Messages

Ok! I'm back. Made it through the work week.

SO some of the other Valley boys:

Carl Goodman from Bullard: He showed off his athleticism and he put it on the deck a bit more. Saw him grab 2 balls of the glass that very few high school kids can do. Plays hard, still don't know if he can knock down a shot outside of 5 ft, everything is at the rim.

Ethan Lennox from Clovis North: Saw him play against one of the better bigs in the camp, and he competed. Banged with him. Attacked him. It's amazing when that kid is focused and comes to play, he is a player. It looks like he is starting to figure it out going in to his senior year. Don't be surpised if he keeps commiting to playing all the time you see him make some noise in TRAC and D2 playoffs.

Quinton Duckett from Clovis North: Strong PG. Kid has another gear and is showing signs of being able to switch speeds which makes him a lot tougher to guard. Still doesn't shoot the ball consistantly enough yet. Did a nice job running his team and getting guys shots.

Other valley players I got to see:
Chris Bailey/Clovis East    Brad Thankumh (sp)/Bullard    Jermaine McFadden/Bullard     Derek Walters/CW     
Great Job all you guys! Good luck next week in Vegas!

you have kevin bailey, tyrone wallace, and rob upshaw playing on the main teams for the Pumps at Adidas 64...

mike hill, carl goodman, and jajuan hammond are playing with a Pump NorCal team...I think out of Sac....also at Adidas 64

jermaine mcfadden is playing with a team as well... possibly the same team

Anyone else know of any other players or teams?

BTW, Love the job that Myron Epps is doing with that CV Aztecs team. They play hard and get after it!

Valley was well represented down at the Pump Camp. Was able to see 3 of the 4 days, and from my count there were approximately 20 valley kids in camp (Bullard had 8 kids in the camp!). Was great to see the central valley represented so well. A few highlights/observations:

Valley had 9 kids playing in the different All Star Games on Tuesday:

Frosh-Soph Game: 1 Soph from Bullard, don't have the roster in front of me but had a nice tournament. I was told he was a shooter, but he lived in the paint all weekend. Looked really good! Little short, but tough and has a good body for his age group.
Junior Game: Alex Fertig from Buchanan. Started tourney off slow, but finished with 2 solid games and a real good show in All Star Game. Lead scorers in Junior Game with 9 (Only 20 minute showcase). Got to the rack when he wanted. Still has to prove he is athletic enough to defend and get his shot off at the next level. Very very good scorer.
Honorable Mention Game: Jarrod White from Central. Jarrod finally had his moment during camp when he dunked on a 6'5 kid on the break. Showed he could go by guys and knock down midrange. Has to keep the TO's in check. Heard from counselors the only concern they see is they aren't sure at what position he plays at the next level, pg or sg?
Senior Game: Korey Anderson from Clovis. One of the valley guys that may have helped his stock the most.  Came in as an unknown. Stuck to what he does well, run the floor, defend, play hard, and finish. Knocked down a couple 15 fts. Even a 3!
Best of the Best Game: Overflow of Valley Kids!
Robert Upshaw of Edison: Didn't play in the game he left early for tournament in Minnesota with Pump team. Rob is showing some huge strides. He needs to play up. Playing in the 16u division with the Pump2012 does not give him many challenges. He can just coast and bad habits will develop. Saw him play 2 games where there was tough competition and he showed vast improvements. Ran the floor, squared up from 15ft, shot looks much improved. Very good going over his right shoulder.  He proved why he has top schools interested in him! Quite a few counselors believed he and Verhoeven were the 2 best bigs in camp (and on the same camp team!) Everyone needs to realize that he is going to keep improving even in to his college years. It's a marathon with him, not a sprint!
Grant Verhoeven of Central Valley Christian : Did not play in the game due to an injury. Kid is a stud! Pump Coaches said he was the best big in the camp. He just does things that others don't at that size. Has a D1 motor already and defends and rebounds at that level already.  Has an amazing knack for following offensive boards and tips. Defends 3-4-5s with ease.  Face up game is solid, nice move over right shoulder. Needs to get better with back to the basket. There is a reason why he is considered one of the best PF in 2012.
Tyrone Wallace of Bakersfield:  Best way to describe him is smooth. Watched him play one game and didn't realize he was out there.  Quiet game. 2nd game I saw...He made his presence known. Pull up, to the rim, setting guys up.  Hasn't quite figured out how to go hard all the time, but when he does...look out. He will be scary! One scout said he would like to see him explode by guys and be more decisive. I'm a big fan of lefties...and he is going to be a real good one!
Denzel Johnson of Clovis West: May have helped his stock the most out of any valley kid. Hit 11 3's in one game and finished with 39 in front of Coach Romar from Washington and 2 other Pac10 coaches.  Can score from 3, pull up, and beginning to show he can defend at that level. Doesn't get to the rim as much, settles at times and relies on his pull up a lot.
Kevin Bailey of Clovis East: This kid is scary! Has the most D1 upside of all valley kids (IMO). Had the dunk of the camp (and 1 counselors opinion best dunk in last 7 yrs!) when he jumped OVER a kid on the break and dunked. OVER!!! Not around...Not through...OVER!!! When he finishes growing and fills out...watch out! Putting it on the deck better, gets to the rim with ease, and has the build to be a D1 stopper. Has to knock down 3 and pull up more consistently, but that's just gym time away from being there.  Was sick first day (food poisoning I think), and the further he got away from that, the better he got.
I need to get back on and highlight some of the other Valley Kids that were there. There were a few more that didn't make the game that did a nice job representing the central valley. I better get my butt back to work first!

Updated schedule, sorry about that:


Friday   CW West Gym CT. 1   CW West Gym CT. 2   CW East Gym CT. 1               CW East Gym CT. 2
4:00   CW Red vs. Atascadero    CVC vs. Edison, Fresno   Clovis East vs. Jesuit                    SJM vs. Central
5:00                                Buchanan White vs. South Tahoe   Bullard vs. Clovis North               Bullard White vs. Redwood
6:00    Central vs. Jesuit   CVC vs. Clovis    Buchanan Red vs. Atascadero   CW Gold vs. South Tahoe
            
Saturday   CW West Gym CT. 1                      CW West Gym CT. 2                          CW East Gym Full Court   
8:00   Clovis North vs. Edison, Fresno   Bullard White vs. South Tahoe   Buchanan Red vs. Jesuit   
9:00   Edison, Stockton vs. Bullard   CW Gold vs. Redwood                   Liberty vs. SJM   
10:00   CW Red vs. Jesuit                        Delano vs. South Tahoe                      Clovis North vs. Stockdale   
11:00   Central vs. Edison, Stockton   South Tahoe vs. Redwood    Liberty vs. Natomas   
12:00   CW Red vs. McQueen                         CW Gold vs. Delano                 Edison, Fresno vs. Jesuit   
1:00   SJM vs. Edison, Stockton                          Redwood vs. Buchanan White   CVC vs. Stockdale   
2:00   Bullard vs. Clovis                            Clovis East vs. Liberty               Buchanan Red vs. McQueen   
3:00                                                            Buchanan White vs. Bullard White   Natomas vs.  Edison, Fresno   
4:00   Central vs. McQueen                       SJM vs. Clovis                Clovis East vs. Atascadero   
5:00            
            
Sunday   CW West Gym CT. 1   CW West Gym CT. 2                   CW East Gym Full Court   
8:00   Atascadero vs. Clovis   CW Gold vs. Buchanan White   Buchanan Red vs. SJM   
9:00   CVC vs. Edison, Stockton   Redwood vs. Delano                     McQueen vs. Clovis East   
10:00   Atascadero vs. Central   CW Gold vs. Bullard White                     Stockdale vs. Natomas   
11:00   Clovis North vs. SJM   Buchanan White vs. Delano   Bullard  vs. McQueen   
12:00   CW Red vs. Liberty   Buchanan Red vs. Natomas   Edison, Fresno vs. Stockdale   
1:00   CVC vs. Clovis East   Bullard White vs. Delano                     Clovis vs. Edison,Stockton   
2:00   CW Red vs.  Natomas   Clovis North vs. Liberty                    Stockdale vs. Bullard   

Sorry its a little jumbled. But you get the idea

Friday   CW West Gym CT. 1   CW West Gym CT. 2   CW East Gym CT. 1   CW East Gym CT. 2
4:00   CW Red vs. Atascadero    CVC vs. Edison, Fresno   Clovis East vs. Jesuit   SJM vs. Central
5:00      Buchanan White vs. South Tahoe   Buchanan Red vs. Clovis North   Bullard White vs. Redwood
6:00    Central vs. Jesuit   CVC vs. Clovis    SJM vs. Atascadero   CW Gold vs. South Tahoe
            
Saturday   CW West Gym CT. 1   CW West Gym CT. 2   CW East Gym Full Court   
8:00   Clovis North vs. Edison, Fresno   Bullard White vs. South Tahoe   Buchanan Red vs. Jesuit   
9:00   Edison, Stockton vs. Liberty   CW Gold vs. Redwood   Bullard vs. SJM   
10:00   CW Red vs. Jesuit   Delano vs. South Tahoe    Clovis North vs. Stockdale   
11:00   Central vs. Edison, Stockton   South Tahoe vs. Redwood   Liberty vs. Natomas   
12:00   CW Red vs. McQueen   CW Gold vs. Delano   Edison, Fresno vs. Jesuit   
1:00   SJM vs. Edison, Stockton   Redwood vs. Buchanan White   CVC vs. Stockdale   
2:00   Bullard vs. Clovis   Clovis East vs. Liberty   Buchanan Red vs. McQueen   
3:00      Buchanan White vs. Bullard White   Natomas vs.  Edison, Fresno   
4:00   Central vs. McQueen   SJM vs. Clovis   Clovis East vs. Atascadero   
5:00            
            
Sunday   CW West Gym CT. 1   CW West Gym CT. 2   CW East Gym Full Court   
8:00   Atascadero vs. Clovis   CW Gold vs. Buchanan White   Buchanan Red vs. SJM   
9:00   Clovis North vs. Bullard   Redwood vs. Delano   McQueen vs. Clovis East   
10:00   Atascadero vs. Central   CW Gold vs. Bullard White   Stockdale vs. Natomas   
11:00   CVC vs. Edison, Stockton   Buchanan White vs. Delano   Bullard  vs. McQueen   
12:00   CW Red vs. Liberty   Buchanan Red vs. Natomas   Edison, Fresno vs. Stockdale   
1:00   CVC vs. Clovis East   Bullard White vs. Delano   Clovis vs. Edison,Stockton   
2:00   CW Red vs.  Natomas   Clovis North vs. Liberty   Stockdale vs. Bullard   

any new news?

Clovis East looked alright, not much going on outside of Bailey. I thought Buchanan looked good, Bullard was somewhat disappointing. Also noticed Clovis North went 5-0 in their pool, although they didn't play any of the elite schools. Didn't have a chance to watch Central, unfortunately.

Agreed. They don't have a lot of guys that can put it on the deck and get things going for them. I know Antwaan will help, but that isn't his strength right now.

Central looked solid and they are getting White back soon. Trammell was a stud.

Bullard struggled this weekend, which I did not see coming. There is definately talent there.

CVC petitioned their jump from D5 to D3 and got moved down to D4.  Other than that the list looks right. 

There is no way that Madera gets moved up to D1! And if it is true, it shows that this system is extremely flawed!

The Atascadero guard plays for Organized Chaos. He is good. Can't remember his name,

Troy Norris, Junior, PG

How about we start by putting together a list of players we know that are playing in college and see what we come up? Does this include just D1? Or we include all ball, JC, D2, D3, NAIA? I would like to see all levels. It would be nice to see where some of these young men are playing.

Pretty right on there Centval

If I had to put my money on it, White will be back at Central.

I would like to see Kevin be able to knock down the 3 a little more consistantly, same with Trammel

Right on with the others.

Goodman is my sleeper. Not a lot of people know about him.

Whitfield can knock down shots, would like to see him be able to put it on the floor a bit more.

CentVal: if he ended up at CE with Bailey and Antwaan....wow! I just can't see him leaving Edison though.

We'll have to wait and see!

'well they wont be playing each other cause organized chaos is a fresno league that is really only for "stars"'

want to explain that comment?

Upshaw is on one of the Pump Brother's team, as well as Kevin Bailey and I believe Wallace out of Bakersfield.

I have not been around Upshaw enough to know about his "want" , but I have been around Chris Hernandez when he was at Clovis West, and Verhoeven falls in that category of desire and want. Kid has a motor that is 2nd to none. I would be shocked if that Kid was not 1st Team All Valley, 2nd Team at worst.

insiderinfo, also add Arizona, Washington, and Washington State. All have shown extreme interest in him. He has made unofficials to Stanford, USC, and Fresno State already.

Like I said earlier, Upshaw has a ton of upside, he just has a ways to go. Right now though, its Verhoeven

I like what Upshaw brings to the table.  He has some work to do, but his ceiling is so high!He has a ton of upside, but saying he is the best big in the central valley is a bit premature.

I still like Verhoeven out of CVC. They played each other in a AAU tourney last summer and went head to head. To say the least Verhoeven got the best of Upshaw.

Not to sure about the "He is the only one winning valley championship" comment. explain that one for me.

For All Valley:

Don't forget Verhoeven out of CVC. Kid is a beast and being recruited by every PAC-10 school. Hard to keep a kid off that averages a 20points/12boards/5blocks a game on a Valley Championship team.


For All_Trac: Hefler out of Madera is your options for 2nd team. Sam Millhouse has to be in the mix somewhere.

Jason had a couple D1's sniff around. UCSanta Barbara and Cal Poly were 2 of them. He received interest from Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State, and a few other D2's that were interested but nothing really solidified. Fresno Pacific made a run at him. Westmont is a great fit for him and a place he and his family had high on their list from the very beginning of the recruiting process. He and his family are very excited about the oppurtunity he has. Good Luck J-Ritch.

OC

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/03/08/1851882/memorial-high-basketball-player.html

Good kid...