The 1st Annual Beach Jamboree took place at the Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State University the weekend of June 25-26-27.
I was only able to attend the Saturday session, but managed to see 6 games featuring 11 teams.
As with most summer events, the teams are, strictly speaking, summer travel teams. Hence the unfamiliar names. In many cases, however, the teams are made up of players intending to attend a specific school for the 2004-05 school year. In those cases, I've indicated that school in parentheses. For example, consider the "Blue Devils (Santa Rosa)". The team was known as the Blue Devils, and the players are all planning to attend Santa Rosa Junior College this upcoming season.
The games were conducted under fairly normal conditions, except that it was "running time" except in the last 3 minutes of a close game (margin under 10 points). And the bonus kicked in on the 10th team foul rather than the 7th.
In any case, this is a chance to get a preview of the upcoming season. And in conjunction with the Summer Showcase July 16 & 17 at APU, I should be able to see quite a few teams this summer. And now you can read about them!
If you want to read more about the Jamboree and other summer events for high school and even youth players, be sure to check out Californiapreps.com (http://www.californiapreps.com). I often send material that way, including for the Beach Jamboree. Some of the material, including Jamboree coverage, is "premium" but there's plenty of free material on there as well (including my game stories during the season).
Thanks to Etop of the host Compton Magic for setting it all up, and to Dave Keefer at Californiapreps.com for getting me the materials to cover this event. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I got to be there!
Box Scores & Stories Available
Say No (West LA) 52, MP Dowags (East LA) 44
49ers 65, Team LB 60
V-Town (Ventura) 56, Kingsley Glass (AVC) 52
Hemet Kiwanis (Mt. San J) 97, Blue Devils (SRJC) 68
Play 2 Win (Mt. SAC) 67, Compton Magic 57
Whittier Warbirds (Rio Hondo) 79, Blue Devils (SRJC) 63
All-Star Teams & Game-by-game Summary
Player Ratings (Index)
Player Ratings (ARF)
