double pump part two, day one

adidas-Double Pump Easter Tournament:
First Day Impressions, Part II--(Apr. 6, 2001)

What:	adidas-Double Pump
	"Pump N Run Easter Tournament"
	NCAA Certified Event
When:	Friday April 6 4:00 p.m.- 8:40 p.m
	Saturday, April 7 9:00a.m.-9:50 p.m
	Sunday, April 8 9:00 a.m. -3:15 p.m.
Where:	CSU Dominguez Hills
	1000 E. Victoria
	Carson, CA
	Lynwood HS
	4050 E. Imperial Hwy
	Lynwood, CA
Who:	80+ Travel & All-Star Teams

Pump N Run is one really tall, really tough and talented team. This latest incarnation had listed on the roster:

David Gale    6'-1" Jr. PG     Buckley
Gerry McNamara    6'-1" Jr. PG    Scranton, PA
Brandon Worthy    6'-2" Jr. G    Mt.Pleasant
CJ Watson    6'-2" Jr. G    Bishop Gorman
Brandon Rohe    6'-3" Jr. SG    Santa Margarita
Nik Caner-Medley    6'-6" Jr. F    Deering, Maine
Lance Soderberg    6'-8" Jr. F    Corona Centennial
Matt McKinney    6'-8" Jr. F    Santa Ynez
Brad Buckman    6'-8" Jr. F    Austin-Westlake, Texas
David Padgett    6'-11" So. C    Reno, Nevada

McNamara didn't show and most likely with his announced commitment to Syracuse won't be with this team; Brandon Worthy didn't play either and we didn't get a chance to see if he was with Next Level either; in the Pump Shootout two weeks ago, he played with Pump N Run, but sprained or fractured his ankle, and whether he would play this week was up in the air as of a few days ago. But with a three guard backcourt of Gale, Rohe and Watson, Pump N Run had no trouble with their first round opponent, a team called "Rock N Run". . . and no, it wasn't Rockfish, nor was it Pump N Run, but they did have some nice young guards who can really stroke the ball from Brea Olinda. . . but more about them in a moment. Rohe did what Rohe usually does best, stroke the three pointer and the long range jumper with tremendous accuracy; Watson runs the floor, gets out on the break and has tremendously quick defensive instincts and picked off about three steals in succession. Gale had a couple of steals, some nice threes and some solid drives and overall, this group really meshed well feeding the ball to the big men inside and on the break for some spectacular jamming. . . and there were plenty of inside plays in this game. Both Rohe and Gale are getting solid interest from about half the Pac-10 each, with Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State, Arizona State, Wyoming, New Mexico, and a lot of East Coast schools, including several Ivies, Watson's recruiting at the moment is a mystery, but we'll find out more about who is recruiting him this weekend.

David Padgett is an underclassman, and so it's a bit early to start talking about schools he's interested in, but he is going to be a beast. Tonight he never backed out of the paint, one time grabbing a putback with three guys literally hanging on him like ornaments; his footwork has improved, his positioning and drop step were better than we saw a few weeks ago at the spring shootout, and he seems to be playing steadier and with tremendous confidence and poise. Some have remarked that he had a tough year this past season with father and high school coach Pete being separated from the family, but with Pete's announcment that he will return to Reno, leaving his assistant coaching job at UC Santa Barbara to resume his 19-year head coaching duties at Reno, it seems to have materially affected the way David is playing. . .while we can't say for certain what the reason is, we can say he played very well tonight and he looks like the David Padgett we saw last summer, except better. Nik Caner-Medley was truly awesome tonight also, and he's getting some major attention from a lot of high-majors: North Carolina, Kentucky, USC, virtually all of the Big East and ACC love him, and what's not to love? Agile, long-armed, strong with a quick and assured first step, he was taking players to the basket off the dribble, putting up impossible reverse layups and connecting on flying slams off of lobs from Gale and Rohe. . . like we said, what's not to love? Matt McKinney was also unstoppable and the interesting thing about him is that virtually no one outside of the Santa Barbara-Santa Ynez area followed him in basketball. . . he does happen to be, though, one of the top 5 players in the country in volleyball, and is being recruited by just about everyone in that sport, including UCLA, USC, and the rest of the Pac-10, but his true love, or so he says, is basketball, and he does some very nice things with his 6'-8" frame that you wouldn't expect from a player who's more well known for kill shots than jumpers. He's got a great stroke, can hit the three with regularity, runs well, fills the lanes and also sees the floor and finds his teammates. In short, if he wants to play hoops, we're certain that's what he'll do. Brad Buckman has also improved a lot this past season, and he's grown a lot stronger under the boards than he was last fall, and with that strength has he's also improved his confidence in his shotblocking, and is getting lots of attention from Texas, Arizona, and and some other programs. Lance Soderberg has the same height as these other guys, but he's more of a slasher from the wing and a finesse shooter than a pure power jammer, and he did a lot of that tonight, floating some nice soft touch shots off the glass and putting back some others with a nice finish. We haven't spoken to him about his recruitment, but we will.

With a frontline of four 6'-8" guys and one nearly 7-footer, this was a formidable group, and the younger Brea Olinda guys really were outscored, but they had a few highlights themselves. Damon Leidig 5'-10" So. PG from La Serna, one of the few non-Brea guys on the team, showed a very good handle; he didn't often cover much ground, but he's got a mean crossover which, with some work, will be really effective. The Hardeman btothers, Trent and Travis from Troy also played well, but at 6'-3" and 6'-4" were just outsized by the bigger Pump players. Trent put up a couple of nice long arcing three pointers and Travis had some good rebounds. John Pohlen (6'-2" So. PG) from Brea was probably the most consistent player for R&R along with Evan Moore (6'-6" So. F). Pohlen took one incredibly hard hit from Caner-Medley on a transition basket. Nik was in the middle of the court, Gale on the left, and McKinney to his right, and all three were running full-throttle on the fast break. Pohlen committed to Caner-Medley who hit him like a tackling dummy in the key, made the basket and Pohlen was called for the foul on what was either a charge or one heck of a way to pull the foul call....either way, a gutsy defensive move, even if dangerous.

The game we saw before this one was the Double Pump All-Stars v. ICH (Inner City Hoops), which was an amalgamation of players from Montclair Prep and Washington Prep against the DP's players from Portland and the San Fernando Valley. The DP All Stars featured some excellent kids from Oregon brought down by Howard Avery and we were especially impressed by Damien Cooper (6'-3" Jr. G) from Benson Tech and Isaiah Allen, a soph from Portland. Franklin Robinson (6'-4" Jr. G) from Chatsworth showed everyone what we were missing this season. . . he had to play JV this year after transferring from Littlerock, but without a change of residence, so LA City Section declared him inelgible for varsity. Franklin is a solid wing guard, a slasher who can also put up the three and medium range jumper. The roster also listed Keith Ellison (6'-1" Jr. PG) from Redondo Union, but he was injured this weekend, and didn't play. Lenny Collins (6'-4" Jr. F) from Santa Margarita and Erik Soderberg (6'-9" Sr. F) from Corona Centennial controlled the paint and posted well, but this ICH team took them down to the wire for about 3/4 of the game before Double Pump managed to pull out to a final margin of 11 points for the win. ICH featured Sebastian Anderle (6'-11" Jr. C) from Montclair, and the three foreign guys who were not eligible this past season: Marco Bojonic (6'-8" Jr. F) who didn't play at all tonight, Sobboan Cvijovic (6'-3" Jr. G), and Blaise Louh (6'-9" Jr. F) from Montclair Prep. Montclair also looks to have picked up another transfer, Harvey Perry (6'-2" Fr. G) and he's a good looking athlete, with a nice handle and good quickness. The roster listed him as attending "Foothill" but we hear he has already transferred. Wayne Chamberlain (6'-6" Jr. F) from LA Washington Prep HS was there, but we didn't see Corey Lowe (6'-8" So. F) who was listed but didn't play; Cedric Smith (5'-8" Fr. PG) played well, with decent quickness, and he looks like he'll develop into someone to watch.

There were so many more players we could describe, and other tidbits and news about recruiting, player's favorite schools, who's hearing from which programs, etc., but right now it's way too late, and we need sleep. . . so we'll pick this up sometime tomorrow. . .

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