July 25, 2011
The first two days in Las Vegas were blazingly hot but the clouds drifted over the desert city on Day 3. With that climate change, Basketball Darwinism caused the early tournament exits for several Northern California teams.
The Bay Area Warriors 16U started the morning with their final pool game against Hoopaholics from Eastern Washington who had too much height for the Warriors. According to Bay Area Warriors Coach Randy Bessolo, his team must be more consistent on 3-point shots when dealing with bigger opponents. Bessolo's team lost in first round bracket play later in the evening by one point to conclude the Vegas trip.
The Oakland Rebels Black 16U faced New York-based Upstate Basketball Club that has had Elton Brand, Jamal Maglorie, Marcus Camby, and Lamar Odom as past members. True to form, the current edition also featured a long 6-foot-7 post who controlled the paint with his shot blocking. But the Rebels were furious on the boards and took a 33-29 lead with over three minutes left. Unfortunately, they were held scoreless and could not convert on their last possession in a defensive slugfest defeat of 34-33.
Another first round casualty was Lakeshow Black 17 which took on DC Assault. The game was a back and forth struggle before Nate Britt (Gonzaga College High in Maryland 2013) scored a layup plus a foul to end the game at 58-55. Lakeshow's Treaven Duffy is now off to Cushing Prep.
Play Hard Play Smart Black were undefeated in pool play but lost in the first round to a team from Hawaii as anemic free throw shooting was their downfall. E-Time Hoops 16U had a chance to go to their bracket finals but fell short in their semifinal game to a Southern California team.
Ahead by 10 points with over three minutes remaining, the Oakland Soldiers Blue 17U had Florida Assault on the ropes. Only able to suit up five players to start the game and then down to three players after one fouled out and another was injured, the Florida team somehow managed to claw its way back and win the game.
KWA Pride looked dominant in the first round of single-elimination tournament play against the Arkansas Hawks who could not handle the Pride's post size. KWA lost its evening game to the Oregon Stars on a last second three-point bank shot. Despite the loss, St. Francis teammates Drew Dickey and Abu Tratter looked solid in both games as they each easily had 10 plus points and 5 plus rebounds per game.
For the Pride, they make their final trip of the summer to Anaheim for the Double Pump Best of the Summer tournament. That event will be the end of the KWA Pride program as its coach, Kris Weems, will be leaving for a player development role with the Golden State Warriors.
Drew Dickey 6-foot-9 PF St. Francis (KWA Pride) 2012: Dickey was active on both ends of the court as he runs the floor well. He has good hands for a post player but needs to finish with more power consistently. Coach Weems said that Lafayette , UC San Diego, San Francisco, San Diego, UC Irvine, and some Ivy schools are interested.
Abu Tratter 6-foot-5 W St. Francis (KWA Pride) 2012: Coach Weems calls Tratter a difference maker, as he is an athletic wing who can rebound and block shots. He has a decent mid-range game. Tratter is very comparable in level of skill to Dickey. Denver, UC Davis, and San Diego have shown interest.
Leo Smith 5-foot-10 PG Oakland Tech (Oakland Rebels 16) 2013: Smith has that Jameer Nelson bulldog style of play for a point guard. Smith plays with a fearlessness in terms of getting physical and initiating contact against the opponent.
Kenny Love 6-foot-2 G Cardinal Newman (Bay Area Warriors 16) 2013: Love projects to be a good sized guard. He can play either position and is big enough to post against the smaller players. Hit a few perimeter shots and looks comfortable running a team.
Chris Mah 5-foot-11 PG University (Bay Area Warriors 16) 2013: Solid floor general for his club team that will translate for his high school team. Played solid man to man defense and was able to hit from the perimeter. Coach Bessolo confirmed that he is looking to Mah as a key contributor for University High.
Recruiting updates and other notes
Lakeshow Coach Joe Fuca confirmed that UC Santa Barbara is very interested in point guard Kendall Jackson.
Day 3 Observation: This is what makes this week in Las Vegas interesting for a variety of reasons. Win and you continue to play which also means the quality of the games get better and the number of college coaches viewing the game increases as well. In addition, winning also makes the parent's budgeted stay until Tuesday more worthwhile. Losing means that the kids are idle on Monday and most of them are not old enough to gamble or get inebriated here in Las Vegas. Depending on the college coaches' recruiting region, some of them are taking off for the Nationals in Florida while others will stay in Las Vegas and then make the trip to Anaheim. Regardless, as the brackets whittle down to just two teams, the coaches funnel into the larger gyms with fewer games being played simultaneously. Hence, the spotlight to make an impression becomes more focused on those players remaining.
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