spring stuff

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Some Spring Stuff Now That Playoffs
Are Winding Up--(Feb. 25, 2002)

More than three-quarters of the teams that participated in the playoffs this year have now been eliminated and we are down to the final week of CIF competition before next week's State Southern Regional Tournament starts, so there are a lot of players sitting around, wondering where and when they'll be playing next..... Here's a look at what's happening and when it is scheduled to happen, and where players will be playing this spring, not just in California, but in other states as well. This is not an exhaustive list, but just the highlights of the bigger events we know about:

LA City College-Rockfish Spring League
Starts: March 2, 2002

The league will begin play this weekend, March 2 and 3, 2002. Although schedules and times are still being worked out, the first games will take place this Saturday, although the day's schedule is up in the air until the JUCO State Tournament seedings are arranged (no one knows whether LACC will have a home game that night or will be on the road). There is also a very good possibility that Division I coaches will be in attendance at the LACC-RSL. We don't have time right now to share all of the information about the rationale for this, and all we can say is that it looks promising. At the very least though even if D-I coaches don't attend, the league will be videotaped and there will be plenty of opportunity for D-II, III, NAIA, and JUCO coaches to see up and coming prospects in the regularly scheduled games which will take place on the campus of Los Angeles City College.

Double Pump HS "Pump Discovery Shootout" @ Lynwood HS, Lynwood, CA
Starts: March 16-17, 2002:

Right now, the Double Pump "Discovery Shootout" is open to all underclassmen and to seniors alike. These shootouts are for both traveling teams and for individuals, and generally players who sign up individually will be placed on teams composed of similar individual entrants. Lynwood has three courts, side-by-side, so there will be plenty of action. Right now, the event is not one where D-I coaches will be able to be present under the current bylaws unless the CIF takes the of either approving or sanctioning the event. But D-I, II, III and NAIA coaches and plenty of scouts and video folks will be in attendance, and it's a chance to play against some good competition. Especially for unsigned seniors, it's another opportunity to get some good tape out to the college coaches before the spring when decisions on colleges will have to be made. For signup and registration information, contact Jan Bryant at Double Pump's NorCal office at 530-256-2862, or fax a registration form 530-256-2863 (forms can be found at the Double Pump website, although you'll have to check with Jan to get the current registration prices for teams and individuals, since only last spring's info is posted there).

5th Annual Fullcourt Press Senior Showcase
Starts: Monday, March 18, 2002

The 5th annual Fullcourt Press Senior Showcase will be held on Monday March 18, 2002 at the Warrior Center (Cypress CA). This senior-only event will be limited to 80 high school senior players and is designed to provide all players an opportunity to demonstrate their skills to all the college coaches (Division II, III, NAIA & JUCO), scouts and media expected to attend. Past scouts and media that have attended Fullcourt Press events in the past have
included Clark Francis (Hoop Scoop), Frank Burlison (FOXSports.com), Jerry Gale (SoCal Hoops), Tracy Pierson and Greg Hicks (Prep West Hoops), Louis Johnson and Ted Kian (Long Beach Press Telegram), Don Mead (Mead & Associates), Dave Nahabedian (Networx), Gerry Freitas (California Cage Report), Dave Benezra and Mark Mayemura (Recruiting USA), Dave Keefer and Jack Nelson (Cal Preps) and Joel Francisco (SoCal's Finest Scouting Service). Each senior player will play in one of the event's 4 scheduled games that evening with the first game tipping off at 5:00pm and each game will be videotaped by VideoScouting.com which will make tapes of each game available for purchase to players and college coaches. There is a $35.00 registration fee to participate in this event which also includes a uniform top for players to keep. Event player slots are filling fast. Seniors interested in signing up for this event or players needing more info, please call Dinos Trigonis at (562) 223-0190 or e-mail him at dtrigonis@fullctpress.net

adidas Houston Superstars
4th Annual Texas Superstar Classic
Starts: April 12-14, 2002

Why are we writing about an event in Texas? Because right now, this 48 team event (in 17-U competition for boys only) is the only fully compliant, actual, real-live "sanctioned" event taking place anywhere in the country that we know of, and it will attract the best teams from all over the country. The Houston Superstars Foundation runs this tournament, and they will also be holding a Division I "Coaches Clinic" the day before the tournament starts, so you can bet that just about every D-I coach on the face of the planet is going to be in town for this one. Apparently the Texas State HS Athletic Association (or whatever its officially called down there) is, unlike the CIF here in California, perfectly willing to be not only involved, but is also officially sanctioning the tournament, which means that under the NCAA's current version of the bylaws, Division I coaches may be in attendance. And with few other events available (none at this time that we know about), you can bet they'll be there in force.

Who is coming from California? We know that David and Dana Pump are taking a team (all juniors and sophs, including the usual suspects, e.g., David Padgett, Omar Wilkes, and some other new surprises); Bob Gottlieb's BWBA with a mix of seniors and underclassmen will be going; Elvert Perry is supposed to be taking his Inland team; Mats is taking his Fresno-based EBO squad, which will undoubtedly have Nick Stigger, Dwain Williams and probably Antonio Lawrence; Ollie Goulston is also bringing his San Diego-based SCA team (which is going to use Pat Barret's old name of "So.Cal.Hoops" which is not to be confused with this site); Rick Isaacs is slated to take his H-Squad team; and Oakland Soldiers from what we've heard will also be there with Leon Powe and probably LaBron James too....In short, just about everyone from California (with the exception of Rockfish and IEBP, both of which have decided to stay local in the LACC-RSL and the IEBP Spring League), will be headed to Texas in mid-April for this tournament.

The tournament is completely booked from what we've heard, so if you're not in it already, don't bother trying.... According to the guys we've spoken with at Houston Superstars, they're actually hoping a few teams don't come because it's getting just too big and they want to trim the size of the bracket down somewhat.

Other States' Tournaments

Again, why are we talking about out of state tournaments? Because under the current NCAA bylaws, Division I coaches can only attend events in the spring if they are part of the prospect's academic environment, i.e., at the prospect's campus under the direction of the high school coach or the two year JUCO coach, or at events which are "sanctioned, sponsored, approved or conducted" by the state high school athletic association or the JUCO association. In California, at least in SoCal, once the "season of sport" is over, a player's season also ends, at least as far as the CIF-SS is concerned, and high school coaches also can't be with their own players, so there won't be any such events, at least not of the purely high school variety, taking place in SoCal that we know of (well, other than LACC-Rockfish Spring League...but that's a whole different story).

But other states' high school athletic associations are taking a different and fresh look at things, and they are figuring that since players will be playing anyway, they might as well get in and cooperate rather than hiding their heads.... And we've heard talk that a few other states located close and contiguous to California (guess which ones....it's not too hard to figure out...go ahead, guess...) will be receiving sanctioning approval from their state associations for several tournaments this spring, and as a result, many of the California teams who would normally play here in California at some of the "traditional" spring tournaments, will be headed out of state, because that's where all the D-I coaches will be.....Stay tuned....More as this develops soon.