summer break over

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

So, What Did You Do On
Your Summer Vacation?--(Aug. 19, 2002)

As many have noticed we've been on a short hiatus, a self-enforced two-and-a-half week break from writing about hoops. And what better time to take a break than the summer dead period of August. But since summer is almost over, it's time to get back to business.

We're not going to do any essays on what we did this summer, because frankly this year was just too strange.....This was one of the weirdest, wackiest summers we've ever had. We've been witness to some things that just defy description, from infantile travel team coaches acting in ways we never would have imagined anyone professing to be an adult could act, to kids on teams playing their hearts out, and all manner of things in between. We've struggled and fought with the NCAA compliance people, both in and out of court, trekked across country, watching hoops in the East and out in the Nevada desert, sweltering in the heat of gyms with not enough air-conditioning and freezing in gyms with air-conditioning that was just too damn cold. We've eaten too many bad hotel meals, driven too many rental cars, and when airplane food starts to look good, well you know its time for a break. And in the process, we've seen enough basketball to last for some time, some of it very good and some of it not so good.

But all good things have to end, and so our break will also be coming to an end. Most of the kids in college or starting college will be heading out either this week or next week. Some schools and colleges won't start until September, but a few get going this week. And when school starts, there's basketball in the air....When many think of the fall season, they think of 11 guys on a side pounding the crap out of each other chasing a brown hand-spherioid object....and no, we're not talking about Slam-Ball, the latest football-basketball-hockey goulash.....We're talking fall hoops. Fall leagues. Fall tournaments. Workouts. Getting in shape. Season previews, polls and picks.

And so, it's time for us to once again get busy with the impending basketball season.

What can you expect to see now that we're back?

1. A return of the Daily Articles....Yes, so we took a few weeks off, but we'll get back to writing about the usual rumors, hard news, signings, commitments, transfers, recruiting stuff, coaching changes, you name it....

2. An update to our lists of the top players in SoCal (finally), starting with the Classes of 2003 and 2004;

3. A compendium of SoCal players at various colleges and universities around the country;

4. College season previews for the West Coast college leagues, i.e., Pac-10, WCC, WAC, Big West, Mountain West. Division II and III as well.

5. High School team roster updates (not the full-blown previews, because they are just too time-consuming, but roster listings) as well as the complete league listings for the newly reconfigured leagues in the Southern Section of the CIF;

6. A calendar of events, including recruiting events here in SoCal (remember, even though the NCAA won't sanction any D-I hoops events during the fall, D-II, III and NAIA coaches can still attend fall tournaments and showcase events)....

7. A new list of private workout coaches and shooting coaches who can help you improve your game, improve your speed and quickness, improve your strength, and thereby improve your game and your chances to play ball in high school, college, and beyond.

As well as the usual stuff that we've been accustomed to providing for the past few years, links, stories, and other things of interest to everyone interested in basketball in SoCal.

So, welcome back, and now it's time for us to get back to work.....