	February 28, 2009 I had heard about a local basketball player in the Class of 2010 who's father was a former Harlem Globetrotter. The player had turned around a high school basketball program that seldom has good high school players, Charlottesville High School. I hadn't seen Charlottesville High School play this year, so I decided to go see the Black Knights play. They were playing for the Region II, Division 4 championship at nearby Monticello High School here in Charlottesville, Virginia. etc. They were playing Orange County High School, which is located about 25 miles from Charlottesville. The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville. Monticello High is not an old high school. It's located close to Monticello, the home of former United States president Thomas Jefferson. Charlottesville High School was ranked 8th in the latest Group AA boy's state basketball poll. Maurice Jackson is listed at 6-0 195. He looks already like a Division 1 college-caliber player! He has a Mowhawk haircut. To be honest, any unusual hairstyle can scare off college recruiters. Anyway, his speed, strength, co-ordination, ball-handling ability, confidence establish him as a Division 1 prospect. He is shown wearing jersey number 21 in the photos here. I had read about Maurice Jackson first on this website: the Central Virginia "VarsityLights" There's another short article about him here, at the Central Virginia website called "cvasports.com," which tells more about Maurice Jackson. Here's a link to the business run by Maurice Jackson's father, Jerry Venable. It's called "L.O.T.S." Finally, here's a story about Jerry Venable from local TV station "nbc29.com." Maurice Jackson had 4 points in the first quarter, as Charlottesville jumped out to a 16-7 lead at the 1:10 mark of the first quarter. They stretched the lead to 18-9, and led 18-12 at the end of the first period. They then led 28-14 at the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. At the half, it was a shocking 41-17! Just before the half, Maurice Jackson grabbed a rebound, ran the length of the court, and shot an off-balance shot just before the buzzer as he fell down, hoping to draw a foul. Nothing happened, but he showed his speed. Charlottesville kept pouring it on, playing probably their best game of the year. They soon led 49-21. Maurice Jackson picked up just his first foul at the 4:02 point of the third quarter. Soon, it was 60-23 after three periods! But things changed. The lead ballooned to 39 points eventually. Maurice Jackson finished with 12 points, but Charlottesville High has a very balanced attack. By my calculations, he was 6-15 from the floor (field-goal attempts). This is the first time that Charlottesville High has made the state tournament since 1989. I had considered going to the Dan River High-Madison County regional game at Eastern Mennonite College in the Harrisonburg area, but I've already seen the two athletes on those teams that I would have wanted to see play. One is Madison County's Jerel Carter, a 6-3 170 junior guard, and the other is Trey Edmunds of Dan River, a good freshman point guard. I've seen Trey Edmunds play quarterback on the Dan River football team, if you remember my write-up on their game. But I haven't seen him play basketball yet. Madison County was ranked number one in the Group A boy's state basketball poll, and Dan River was ranked number 4. Monticello High is just about 3 miles from my house. I've been to games there before, and it's not a good place to view basketball. One side of the court is about 25 feet behind the players' benches! The state championships start this Thursday! More to come!...Yes, my photos are blurry, I know. After this season, I'll have to remedy this!

    February 28, 2009
    I had heard about a local basketball player in the Class of 2010 who's father was a former Harlem Globetrotter. The player had turned around a high school basketball program that seldom has good high school players, Charlottesville High School. I hadn't seen Charlottesville High School play this year, so I decided to go see the Black Knights play. They were playing for the Region II, Division 4 championship at nearby Monticello High School here in Charlottesville, Virginia. etc. They were playing Orange County High School, which is located about 25 miles from Charlottesville. The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville. Monticello High is not an old high school. It's located close to Monticello, the home of former United States president Thomas Jefferson. Charlottesville High School was ranked 8th in the latest Group AA boy's state basketball poll.

    Maurice Jackson is listed at 6-0 195. He looks already like a Division 1 college-caliber player! He has a Mowhawk haircut. To be honest, any unusual hairstyle can scare off college recruiters. Anyway, his speed, strength, co-ordination, ball-handling ability, confidence establish him as a Division 1 prospect. He is shown wearing jersey number 21 in the photos here. I had read about Maurice Jackson first on this website: the Central Virginia "VarsityLights" There's another short article about him here, at the Central Virginia website called "cvasports.com," which tells more about Maurice Jackson. Here's a link to the business run by Maurice Jackson's father, Jerry Venable. It's called "L.O.T.S." Finally, here's a story about Jerry Venable from local TV station "nbc29.com."

    Maurice Jackson had 4 points in the first quarter, as Charlottesville jumped out to a 16-7 lead at the 1:10 mark of the first quarter. They stretched the lead to 18-9, and led 18-12 at the end of the first period. They then led 28-14 at the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. At the half, it was a shocking 41-17! Just before the half, Maurice Jackson grabbed a rebound, ran the length of the court, and shot an off-balance shot just before the buzzer as he fell down, hoping to draw a foul. Nothing happened, but he showed his speed.

    Charlottesville kept pouring it on, playing probably their best game of the year. They soon led 49-21. Maurice Jackson picked up just his first foul at the 4:02 point of the third quarter. Soon, it was 60-23 after three periods! But things changed. The lead ballooned to 39 points eventually. Maurice Jackson finished with 12 points, but Charlottesville High has a very balanced attack. By my calculations, he was 6-15 from the floor (field-goal attempts). This is the first time that Charlottesville High has made the state tournament since 1989.

    I had considered going to the Dan River High-Madison County regional game at Eastern Mennonite College in the Harrisonburg area, but I've already seen the two athletes on those teams that I would have wanted to see play. One is Madison County's Jerel Carter, a 6-3 170 junior guard, and the other is Trey Edmunds of Dan River, a good freshman point guard. I've seen Trey Edmunds play quarterback on the Dan River football team, if you remember my write-up on their game. But I haven't seen him play basketball yet. Madison County was ranked number one in the Group A boy's state basketball poll, and Dan River was ranked number 4.

    Monticello High is just about 3 miles from my house. I've been to games there before, and it's not a good place to view basketball. One side of the court is about 25 feet behind the players' benches! The state championships start this Thursday! More to come!...Yes, my photos are blurry, I know. After this season, I'll have to remedy this!

	February 23, 2009 Because the regular season has ended and the post-season playoffs have begun, there are fewer high school boy's basketball teams left playing, so there are fewer college basketball prospects still playing. So, I decided to go see a blue-chip football prospect play high school basketball! His name? Melvin Robinson. He was the only high school sophomore this past year to make the Washington Post All-Met first-team or "second team"! He's shown in these photos wearing jersey number 5. He's listed at 6-3 195, and plays for Group AAA Annandale, Virginia High School. I took Monday off from work and left Charlottesville, Virginia around 2:30 P.M. To get to northern Virginia, the easiest way is to take Route 29 North for about 75 miles, and then take the always-crowded Route 66 East. The sky was blue and it was about 36 degrees! I passed Madison County High School at 3:32 P.M. Madison County High is presently 24-0 and ranked number one in the state in Group A! On radio station 840AM, they were having their daily afternoon talk show, and they were talking about the recent controversy involving University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun [He told someone to "shut up" (!) when he was ridiculed about his high salary during a recession]. Eventually I got to Annandale High School. There was very little interest in this game: Annandale had had a very mediocre season, and Annandale is a football school, anyway! It was easy to see his height, weight, strength, jumping ability, aggressiveness, and athletic potential. But most impressive was his attitude! Although he didn't start, he never sulked. He was always cheering and supporting the team that was on the floor when they came to the bench during time-outs. There's an interesting article here about how he came from the rough environment of inner Washington, D.C. to the relatively-calm environment of Annandale High School. By the way, he didn't score in this game. He only took one shot! It doesn't matter. Although he averages over 9 points-per-game, he is a college football prospect. He's going to get college basketball offers, but it won't matter! He first entered the game at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter, with his team down 6-4. He picked up a personal foul at the 3:35 mark. It's not easy to comment on a football blue-chipper who was basically a defensive player in the game I saw! But Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno has said that he'd rather see football prospects play high school basketball than football, because he can judge a prospect's athleticism better that way! I noticed that Melvin Robinson really elevated quickly on his jump shot, and he really got up high. He was usually matched up against the top scorer for James Madison High School, who didn't seem to score when Melvin Robinson was guarding him. At the half, the score was 24-20. This was not a good level of high school basketball: I hate to say it! The coaching was good, but the athletic level of the players was just ordinary. James Madison High's coach yelled "last shot!" but his team didn't get one off. Kelly Clarkson is a 6-5 senior who plays center on the James Madison High basketball team and quarterback on their football squad. He played well in this game. His father told me he's getting some Division II interest in both sports. He got hot in the third quarter. James Madison fell behind though, 43-32 at the end of three quarters. The final was 62-44, Annandale. It was a long ride home, in cold weather! I drink a lot of Vanilla Coke Zero. I drank it on the way home. And of course, I stopped at Sheetz! This one I stopped at at 12:11 A.M.

    February 23, 2009
    Because the regular season has ended and the post-season playoffs have begun, there are fewer high school boy's basketball teams left playing, so there are fewer college basketball prospects still playing. So, I decided to go see a blue-chip football prospect play high school basketball! His name? Melvin Robinson. He was the only high school sophomore this past year to make the Washington Post All-Met first-team or "second team"! He's shown in these photos wearing jersey number 5. He's listed at 6-3 195, and plays for Group AAA Annandale, Virginia High School.

    I took Monday off from work and left Charlottesville, Virginia around 2:30 P.M. To get to northern Virginia, the easiest way is to take Route 29 North for about 75 miles, and then take the always-crowded Route 66 East. The sky was blue and it was about 36 degrees! I passed Madison County High School at 3:32 P.M. Madison County High is presently 24-0 and ranked number one in the state in Group A! On radio station 840AM, they were having their daily afternoon talk show, and they were talking about the recent controversy involving University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun [He told someone to "shut up" (!) when he was ridiculed about his high salary during a recession].

    Eventually I got to Annandale High School. There was very little interest in this game: Annandale had had a very mediocre season, and Annandale is a football school, anyway! It was easy to see his height, weight, strength, jumping ability, aggressiveness, and athletic potential. But most impressive was his attitude! Although he didn't start, he never sulked. He was always cheering and supporting the team that was on the floor when they came to the bench during time-outs. There's an interesting article here about how he came from the rough environment of inner Washington, D.C. to the relatively-calm environment of Annandale High School. By the way, he didn't score in this game. He only took one shot! It doesn't matter. Although he averages over 9 points-per-game, he is a college football prospect. He's going to get college basketball offers, but it won't matter!

    He first entered the game at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter, with his team down 6-4. He picked up a personal foul at the 3:35 mark. It's not easy to comment on a football blue-chipper who was basically a defensive player in the game I saw! But Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno has said that he'd rather see football prospects play high school basketball than football, because he can judge a prospect's athleticism better that way!

    I noticed that Melvin Robinson really elevated quickly on his jump shot, and he really got up high. He was usually matched up against the top scorer for James Madison High School, who didn't seem to score when Melvin Robinson was guarding him. At the half, the score was 24-20. This was not a good level of high school basketball: I hate to say it! The coaching was good, but the athletic level of the players was just ordinary. James Madison High's coach yelled "last shot!" but his team didn't get one off.

    Kelly Clarkson is a 6-5 senior who plays center on the James Madison High basketball team and quarterback on their football squad. He played well in this game. His father told me he's getting some Division II interest in both sports. He got hot in the third quarter. James Madison fell behind though, 43-32 at the end of three quarters. The final was 62-44, Annandale. It was a long ride home, in cold weather! I drink a lot of Vanilla Coke Zero. I drank it on the way home. And of course, I stopped at Sheetz! This one I stopped at at 12:11 A.M.

	February 17, 2009 This week's game I traveled to was played at Deep Run High School of Glen Allen, Virginia, and they were the host team, playing against visiting Hermitage High, from Richmond, Virginia. The gym was easy to watch a game in, compared to many gyms I've been in! A sign on the wall read, "Welcome to Wildcat country, where pride runs deep." The game was a first-round Colonial District game. Before the game, Thomas Jefferson High School of Richmond, Virginia played the Deep Run High's girls' team and was routed. At the game, various high school and AAU coaches were sitting behind me in the stands. On my car dashboard, I have a printed out list of the mileage markers that are on the way from Charlottesville, Virginia to Richmond, and what are at certain ones: gas stations, rest areas, restaurants, etc. I take this route often to scout players! The player I drove 70 miles from my house in Charlottesville, Virginia to see was Hermitage's 6-0 180 freshman (!) Class of 2012 point guard Micah Thomas. He is shown wearing jersey number 10 in the photos here. I had read about Micah Thomas first on this website: the "Elite 75 Prep High School Exposure Camp," when I was checking to see if there were any high school freshmen to scout in the state of Virginia this season! One player he was matched up against was Virginia Tech football-signee Antone Exum. I knew that Antone Exum was a great athlete. But I didn't know that he was this outstanding a basketball player! Antone Exum has the physique of an NBA player. He seemed to weigh twice whatever Micah Thomas weighed, and was just as quick, maybe quicker! I've never seen him play football, but he may have a better future if he plays basketball for Virginia Tech! Antone Exum pretty much did anything he wanted, from anywhere on the court, at any time! He's an intimidator from the guard position. "ESPN.com" rates him the #144 basketball player in the country this year, so he may be more highly-ranked as a basketball prospect than as a high school football player! What an awesome athlete for a basketball backcourtman! At the end of the first quarter, Hermitage led 15-13. But it was all downhill for Hermitage from there. Micah Thomas burned Antone Exum for 7 quick points to begin the game, which is how Hermitage got their quick lead. But things changed. Still, Micah Thomas is a fearless player who has all of the skills. But he needs to develop a three-point jump shot: his shot from that distance is a set shot. It does go in, but in order to play big-time college basketball, he'll have to convert that in to a jump shot. At the half, Deep Run led 36-25. At the end of three periods, Deep Run led 54-47. They won, 77-65, but it wasn't that close for most of the second half. Micah Thomas finished with 28 points, although I didn't have him for that many in my informal statistics. Antone Exum had 21 points for Deep Run High. Both schools' records were an identical 13-10 after the game. After the game I went down the road to the Richmond/Short Pump "TGI Fridays." They had a big rectangular bar there. I had my usual: diet Coke. I never drink alcohol. I can't, due to a medication I have. Yes, my photos are blurry. I'll have to resolve this: I have a great camera, but I don't feel like waiting for film to be developed. So, I use my digital camera instead. I can get my photos as soon as I get home, that way. However, the digital camera can't take photos of moving objects! Haha. Anyway, the food was pretty good there. The TV's could have been bigger, but all in all, I had a good time. Although I took exit 173 off of Route 64 to get to Deep Run High School, TGI Fridays was actually right off of exit 178. More food information later! Anything to make this recruiting website different from all of the others! I like TGI Fridays better than Applebees these days!

    February 17, 2009
    This week's game I traveled to was played at Deep Run High School of Glen Allen, Virginia, and they were the host team, playing against visiting Hermitage High, from Richmond, Virginia. The gym was easy to watch a game in, compared to many gyms I've been in! A sign on the wall read, "Welcome to Wildcat country, where pride runs deep." The game was a first-round Colonial District game. Before the game, Thomas Jefferson High School of Richmond, Virginia played the Deep Run High's girls' team and was routed. At the game, various high school and AAU coaches were sitting behind me in the stands. On my car dashboard, I have a printed out list of the mileage markers that are on the way from Charlottesville, Virginia to Richmond, and what are at certain ones: gas stations, rest areas, restaurants, etc. I take this route often to scout players!

    The player I drove 70 miles from my house in Charlottesville, Virginia to see was Hermitage's 6-0 180 freshman (!) Class of 2012 point guard Micah Thomas. He is shown wearing jersey number 10 in the photos here. I had read about Micah Thomas first on this website: the "Elite 75 Prep High School Exposure Camp," when I was checking to see if there were any high school freshmen to scout in the state of Virginia this season! One player he was matched up against was Virginia Tech football-signee Antone Exum. I knew that Antone Exum was a great athlete. But I didn't know that he was this outstanding a basketball player! Antone Exum has the physique of an NBA player. He seemed to weigh twice whatever Micah Thomas weighed, and was just as quick, maybe quicker! I've never seen him play football, but he may have a better future if he plays basketball for Virginia Tech!

    Antone Exum pretty much did anything he wanted, from anywhere on the court, at any time! He's an intimidator from the guard position. "ESPN.com" rates him the #144 basketball player in the country this year, so he may be more highly-ranked as a basketball prospect than as a high school football player! What an awesome athlete for a basketball backcourtman! At the end of the first quarter, Hermitage led 15-13. But it was all downhill for Hermitage from there. Micah Thomas burned Antone Exum for 7 quick points to begin the game, which is how Hermitage got their quick lead. But things changed. Still, Micah Thomas is a fearless player who has all of the skills. But he needs to develop a three-point jump shot: his shot from that distance is a set shot. It does go in, but in order to play big-time college basketball, he'll have to convert that in to a jump shot.

    At the half, Deep Run led 36-25. At the end of three periods, Deep Run led 54-47. They won, 77-65, but it wasn't that close for most of the second half. Micah Thomas finished with 28 points, although I didn't have him for that many in my informal statistics. Antone Exum had 21 points for Deep Run High. Both schools' records were an identical 13-10 after the game.

    After the game I went down the road to the Richmond/Short Pump "TGI Fridays." They had a big rectangular bar there. I had my usual: diet Coke. I never drink alcohol. I can't, due to a medication I have. Yes, my photos are blurry. I'll have to resolve this: I have a great camera, but I don't feel like waiting for film to be developed. So, I use my digital camera instead. I can get my photos as soon as I get home, that way. However, the digital camera can't take photos of moving objects! Haha. Anyway, the food was pretty good there. The TV's could have been bigger, but all in all, I had a good time. Although I took exit 173 off of Route 64 to get to Deep Run High School, TGI Fridays was actually right off of exit 178. More food information later! Anything to make this recruiting website different from all of the others! I like TGI Fridays better than Applebees these days!