They're Playing Basketball

Basketball jones

2009-12-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Remember that Dave Chappelle skit where he played "Tyrone the Crack Addict"? That's how I started to feel last night. It's been six days since I've been to a game, and I only watched part of the Stanford-UConn matchup on Wednesday. I feel like scratchin' my neck.

Fortunately, there is news to keep us all focused:

The Eugene Register-Guard has its annual, well-written Pac-10 preview.

Many interesting tidbits in this piece that begins with a bit about Notre Dame.

And Michelle Snow took time out this past week to visit her old high school team. Anyone else find it interesting that the initials of Snow's high school alma mater match those of her famous collegiate coach?

Gemelos, Gilbreath hanging on to play for USC

2009-12-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Thoughtful and lengthy column by Mechelle Voepel on two players who have sustained a combined eight ACL injuries over the last few years. A testimony to perseverance, to be sure.

Basketball dads

2009-12-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Govolsextra has a new story up about how freshman Kamiko Williams feels pulled between listening to her dad and listening to her coach, Pat Summitt, for basketball advice.

This story makes me want to cuss.

To begin with, Hall of Fame Coach Summitt has been at the Tennessee helm 36 years, has eight National Championships under her belt, and has sent more players into the WNBA than any other collegiate coach. It's safe to say she knows what she's doing, as it is with Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma and any other coach who's been around since before the current crop of collegiate players were born. I can't imagine even questioning any of those coaches.

I don't know Williams' dad, but I feel confident in guessing that his resume doesn't come anywhere close to Summitt's. Further, the University of Tennessee is paying for Kamiko Williams' tuition, room and board. The Lady Vols take a private plane to away games, and their needs are met at every turn. They are essentially Williams' employer, so she better do what Summitt says. The fact that Summitt didn't point this out to her is quite laudable.

This story also calls to attention the frequent problem with player dads. And yes, I say only dads because it's they who seem to have a need to pass on their "knowledge" to their daughters, and I've yet to see a meddling basketball player mother.

Once upon a time dads believed in coaches and didn't try to interfere with the coaching process. But somewhere along the way in a society that doesn't have any heroes anymore and increasingly tends to discredit experience and authority, some fathers began to have the idea that they know just as much, if not more than the coach.

In some cases, this might indeed be true. I worked with a young (high school level) coach a few years ago who didn't know how to teach the game at all, and still doesn't. But in the majority of cases, coaches were hired for a reason. Families need to respect that.

The most common thing is for high school player dads to yell things from the stands. Some are excessively negative; some tell the coach what to do, especially if she's a female; and in the worst cases, parents will yell instructions to their daughter that contradict those of the coach.

The only thing more irritating than this was a case last year at a playoff game. The wife of one of the coaches was sitting about eight rows up, and she started making cutting remarks - quite loudly - about her husband's players. How would you like to hear that when you're 16 years old? I wanted to turn around and sock her.

High school parents, know this: just because you coached your daughter when she was six and showed her a few things in the driveway here and there doesn't make you an expert. Watching Lakers games doesn't mean you know more than the coach of your daughter's team. If you have a serious issue - and that doesn't mean you're upset that your kid isn't in the game all 32 minutes - then take it to the school athletic director. Don't put your daughter in the middle like Williams, where she feels torn between listening to you and hearing her coach. That's not fair to the kid because remember: she's just a kid.

If you're one of these dads, put yourself on time out.

UConn beats Stanford

2009-12-23T17:34:00.001-08:00

The game was on while I was at the gym, and what a let down. I'm no Stanford fan, but I'd rather see anyone win than the right coast Huskies.

ESPN finally checks in on the TOC final: Happy Holi-Dei. Great pictures.

Formerly homeless WNBA star helps girl

2009-12-22T23:15:00.001-08:00

What an incredible story. I have new and profound appreciation for Charde Houston.

Mater Dei prevails in Arizona

2009-12-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

The Monarchs beat St. Mary's in the Nike TOC championship tonight, 66-60. ESPN is being very slow to put something up, which isn't cool. I want a box score.

Cali showdown at Nike TOC tomorrow

2009-12-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

It'll be St. Mary's (Stockton, CA) vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) in the finals of the top bracket at Nike TOC tomorrow. To get there, Mater Dei defeated Long Beach Poly 56-50, and St. Mary's beat Brea Olinda, 67-66.

Another interesting matchup tomorrow in the consolation bracket will be Brea vs. Poly.

LA City Section team rankings?

2009-12-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

Someone on socalhoops.com is posting the latest "computer poll" rankings, but doesn't say what website the alleged list came from. Here it is:

LA City Section

Rank School League Division
1 View Park (Los Angeles, CA) Coliseum 5
2 Narbonne (Harbor City, CA) Marine 1
3 Taft (Woodland Hills, CA) West Valley 1
4 Carson (CA) Marine 1
5 Granada Hills (CA) West Valley 2
6 El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, CA) West Valley 2
7 LACES (Los Angeles, CA) Western 5
8 Washington (Los Angeles, CA) Marine 1
9 Huntington Park (CA) Eastern 3
10 Palisades (Pacific Palisades, CA) Western 1
11 Fairfax (Los Angeles, CA) Western 2
12 Monroe (North Hills, CA) Valley Mission 3
13 South East (South Gate, CA) Eastern 2
14 West Adams (Los Angeles, CA) Central 2
15 Wilson (Los Angeles, CA) Northern 1
16 Birmingham (Van Nuys, CA) West Valley 3
17 Garfield (Los Angeles, CA) Eastern 3
18 Crenshaw (Los Angeles, CA) Coliseum 1
19 Roosevelt (Los Angeles, CA) Eastern 2
20 Gardena (CA) Marine 1
21 Sylmar (CA) Valley Mission 3
22 Chatsworth (CA) West Valley 1
23 Huntington Park College-Ready Academy (Huntington Park, CA) Freeway 5
24 Banning (Wilmington, CA) Marine 2
25 Dorsey (Los Angeles, CA) Coliseum 1

Even though this list is unauthorized, it's fun to contemplate how the teams are shaking out. Questions:

1. Is Narbonne back to its former prowess?
2. Will Carson ever stop being the bridesmaid?
3. Will Huntington Park and Southeast put the long-forgotten Eastern League on the map again?
4. Is Fairfax really that bad this year?
5. I thought Gardena sucked. ?

UCLA, Cal win today

2009-12-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

UCLA beat St. Mary's today, 83-58. Junior guard Darxia Morris lead the charge with 20 points.

Hoopism reporter Daniel Uribe was at the game and said Friday's lackluster performance against Texas Tech appeared to be a bad game for the Bruins, as they played aggressively and with cohesion today. He said he has been impressed lately with the way sophomore Rebekah Gardner has been stepping up.

Cal prevailed this evening over Long Beach State, 80-71, lead by freshman guard Layshia Clarendon's 21 points (reppin San Bernardino!).

Uribe was also at that game, and said that despite the win, Cal isn't looking sharp. They remind me of last year's Tennessee squad with its bevy of freshman, and Uribe can't disagree. On the other hand, he said the 49ers have improved since the Dec. 3 game he saw. Coach Jody Wynn also seems to be a "never say die" leader, coaching and shouting encouragement from the sidelines until the final buzzer.

Celebrity sightings: Bruin alumni Lisa Willis was at the UCLA game, and current Bruins Erica Tukiainen and Jasmine Dixon were at the Cal-LBS game.

UCLA, USC

2009-12-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Both teams are in transition right now with new coaches.

USC won the Women of Troy Classic yesterday.

UCLA plays St. Mary's in a noon game today. Coach Nikki Caldwell just twittered:

"We take on a very talented St. Mary's team today @ noon. I challenged the team to STAND for something. Make your mind up and quit straddling the line. That's the beginning to developing our identity. Its about representing something bigger than yourself!!!!"

I hope that in two years, both teams are blowing up the Pac-10. I'm tired of Stanford.

Does punishment do the trick?

2009-12-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

Rutgers is going to have a practice in about one and a half hours.

Wondering: do readers think these punishment practices do any good? Just curious.

Michelle Snow is blogging

2009-12-20T23:16:00.001-08:00

Check it out.

Cal at Long Beach State tomorrow night

2009-12-20T23:13:00.001-08:00

It should be a good game. And if the Bears win, it'll be Coach Joanne Boyle's 100th career victory.

Nike TOC continues tomorrow

2009-12-20T22:44:00.000-08:00

Ah, what I would have loved to see Long Beach Poly beat Christ the King yesterday. And how fun it would be to see Brea Olinda take on St. Mary's of Stockton tomorrow.

Schedule and results.

Mindi Rice recaps day two.

I'm very grateful to live in California, by the way. There is so much talent to watch.

Umpqua Community College Crossover Tournament

2009-12-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Roseburg, OR - The Umpqua Community College women fell today in the title game of their own tournament, 77-83 to Walla Walla, of Washington state.

The host Riverhawks got off to a strong start, but the Warriors made a small run to take a five-point lead several minutes into the first half. They were able to capitalize on Umpqua's bad shooting day and missed free throws to keep the small lead.

Umpqua began the second half with a seven-point run to go ahead, but Walla Walla charged back with a run of their own. They kept the lead at 2-5 through most of the rest of the half, as whenever the Riverhawks surged, the Warriors clamped down. The largest lead was 77-69 with about two minutes to play.

Sophomore forward Nnamaka Anyanwu lead Umpqua and all scorers with 32 points. Sophomore guard Mykiea Russell added 11 points.

Sophomore guard Kati Isham put up 30 points for Walla Walla, while sophomore forward Nancy Johnson added 17.

Anyanwu, who transferred this year from Cal State Fullerton, has been putting up big points for Umpqua this season so far. Riverhawks Coach Dave Stricklin said she might go back to a Division I school next year.

Umpqua, which is loaded with Californians this season, saw its local paper feature my favorite one today. Yesterday's semifinal games were fun to watch.

I arrived too late to see Shoreline Community College (Seattle) play. But a glance at the program reveals that their coach is none other than former Houston Comets Assistant Alisa Scott, aka Sheryl Swoopes' partner. I didn't know Scott was back in coaching.

I had an interesting conversation with the assistant of another team that was there, but that will wait until next week when I can add some pictures with it.

UCLA has a walk-on

2009-12-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

What? Yep, it's true. Northern California basketball sensation Jackie Shepard actualized the spiritual principals that are always discussed in books: she started by saying "I'm going to UCLA," and it happened. Cool stuff.

Mater Dei forward Alexyz Vaioletama out for the season

2009-12-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

National powerhouse Mater Dei has lost star forward Alexyz Vaioletama for the season, according to Coach Kevin Kiernan in the second paragraph of this story.

This doesn't seem to be effecting Mater Dei much, which is loaded with talent. Nor might it hurt Vaioletama a lot, as she's already ranked and her reputation as a player established. But I feel badly for her, because I know how much she misses playing. Hope she heals quickly.

It's the third weekend in December, so it must be time for......

2009-12-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

Tennessee vs. Stanford.

And Inside Women's Basketball has a nice retrospective on the dunk.

Lady Vols get their names (back on the) back

2009-12-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

Pat Summitt is returning player's names to their jerseys for the first time in years, says USA Today.

Color me wow.

Voepel talks with Michael Cooper

2009-12-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

"But it was an immediate clicking."

Mechelle Voepel's lengthy piece today says the former LA Sparks coach has made a "seamless transition" to college coaching. His last two summers for the WNBA team, Cooper was criticized by fans for his stoicism on the sidelines, and for often sitting on the bench for long periods with his face in his hands. I guess that's not an issue at USC:

Cooper can indeed seem somewhat "mellow" when it comes to his bench demeanor. Not all the time, of course, but his general mode when coaching in the professional ranks was to do most of his talking in practices. He wanted his teams to be prepared enough that come game time, they were executing and not still trying to figure out what he wanted.

But with the move to college, he knew he'd need to make some sideline-demeanor adjustments.

"It's still pretty much the same, although here I'm a little more animated because I want to show them encouragement," Cooper said during the team's recent trip to Durham, N.C. "In the WNBA and other professional levels, I would sit back a little more because the players know the information. You don't want to muddy up the water by being up a lot yelling at them.

It'll still be a few more weeks before I can go see the Trojans, but I'm looking forward to it.

Basketball knows no holidays

2009-12-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Nike TOC starts today.

After the Christian holiday, there are two major tournaments for LA-area residents. There's the Larry Doyle Orange County Championships, at Edison and Marina High Schools in Huntington Beach.

There is the Harvard-Westlake/Beverly Hills Tournament, played at both high schools:

TOP BRACKET
12/26
Harvard Westlake vs Oxnard at HW 7:30 pm
Monroe vs Crescenta Valley at HW 6 pm
Norco vs Notre Dame Academy at BH 4:30 pm
Oak Park vs SV Poly at HW 10:30 am
Chatsworth vs Saugus at HW 4:30 pm
Marymount vs Hawthorne at BH 9 am
Marlborough vs Valencia at HW 12 pm
Bellflower vs Inglewood at BH 3 pm

BOTTOM BRACKET

Beverly Hills vs Brentwood at BH 7:30 pm
Newbury Park vs West Ranch at HW 1:30 pm
St Paul vs Morningside at BH 12 pm
El Camino vs St Monica at BH 6 pm
Alemany vs Burroughs at HW 9 am
Culver City vs Sylmar at BH 10:30 am
LACES vs Channel Islands at BH 1:30 pm
Venice vs Vista Del Lago at HW 3 pm

Brittney Griner pulls off triple double

2009-12-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.

Holy crap.

"More Than a Game"

2009-12-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

I love this story about Samarie Walker.

This is the best part:

Before the start of the game, Walker looks up to the stands and raises an eyebrow. Her intended target, her father, returns the gesture. Just like that, it's on.

She's baaaaaack!

2009-12-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 8, 2009, Long Beach's own Jasmine Dixon left the Rutgers basketball program. On Dec. 15, 2009, she put up 19 points and pulled down 10 boards for UCLA.

Not bad for a debut.

Question for lll the LA-area high school hoop heads

2009-12-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

The LA Times brand new rankings: right on or way off?

1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) 2A
2 Poly (Long Beach, CA) 1AA
3 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, CA) 4AA
4 Santiago (Corona, CA) 1AA
5 Brea Olinda (Brea, CA) 2AA
6 Diamond Ranch (Pomona, CA) 2A
7 Troy (Fullerton, CA) 1AA
8 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) 3A
9 Inglewood (CA) 3AA
10 Ventura (CA) 2AA
11 Etiwanda (CA) 1AA
12 Bishop Amat (La Puente, CA) 3AA
13 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, CA) 4AA
14 Woodbridge (Irvine, CA) 2A
15 Villa Park (CA) 2AA
16 Summit (Fontana, CA) 1A
17 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA) 4A
18 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA) 4A
19 Bellarmine-Jefferson (Burbank, CA) 4A
20 Laguna Hills (CA) 2A
21 Colony (Ontario, CA) 1AA
22 Edison (Huntington Beach, CA) 2AA
23 Santa Monica (CA) 1A
24 Great Oak (Temecula, CA) 1AA
25 Royal (Simi Valley, CA) 2AA
26 Lynwood (CA) 1AA
27 Agoura (CA) 3AA
28 Bonita (La Verne, CA) 3A
29 San Clemente (CA) 1AA
30 Jordan (Long Beach, CA) 1AA
31 Rosary (Fullerton, CA) 4AA
32 Centennial (Corona, CA) 1A
33 Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta, CA) 1A
34 Chaparral (Temecula, CA) 1A
35 Centennial (Compton, CA) 4AA
36 Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) 3A
37 Rialto (CA) 1AA
38 Buena (Ventura, CA) 3AA
39 Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, CA) 1A
40 Canyon (Anaheim, CA) 2A
41 Serra (Gardena, CA) 5AA
42 Cajon (San Bernardino, CA) 1AA
43 St. Anthony (Long Beach, CA) 5A
44 Ayala (Chino Hills, CA) 1A
45 Chino Hills (CA) 1A
46 Arlington (Riverside, CA) 3AA
47 Beverly Hills (CA) 2A
48 South (Torrance, CA) 2A
49 El Dorado (Placentia, CA) 2AA
50 Redlands East Valley (Redlands, CA) 1A

(There's not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful to live in an area so filthy rich with teams - and so many of them good ones)