natives 6’4” Tyler Dorsey (Ribet Academy/Los Angeles CA) and 5’10” Marcus LoVett (Providence/Burbank CA). Dorsey has as close to the “complete package” that you would want from an elite high major lead guard: size, skill level, basketball IQ and athleticism. Tyler has already demonstrated at a national level that he belongs in the early discussion as not only the top guard in the national class of 2015 but also in the debate on who the early leader for the #1 overall spot in that national class is. Last February Dorsey traveled with Cali Style to Neptune NJ to play in Mike Melton’s Clash for the Cup event. Taking on every major 2015 East Coast guard that he would face, Dorsey not only led a Cali Style squad that included LoVett and highly regarded 6’9” freshman Stephen Zimmerman (Bishop Gorman/Las Vegas NV) to the tourney title, he totally dismantled every opponent that stood in his way. Tyler was invited to last June’s Pangos All-American Camp (that included super prospects like Shabazz Muhammad, Andre Drummond and Isaiah Austin) and more than held his own against much older competition. Last July, Tyler suited up with a Belmont Shore squad that included Top 10 national prospect Grant Jerrett (committed to Arizona) and showed flashes of greatness, including a very impressive performance against Gabe York and Compton Magic at the Fullcourt Press Cream of the Crop Challenge. Matching up with York (an Arizona-bound Top 30 prospect that was the leading scorer at the recent adidas Nations event in Los Angeles), Dorsey showed a wide variety of offensive moves including deep perimeter shots, an accurate mid-range game and a dangerous ability to slash and score which created a huge first impression on virtually every high-major coach that viewed that contest. But it wasn’t only Tyler’s scoring prowess that raised eyebrows there, but also his cool, calm and collective decision making that exhibited his terrific overall game. Dorsey has the ball skills, length and athleticism to be potentially a John Wall-type ballhandler while also having the extreme confidence and multi-dimensional scoring skills to be potentially an Austin Rivers-type scorer. Tyler is already receiving interest from UCLA, USC, Arizona (have offered), Duke, Stanford (has unofficially visited), Washington, Cal (has unofficially visited), Washington State and Oregon State. LoVett also has great potential to be a Top 10 player and legitimate McDonald’s All-American candidate but has a different lead guard style than Dorsey. Marcus (whose father played at NAIA power Oklahoma City) is a slithering, crafty lefty ala Brandon Jennings who has terrific ability to beat defenders off the dribble and get to the cup and finish. Long arms and great ability to react to the ball make him a menacing defender. LoVett has great PG instincts and really competes every time out. Dorsey and LoVett have plenty of high-major company in their class with 5’10” Aaron Holiday (Campbell Hall/North Hollywood CA), 5’11” Max Hazzard (Loyola/Los Angeles CA), 5’10” Kendall Small (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA), 6’0” Sedrick Barefield (Chapparal/Temecula CA), 5’9” Latrelle Franklin (Great Oak/Temecula CA), 5’9” Ke’Jean Feagin (Poly/Long Beach CA), 6’0” Cameron High (St. Bernard/Playa del Rey CA), 6’0” Jeremy Hemsley (Damien/La Verne CA) and 6’1” Justin Waldorf (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth CA) being excellent prospects in their own right. Aaron is the youngest of the three Holiday brothers (Jrue now the starting PG for the Philly 76’ers and Justin who just finished a stellar 4 year career at Washington). While Jrue was a more savvy combo-guard with terrific overall basketball instincts at the same stage of his HS career, Aaron is a more explosive scorer in the mold of a Will Bynum-type (Detroit Pistons) guard. Hazzard has an impressive pedigree of his own (grandfather is the legendary Walt Hazzard of UCLA and NBA fame) and the smooth playmaker performs with plenty of poise and has a nice perimeter stroke as well. Small is a strong PG who plays with excellent confidence and has the ability to make big plays as his game-winning shot at the recent Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic demonstrates. Barefield (whose father Ray played at San Diego State) is a cerebral lead guard that can both score and distribute at a high level, Franklin (the younger brother of San Diego State point LaBradford Franklin) has ball skills as good as anybody in this group while Poly coaches expect Feagin to follow Wesley Stokes (Missouri/San Diego State), AJ Diggs (Cal) and Alexis Moore (USC) as the next great Jackrabbitt guard. Having coached and developed NBA All-Star guard Russell Westbrook (OKC Thunder), St. Bernard coach Reggie Morris Jr. (formerly at Lawndale Leuzinger) knows a thing or two about good guard play and he believes that High has the potential to be among the best players that he has coached. Similarly, Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver believes that Waldorff has excellent potential to evolve into a highly sought after lead guard prospect. Several other 2015 guards also have true D-I potential including 6’5” shooter-deluxe Tyler Burch (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA), 6’2” Eric Webb (Santa Monica/Santa Monica CA), 6’3” Shane Cavanaugh (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA), 6’3” Robbie Feinberg (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth CA/4.0 GPA), 6’5” Cameron Walker (Righetti/Santa Maria CA), 5’9” TJ Johnson (St. Bernard/Playa del Rey CA), 6’3” Nolan Thompson (Temecula Valley/Temecula CA), 6’2” Isaiah McCullough (Damien/La Verne CA), 5’11” Quentin Bright (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA) and 5’9” Kahlil Simplis (Campbell Hall/North Hollywood CA)…………….….While it is apparent that the 2015 guard class is loaded, SoCal’s 2016 group also has several potentially special playmakers of note including 5’10” Derryck Thornton (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth CA), 5’9” Jonah Matthews (Adams MS/Santa Monica CA), 5’10” Devearl Ramsey (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth CA), 6’0” Bailey Stout (Valley Oak/Delano CA) and 6’2” Jordan Griffin (River Heights/Eastvale CA)……..……….
The Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase was held earlier this month at Dominguez HS (Compton CA) and most of the freshman guards listed above participated. Also in attendance were several very promising front court players from that 2015 class including 6’8” Broderick “Budha” Jones (St. Bernard/Playa del Rey CA), 6’6” Mason Shepard (Windward/Los Angeles CA) and 6’7” Malik Anderson (Alemany/Mission Hills CA). Jones is a long and athletic forward oozing with vast potential. Shepard is strong and explosive around the cup and Malik (son of former NBA player Nick Anderson) has the length and skill level to evolve into a HM forward that will be recruited coast-to-coast. In the Top Soph (2014) Game, top players making noise were 6’5” Stanley Johnson (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA), 6’0” Thomas McLaughlin (Etiwanda/Etiwanda CA), 6’4” Isaiah Bailey (Compton/Compton CA), 6’5” Razhaun “Bear” Henderson (Alemany/Mission Hills CA), 5’9” Brian Beard (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’4” Namon Wright (Highland/Palmdale CA), 6’6” Derrick Newton (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA), 6’6” Daniel Hamilton (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA), 6’0” Kameron Murrell (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA), 6’5” Adam Turner (Roosevelt/Corona CA), 5’9” Isaac Deese (Millikan/Long Beach CA), 5’9” Tide Osifeso (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA) and 6’4” Artis Parris (Poly/Long Beach CA). Johnson (10 points/8 rebounds in Top 20 Game) is a rugged swingman with terrific all-around skills that has grown since last year and looks to take that next step of being a dominating factor on the high school level. McLaughlin (9 points/4 assists) is a wise floor general with blooming athleticism (also sports a 4.0 GPA) who looks to be the early main 2014 rival to current #1 SoCal PG prospect Parker Carthwright (Loyola/Los Angeles CA). Bailey (13 points/5 boards) is a smooth slashing scorer who has already drawn interest from major programs like Arizona, Henderson (13 points/9 boards in Top 20 Game) is a very strong and productive lefty WF that has really improved his perimeter shooting and should rise quickly up the national charts and Newton (who missed most of his freshman year with a shoulder injury) attacks the basket well off the dribble and is a crafty scorer in the paint. Beard is a strong point with excellent passing ability and has a growing reputation for being a harassing defender, Wright is a skilled combo-guard that scored 12 points in the Top 20 Game, Hamilton is a long, lanky forward with tremendous scoring instincts like his older brothers Jordan and Isaac, Murrell is a Mater Dei transfer that is an underrated 3-point shooter (had 3 “threes in Top 20 Game en route to a game high 17 points) and Turner is a promising WF worth tracking over the next few years (had 9 points/8 boards). Deese is a solid point guard that runs his team well and handles the ball with care, Osifeso is a quick ballhandler that can score in transition and Parris is a “max-effort” guy that defends with passion and can get to the basket off the bounce. In the Top Junior (2013) Game the following players impressed: 6’5” Isaac Hamilton (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA), 6’7” Jordan Bell (Poly/Long Beach CA), 6’4” Eric Cooper (La Verne
Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’5” Roschon Prince (Poly/Long Beach CA), 6’6” Payton Banks (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA), 6’2” Kris Yanku (Taft/Woodland Hills CA), 5’11” EJ Johnson (Dominguez/Compton CA), 6’4” Jordan Mathews (Santa Monica CA), 6’6” Chauncey Hill (Fairfax/Los Angeles CA), 6’6” Leland King (Brentwood/Los Angeles CA), 6’7” Ziad Damonhoury (La Jolla Country Day/La Jolla CA), 6’4” Tyler Roberts (Foothill/Henderson NV), 6’0” Jay Miller (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 5’10” Eris Winder (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA) and 6’0” Marc Rodgers (Serra/Gardena CA). Hamilton has a national reputation as a scorer-deluxe, Bell is an ultra-athletic rebounder and shotblocker that exploded onto the national scene with an outstanding performance at last June’s Pangos All-American Camp and the Arizona-bound Cooper continues his come-back after sustaining a leg injury that plagued him all of last year and is making great strides to reach the potential many scouts had envisioned for him when he entered high school. Prince is very underrated by national scouts and has really improved his perimeter skills (had 14 points in the Top 20 Game), Banks is a well-built small forward with ability to score both inside and out on the perimeter, Yanku is a strong and cerebral Turkish PG that really understands how to play and Johnson is a speedy point that is hard to contain off the dribble and has a very nice pull-up jump shot (filled in during the Top 20 Senior Game and knocked down the game winner). Matthews (the son of UCLA assistant Phil Mathews) runs the floor well and has legitimate range on his perimeter shot, Hill is an active athlete that makes a living in the paint, King is a
smart and burly PF that is a real scoring threat inside, Damonhoury is a wide-body power forward that doesn’t mind getting physical (had 8 rebounds), Roberts is also a good rebounder for his size (grabbed 6 boards), Miller is a very improved combo-guard that is a tenacious defender, Winder is a Palo Verde (Las Vegas NV) transfer that is a solid ballhandler and Rodgers is a steady floor leader that handles defensive pressure well. In the Top 40 Junior Game, players that impressed were 6’5” Earl Morgan (Dominguez/Compton CA) who poured in a game high 22 points, 6’6” Greg Karapoulios (Cypress/Cypress CA) who scored 16 points and 6’1” Mark “the Professor” Patterson (Mayfair/Lakewood CA) who added 15 points and 3 assists. In the Top 20 Senior contest the top players included 6’9” Grant Jerrett (La Verne Lutheran/La Verne CA), 6’7” Anthony January (Taft/Woodland/Hills CA), 6’5” Victor Robbins (Compton/Compton CA), 6’3” Kejon Mack (Serra/Gardena CA), 6’6” Dion Wright (Mayfair/Lakewood CA), 6’3” Michael Alvarez (Calvary Chapel/Downey CA), 5’11” Anthony Martinez (Gahr/Cerritos CA), 6’1” Austin Mills (Beverly Hills/Beverly Hills CA), 6’0” Steve Jones (Taft/Woodland Hills CA), 5’8” Matt Ponce (Ayala/Chino Hills CA), 6’4” Ronell Abaekobe (Dorsey/Los Angeles CA), 6’5” Austin Pope (Burbank/Burbank CA), 5’7” Chris Croom (Poly/Long Beach CA) and 6’2” Patrick Gonzalez (Providence/Burbank CA). Jerrett was limited to 5 minutes of action due to an ankle injury, January is a sleek forward that filled the stat sheet in this game (20 points/14 boards/4 assists and 2 steals), Robbins shot the ball well (16 points on 7/12 shooting), Mack is a lethal 3-point shooter that is vastly
undervalued by D-I programs, Wright is a big wing that can produce (19 points), the strong and assertive Alvarez (19 points on 8/8 shooting from the field) is one of the most improved players in California and Martinez is well-rounded lead guard that can knock down outside shots. Mills is a dangerous long-distance marksman, Jones is a strong and athletic combo-guard that can get to the basket off the dribble and Ponce (an excellent student) is a small point but boy does he make plays on both ends of the floor…………..…..The Fullcourt Press Arizona Frosh/Soph Showcase was held at Copper Canyon HS (Glendale AZ) over Labor Day weekend (directed by Etop Udo-Ema and Chad Groth) and several Phoenix area prospects stood out as legitimate D-I prospects including sophomores 6’3” Casey Benson (Corona del Sol/Tempe AZ), 6’9” Elston Jones Jr. (Millennium/Goodyear AZ), 6’10” Issac Allen (Mesa/Mesa AZ), 6’4” Kodi Justice (Dobson/Mesa AZ), 6’5” Zylan Cheetham (South Mountain/Phoenix AZ), 6’3” Roberto Reyes (Gilbert Christian/Gilbert AZ), 6’0” Rolando Rhymes (St. Mary’s/Phoenix AZ), 5’7” Deron Kyle (Deer Valley/Glendale AZ) and 6’0” Jacob Bigler (Northridge/Layton UT) and freshman 6’4” Jaylen Jenkins (Mesa/Mesa AZ). Benson is a very skilled wing guard that is extremely quick to the ball, passes with pin-point precision and plays with impressive energy. Jones (a terrific student) has nice bulk for a PF and very soft hands which makes him a legitimate low-post threat. Allen is long and athletic and a very dangerous shotblocker. Justice (a very good student) is a multi-dimensional perimeter player that can help his team in a variety of ways and Cheetham is an athletic swingman with tons of potential………….………After a very impressive July which included stellar performances at the Reebok Breakout Challenge (Philadelphia PA), Fullcourt Press All-West Camp (Long Beach CA) and Las Vegas Fab 48 (played there with Belmont Shore), 6’7” senior hybrid forward Chris Reyes has narrowed his list of schools and has determined four of his five official visits. Reyes will visit UC-Santa Barbara (September 23rd), Boston College (September 30th), Gonzaga (October 7th) and St. Mary’s (October 14th). Chris is also considering Loyola Marymount, Fresno State, UTEP, UC-Irvine and Wyoming………….………Reyes’ Belmont Shore teammate 6’7” senior David Andoh has enrolled at IMG (Bradenton FL). Andoh played his junior season at St. Mary’s (Berkeley CA)…………..6’6” senior Deng Deng (Cottonwood/Salt Lake City UT) has committed to Long Beach State – picking the 49’ers over interest from Oregon State, Hawaii, Washington State, UC-Santa Barbara, Colorado and San Francisco. The sharpshooting wing guard had an excellent summer for Alex Austin’s A-Train Magic…………….6’8” power forward Ronnie Stevens (Serra/Gardena CA) signed a letter of intent with Hawaii last fall but did not qualify and has enrolled at Indian Hills (IA) JC. He should be one of the most sought after JC big men in the nation a year from now……………..Speaking of top JC freshmen, California’s top JC freshman lead guard looks to be former Crenshaw (Los Angeles CA) star 6’2” Darnel Taylor (Saddleback JC/Mission
Viejo CA). Taylor is a very athletic and explosive player that is a consistent jump shot away from being recruited at the highest level of Division I. Taylor will get the benefit of being mentored by one the country’s top JUCO coaches Andy Ground (who coached former Oklahoma State star and current ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb while he was the head coach Tustin (CA) High School)….……..…6’8” sophomore PF Devin Burleson has transferred from Pacific Hills (Los Angeles CA) to Clark (Las Vegas NV)………….……One of this past summer’s hottest prospects 6’8” senior Zena Edosomwan (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood CA) visited USC recently. Zena is also scheduled to visit Harvard (September 22) and Cal (October 8) with potential trips also being planned to Texas, Wake Forest and Washington..................Zena’s Harvard-Westlake teammate 6’6” senior small forward Josh Hearlihy has committed to Utah…………….….............6’3” senior off-guard Marqueze Coleman (Alemany/Mission Hills CA) has committed to Nevada……………..The CIF-Southern Section named a new Commissioner recently – Robert Wigod. I have known Wigod since he was an assistant football coach at Wilson HS (Long Beach CA) while I was a student there in the mid-1980s. Wigod’s selection stands in real contrast to and is a much needed breath of fresh air compared to several of his recent successors who were normally long-time high school principals or administrators. Having both played and coached at high schools in this section, Wigod has a perspective sorely lacking in previous commissioners. Jim Staunton (1999-2011) was a very stern man who made Bob Dole look like the most
optimistic man in America and ruled with very little sympathy to players and families concerns – especially in transfer/eligibility matters. Dean Crowley (1993-99) had a more realistic outlook on high school sports but obviously catered and was apparently loyal to a select few powerhouse athletic programs, especially in basketball. Stan Thomas (1986-93) was forced to resign over financial irregularities after a CIF-SS Executive Committee audit discovered a $112,000 operating deficit – largest in history. On the other hand I know Wigod to be a much fairer man who along with associate commissioner Rainer Wolf (who is in charge of overseeing basketball) should be very competent in dealing with many of the present issues currently facing the CIF-SS. A good start would be to fire or reassign the current CIF-SS media director Thom Simmons. During my 15 year experience as a writer/scout, Simmons is the most unprofessional and arrogant media relations official I have ever encountered (and I have been credentialed at several high school and college events throughout the nation). He is an embarrassment to the CIF-SS and a disgrace to his alma mater Long Beach State (which I also graduated from). He also doesn’t understand the new digital media age we are currently living in where more than ever, fans, families and players are receiving information about high school sports not from local papers who have significantly cut back their prep sports coverage, but from internet sites, blogs, recruiting scouts, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. There is a reason that the CIF-SS had to flee the Honda Center for the smaller confines of the Anaheim Convention Center (where the CIF experienced the lowest championship attendance in many years) – Simmons has failed to effectively promote and market the region’s high school basketball product and connect with fans through these digital media outlets. Just a few examples of Thom’s unprofessional conduct include evicting media out of the Media Room designated specifically for them at the CIF-SS Basketball Finals a few years back when he discovered that some had eaten the food that was made available to them in that same room (I guess he was upset that there was nothing left for him). Simmons even threatened to “rip” the credentials off media members’ necks if they did not comply with his order. Another example was during the CIF’s annual play-off day announcements (held every February) a few years ago when he pleaded for media persons in the CIF conference room to hurry up and finish examining all the divisional team informational packets for fear that he would miss Justin Timberlake’s TV performance at the Grammys. He actually kicked the media present out of the room and allowed them to take the packets home with them so that he could get home in time to witness Timberlake dance. Maybe Thom needs to apply for George Pennacchio’s entertainment reporter’s job at KABC-Channel 7 since he seems to care more about the Grammys than he does making sure that reporters have all the information they need to write about the CIF-SS basketball playoffs. It is time for the CIF-SS to treat all media with the respect and dignity they deserve and having Thom continue to act in an official capacity as an egotistical jerk prevents that from occurring. Another issue, Wigod needs to address is the issue of the “Integrity of the Association” which was stained last March at the CIF state finals
aaaaaaazaaa aain Sacramento when three Orange County referees were allowed to officiate Mater Dei’s state title game with Concord De La Salle. While Mater Dei had the better team and the end result was not really affected, the appearance of this was a blemish on the integrity of the State and Southern sections and needs to be addressed and not repeated again. These types of things depress the faith of the public and the section’s coaches and athletes that high school sports are a fair forum for competition and re-enforces the notion by many that some CIF-SS officials cater to and/or favor particular schools. It leads to the perception that the CIF-SS only cares about selling tickets and not conducting their championships in a manner that upholds the principles of dignity, sportsmanship and fair-play. But this “integrity” issue not only extends to play-off games but to the internal workings of the CIF-SS organization where there appears to be a long-standing culture of cronyism. Having former CIF-SS Commissioner Ray Plutko (1980-86) who has also served as an administrator at Riverside King and Glendora high schools operate “behind the scenes” to protect the play-off and personal interests of his long-time friends like Glendora and Mike LeDuc is one of the worst kept secrets in CIF coaching circles. A few years ago, CIF-SS created three sub-divisions (instead of the usual two) within the same CIF-SS playoff division to allow Glendora to avoid Mater Dei and several other top teams and give Glendora an easier path to a CIF-SS Championship. LeDuc and his twin brother also operate a t-shirt business that has been selected for years to be the official t-shirt provider of CIF-SS and its championships. As a farce, CIF-SS has allowed open bidding on this t-shirt contract on a yearly basis but the CIF-SS always selects LeDuc’s “secret” bid despite, in one instance recently, a competitor apparel company submitting a “below-cost” bid that was rejected in favor of LeDuc’s company. These types of things only sow distrust and disgust in the CIF-SS by its members and should not be permitted to continue. There also appears to be no concern for enhancing the coaching education and training of the coaching staffs of its member schools. Other than the coaches association SCIBCA (which puts on annual coaching clinics) and my own free Fullcourt Press Coaches Clinic that is sponsored by Bob Becker’s Team Athletics and which has exposed local HS coaches and their staffs to such major college coaches like Ben Howland (UCLA), Kevin O’Neil (USC), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Sean Miller (Arizona), Herb Sendek (Arizona State), Lon Kruger (Oklahoma), Johnny Dawkins (Stanford) and Tim Floyd (UTEP), there is no evidence that the CIF-SS as an organization values coaches education or is willing to spend any of its resources to provide it. The coaches of the Southern Section deserve more concern than this ignorance. Other issues needing to be examined include the principle of “season of sport” being made obsolete by the proliferation of year-round high school basketball activities (like mandatory fall and spring leagues) that have de-valued the concept of the regular season and have not allowed high school players and coaches to get a break to rest as well as focus on their academic obligations; clarification of the definition of “athletically motivated” transfer – judging transfers on a “case-by-case” basis offers little guidance and gives way too much discretion to the governing authority; the rights of CIF-SS member schools to determine their own media rights with respect to regular season contests free from interference from the CIF-SS; and “outside influences” – are they really a threat or just a convenient “whipping boy” used to distract us from the “inside influences” that are the real engines of this transfer epidemic? Hopefully, Wigod will understand that the image of the CIF-SS by many in the media and public is at all-time low and that all these issues need to be addressed in order to restore the integrity of and respect for his organization before member schools in certain areas like the Inland Empire and Orange County get fed up and take steps to break away and form their own CIF sections or worse yet, parents deciding that the CIF-SS doesn’t serve the interests of their children and go the soccer way – bypassing the high school experience all together.
** Photos courtesy of Nick Koza (SportsAmp.com)
***A note about the author of this column: Dinos Trigonis has been the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the Fullcourt Press web site and scouting service as well as an event operator, basketball coach and skills instructor for nearly 20 years. Dinos played varsity basketball at Long Beach Wilson High School and is a graduate of Long Beach State (BA - Political Science) and Temple Law School (Juris Doctorate). While at Temple Law School in Philadelphia, Trigonis founded and was the editor-in-chief of the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review. As head coach of the Belmont Shore Basketball Club (based in Long Beach CA), Dinos has coached 100-plus players that have received NCAA Division I scholarships as well as 17 players that have reached the NBA.
