SoCalHoops High School News
SoCalHoops High School News
Mission Prep Christmas
Classic Is Loaded,
Set For Dec. 18-21--(Dec. 6, 2002)
What:
Mission Prep Christmas Classic Tournament
When: December 18-21, 2002
Where: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mott Gym
Who: Top players and teams from SoCal
We received the following press release from Mission Prep's head coach Tom Mott, Jr., about a week ago, but we've been so swamped that we just haven't had the chance to post it until now. But looking at it, we know that it's one of the better tournaments which will take place in the next few weeks, and if you can make it up to San Luis Obispo from December 18-21, you'll see some great high school hoops, as wel as getting a look at some of the top prospects in SoCal. Tom sent us some brief notes on each team participating, a schedule for the first day, as well as a complete bracket for the tournament [NOTE: THE BRACKET IS BEST VIEWED IN INTERNET EXPLORER 5.x AND ABOVE---IT DOES NOT DISPLAY PROPERLY IN NETSCAPE....SORRY]. Here's what we know:
MISSION PREP ANNOUNCES 2002 TOURNAMENT FIELD
The 2001 Mission Prep Christmas Classic tournament field has been completed. The tournament to be held at Cal Poly’s Mott Gym will run from December 18-21, 2002 will feature some of the top teams from throughout California and the nation.
Headlining the field are the Crenshaw Cougars who are led by legendary coach Willie West who is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Cougars. Coach West has won more state titles than any coach in California history, with the last being in 1997. He will be back with a new-look Cougars team to defend their back-to-back tournament titles. Although the Cougars lost UCONN signee 6’2” point guard Marcus Williams to Oak Hill Academy, Crenshaw will rely on a whole new cast of characters to try to accomplish what they have the past two Classics. Top players for Crenshaw figure to be 5’9” sophomore point guard Brian McTear, 7’2” senior center Jermaine Middleton and 6’5” senior Anthony Taylor.
Long Beach Millikan enters the season ranked #19 in the state (calhisports.com) and will look to bring home some Christmas Classic hardware. Last year's team advanced to the Southern Section Div. I-AA semifinals and among the returnees is 6-7 OKLAHOMA STATE signee Marcus Dove.
Inglewood will be making their second appearance in the Christmas Classic after competing in the inaugural event in 1999. The Sentinels will be led by one of the top unsigned guards in the nation in 6’2” Ray Reed. Inglewood will also be bolstered by 6-4 forward Ron Ligon and 6-7 center Andre Foy. The Sentinels are ranked #4 in Division 2 (calhisports.com) to start the season.
Artesia will be also be making their second appearance in the Christmas Classic following up a 3rd place finish in 2000. Artesia is one of the more storied programs in the Southern California area. Among the many famous alumni that have played for the Pioneers are: Ed O’Bannon, Charles O’Bannon, Avondre Jones, Tom Tolbert, Andre Hazel, and current UCLA great Jason Kapono. Artesia is coached by Scott Pera who has accumulated a 42-14 record during his 3 years at Artesia and possesses a 147-46 record for his career. 6’2” senior Kejuan Johnson will lead the Pioneers. Johnson was first team ALL-CIF last season averaging 13.9 points per game. Helping out Johnson on the inside will be 6’6” senior Kaelen Daniels who contributed 8 points and 6 rebound off the bench last season.
St. Andrew’s College Prep (Aurora, Ontario- Cananda) will be the first team from North of the border to make the trek to San Luis Obispo. The Saints finished 17-8 last season and have won five CISAA championships in the last 10 years. 6’4” senior Sebastian Manigat who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds in 2001-02 will lead the Saints. Two other key additions to St. Andrew’s are talented transfers Jesse Tipping, a 6’5” senior who averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game last season and Adam Ford, a 6’3” junior who averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds a year ago. David Josselyn who in his 20 years at St. Andrew’s has compiled a 285-165 record coaching the Saints.
JW North (Riverside, CA) features SAN DIEGO STATE SIGNEE Marcus Slaughter (6’9” – Senior) patrolling the middle. The Huskies finished 14-15 last season and are led by head coach Mike Bartee who is in his 21st year at JW North. Bartee has an overall record of 462-154 during that period. JW North will also rely on senior guard Abundio Esquivel who averaged 15 ppg in 2001-02. The Huskies are making their third appearance in the Christmas Classic.
Paso Robles (Paso Robles, CA) joins Mission Prep as the only San Luis Obispo County teams in the 2002 tournament field. Paso Robles is one of the perennial powers on the Central Coast. Scott Larson who in 26 years at the helm of the Bearcats has accumulated a 316-261 record including going 19-6 last season. Top players for Paso Robles include talented 7’0” senior Rodney Timmerman who will attend Fresno State, 5’11” senior Jarrad Childs, and 6’1” senior Curtis Nelson.
Valley (Sacramento, CA) returns to San Luis Obispo after losing to Crenshaw in the 2000 finals. Head coach Paul Casey is in his 14th season leading the Vikings. Last year the Vikings finished with a 15-11 record and look to improve upon that this season. Valley is one of the top teams in the Sacramento area and they rely on aggressive full court pressure and favor an up-tempo game. The Vikings are led by a pair of talented seniors in 6’5” Trevor Pitts who averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game in 2001-02 and Eesean Bolden, a 6’4” forward who checked in with 10 points and 7 rebounds per contest last year.
Calabasas (Calabasas, CA) will be making their first trip to San Luis Obispo for the Christmas Classic. Russell White enters his fourth season as the head coach, has compiled a 27-49 record during that time; he was formerly an assistant at Chaminade. The Coyotes finished the 2001-02 season with a 15-11 record and optimism runs high for 2002-03, as they have switched leagues to the very competitive Marmonte League. They return first team all-league member Steve Saunders (6’7” junior) who teams with his brother Jason, a 6’9” senior to make a formidable front line. Sophomore Drew Houseman, a 5’5” point guard is one to watch for the Coyotes.
Deer Valley (Antioch, CA) is one of Northern California’s most athletic teams who will be making their first appearance in the Christmas Classic.
Sylmar (Los Angles, CA) will return to the Christmas Classic for the second straight year minus all five starters. Head Coach Bort Escoto has a new cast of characters and an always difficult schedule to prepare his young squad.
Here's the schedule for the first day's action, December 18, 2002:
| Game #1 10:30 a.m. JW North vs. St. Andrew's |
| Game #2 12:00 p.m. Deer Valley vs. Palisades |
| Game #3 1:30 p.m. Valley vs. Locke |
| Game #4 3:00 p.m. Artesia vs. Calabassas |
| Game #5 4:30 p.m. Inglewood vs Narbonne |
| Game #6 6:00 p.m. St. Andrew's vs. Mission Prep (Out of Bracket Game) |
| Game #7 7:30 p.m. Paso Robles vs. Crenshaw |
| Game #8 9:00 p.m. Millikan vs. Sylmar |
And here's the complete bracket:
Mission Prep Christmas Classic December 18-21, 2002 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Friday Thursday Wednesday Millikan Inglewood #8 9:00 PM #5 4:30 PM Sylmar Narbonne Deer Valley #13 4:00 PM #16 8:30 PM Valley #2 12:00 PM #3 1:30 PM Palisades Locke JW North #23 6:00 PM #32 7:30 PM #24 7:30 PM Paso Robles #1 10:30 AM Winner of #23 & #24 #7 7:30 PM St. Andrew's Crenshaw Artesia #12 2:30 PM #15 7:00 PM Mission Prep #4 3:00 PM Mission Prep #6 6:00 PM **** Calabasas #31 6:00 PM St. Andrew's Loser of #23 & #24 Team listed on top is home team: #21 3:00 PM #22 4:30 PM Wear light colored uniforms Loser of #13 & #14 #30 4:30 PM Loser of #15 & #16 Sit on bench closest to Parking Lot Winner of #21 & #22 **** denotes out of bracket game #29 3:00 PM Loser of #21 & #22 #10 11:30 AM #11 1:00 PM Loser of #2 & #8 Loser of #3 & #5 #19 12:00 PM #20 1:30 PM Winner of #9 & #10 Winner of #11 Loser's Bracket #9 10:00 AM #28 1:30 PM Loser of #7 #14 5:30 PM Loser of #1 & #4 Winner of #19 & #20 Loser #7 & #10 **** #27 12:00 PM Loser of #19 & 20 #18 10:30 AM #17 9:00AM Loser of #9 & #10 Loser of #11 & #13 **** #26 10:30 AM Winner of #18 Loser #11 #25 9:00 AM Loser of #18 & #22 ****
And, as always, we'll see you there.
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