SoCalHoops Tournament News

4th Annual adidas-Mats Madness:
Double Pump's "Pump N Run" --(May 27, 2000)

This team is the one which normally plays under the name "Double Pump All-Stars" but there were a couple of new faces and the roster is a bit slimmed down and much more manageable than the crowded benches from the spring tournaments, and the result of the first game, although sloppily played in the first half, showed how much better a roster of 9 can do than having 12 or 13 players in travel and exposure events.   The Pump team played the Hoop Ridaz #2 team, and it was not much of a contest, and the final score, 102-51 reflected just how much of a mismatch it was.  But before we get to the Pump roster, the Hoop Ridaz deserve at least two kudos. . . what we mean is that they had two guys who scored most of their points and these guys were pretty talented:  Anthony Brown (6'-4" Fr. SG/F) and Vincent Buehler (6'-1" So. SG) played great for the Hoop Ridaz, scoring all of their teams points in the first half of the game and we especially like Buehler's ability to weave through traffic and get to the basket.

Here's the Pump N Run aka Double Pump AllStars roster:

Bakari Altheimer    5'-11" Jr. PG     Saint Elizabeth, Oakland, CA
David Gale    6'-0" So. PG    Buckley HS, Sherman Oaks
Torin Beeler    6'-5" Jr. SG/SF    Ocean View HS, Huntington Beach
Quinn Hawking    6'-4" Jr. SG    El Dorado HS, Orange County
Marques Crane    6'-5" Jr. SG/SF    Ocean View HS, Huntington Beach
Andrew Moore    6'-1" Jr. SG    Crespi HS, Encino
Justin Burns    6'-8" Jr. SG/SF    Georgetown Prep, Wash. DC
Dustin Villapigue    6'-9" Jr. F/C    Simi Valley HS, Simi Valley
Jason Carter    6'-9" Jr. PF    Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas NV

As we noted, this first game was probably not a very good one to gauge whether this team will have the "stuff" to advance far once pool play is over tomorrow afternoon and the single elimination tournament starts, but they're a very talented group.  David Gale and Bakari Altheimer shared the point duties, and both played well.  Bakari is quickly proving that he's one of the top point guards in the junior class on the West Coast, passing, driving and distributing and David also had his drive and shot working and the two played relentless defense;  Andrew Moore did what he does best, spot up and shoot the ball, hitting 5 for 5 from three point range.   Quinn Hawking also shot well off the dribble and he's got very reliable fadeaway jumper from the corners.  He scored 15points all from jumpers in the corner. . . maybe a layup or two, but had his shot working.   Justin Burns is a lithe, slim wing forward type who has one of the purest shots we've seen at the high school level:   It doesn't always go in but it's a quick, high release, and he's also a very adept ball-handler and dribbler, and he's got the size to project out as a tall point or a two guard and the quickness and skills to also play the forward spot.

Torin Beeler is a player in search of a position:    A great athlete with incredible hops, he's gotten very strong and is an amazing leaper (he finished well also in the CIF Track finals in the high jump), but he needs to develop more consistency in his shot to play the two; he's more of a slashing scorer and is very effective inside scoring, and plays amazingly quick pressure defense, but college coaches will find out for themselves at ABCD this summer where they'll see him.  Marques Crane had the dunk of the afternoon, a tomahawk slam that brought the crowd to its feet, and he had some great spin moves inside.   Marques is a very accomplished player, great footwork, excellent defender, smart and understands the game, and it's clear that a year away from Artesia with a season at Ocean View under his belt has done amazing things for his confidence.   Jason Carter, is, well, Jason Carter, and he really didn't feel the urge to work too hard in this game, and so he didn't, but he was blocking shots with ease and cleaning the glass all day.  Dustin Villapigue was very effective with some great blocks and nice spin moves to the basket, using his height to great advantage over a much smaller team.

Again, we don't know that this game was very indicative of anything, but it was a game. . . We'll have more reports on this team and some photos later. . .

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