The "All-Saturday" Teams (i.e. the "all-star" teams of players I saw on Saturday):
Player of the Day: Gary Nunez, C, V-Town (Ventura)
First Team:
PG - Dewayne Green, Hemet Kiwanis (Mt. San Jacinto)
SG - Joseph Ziri, Team LB (Mesa AZ)
SF - Jamal Barnes, Play 2 Win (Mt. San Antonio)
PF - Sterling Byrd, Compton Magic (Yavapai AZ)
Ctr - Gary Nunez, V-Town (Ventura)
Second Team:
PG - Jamal Vandy, Play 2 Win (Mt. San Antonio)
SG - Deonte Huff, Kingsley Glass (Antelope Valley)
SF - Travis Clegg, Blue Devils (Santa Rosa)
PF - Eryk Thomas, Blue Devils (Santa Rosa)
Ctr - Brandon Murray, Kingsley Glass (Antelope Valley)
Third Team:
PG - Andrew Gomez, MP Dowags (East LA)
SG - Bryan Adams, 49ers (DeAnza)
SF - Justin White, Team LB (Panola TX)
PF - Peter Brown, Hemet Kiwanis (Mt. San Jacinto)
Ctr - Dado Kabov, Say No (West LA)
Fourth Team:
PG - Tony Langston, Warbirds (Rio Hondo)
SG - Wesley Washington, Compton Magic (Compton CC)
SF - Jabbar Jinna, Warbirds (Rio Hondo)
PF - Anthony Kimble, Warbirds (Rio Hondo)
Ctr - Kalaan Brown, Team LB (Long Beach CC)
Super-Subs:
PG - Jushay Rocket, Compton Magic
SG - Clifford Sutherland, Hemet Kiwanis (Mt. San Jacinto)
SF - Mike Moreno, Play 2 Win (Mt. San Antonio)
PF - Danny Clougherty, Team LB
Ctr - Ephraim Williams, V-Town (Ventura)
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Here's a copy of the article I sent to Californiapreps.com...
About 200 Junior College players converged on the Long Beach Pyramid the weekend of June 25-27 for the First annual Long Beach Juco Jamboree. Californiapreps.com sat in on the Saturday session, covering 6 games featuring 11 teams including several squads made up of traditional Southern California JC powerhouse programs, as well as the renowned club team, the Jamboree host, the Compton Magic.
In this event, as with all summer JC events, the teams are, strictly speaking, travel teams. However, many of the teams are made up of players who are expected to attend a specific Community College this fall. So to minimize confusion, the travel names are listed but if the players are all expected to attend the same school in the coming school year, that school is listed in parentheses.
The day began with a matchup of Team Say No (West LA) against the Monterey Park Dowags (East LA). Say No led virtually the entire first half, but the Dowags rallied to narrow the gap to a single point at halftime and took a 24-22 lead early in the second half after a steal by SG Frank Walters sparked a FG+FT 3-point play by PG Andrew Gomez. A three by Walters extended the Dowags' lead to 31-25 shortly after that, but then Say No regained control. 3-pointers by SF Lester Clay and Ctr Dado Kabov, and a free throw by Kabov as he was fouled on his shot, put Say No in control at 46-39 with just over 2 minutes left.
Kabov led Say No with 12 pts, including a pair of threes, and 7 rebs. PF Zac Jordan came off the bench to add 11 pts and 4 boards, while Clay had a strong all-around game with 7 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Gomez led the Dowags with 16 pts and 3 asts, while Ctr Miguel Rosales and PF Eric Smith tied for team honors with 6 rebs.
The next game featured a pair of teams made up of players from different schools. When it was over, the 49ers claimed a 65-60 decision over Team LB. SG Bryan Adams (DeAnza) came off the bench to lead the winners with 17 pts, including 3 threes, on 6 of 10 shooting. SF Ian Wright (Mendocino) added 11 pts plus 6 rebs, while PF Darryl Farris grabbed a team-best 9 boards. PG J.J. Hammond (Mendocino) finished with 6 pts plus 4 asts. For Team LB, SG Joseph Ziri (Mesa AZ) led the way with 17 pts and 9 rebs. Ctr Kalaan Brown had 15 pts, while SF Justin White (Panola TX) had 12 pts and 3 steals. PF Brandon Glenn (Southwestern) came off the bench to lead all rebounders with 10.
At 12:40, it was time for the much-anticipated matchup between V-Town (Ventura) and Kingsley Glass (Antelope Valley). Last season, Ventura lost to AVC in the regional semifinals, but they gained a very small measure of revenge here with a 56-52 victory. SG Hylas Smith's three with just under 2 minutes left broke a 50-50 tie and put V-Town in front for good. Free throws by PG Jonathan Davis and SF Moses Gonzalez in the final seconds helped seal the win.
But the big story in this game was the powerful performance by V-Town Ctr Gary Nunez, who had 17 pts plus a best-of-the-day 14 rebs. Nunez made 8 of 13 shots and showed improved agility from last year, and looks like he'll be one of the top big men in the region this coming season.
Smith chipped in with 13 pts including a pair of threes, and dished out 4 asts. SF Moses Gonzalez added 11 pts, 6 rebs and 4 asts and perhaps even more importantly helped control Kingsley's standout SF Wendell White. Gonzalez edged White in scoring (11 points to 10), rebounding (6 boards to 5) and playmaking (4 asts to 1). Davis had a solid game as well with 6 pts, 4 asts and 4 steals.
Kingsley's backcourt carried much of the load, as SG Deonte Huff led all scorers with 18 pts. PG Joseph Dixon finished with 6 pts, 4 steals and a game-high 6 asts. SG Glenn Gilliard came off the bench to add 8 pts, all in the first half, including a pair of threes.
In the next game, Da Dino (San Bernardino Valley) powered to a 35-16 lead over N-Flight (Pasadena) en route to an easy 47-36 win. PF Jacob Daigle scored 10 first-half points, including a pair of threes, to put Da Dino in control.
Next up was a game that looked good on paper, but turned out to be a little one-sided as the Hemet Kiwanas (Mt. San Jacinto) topped the Blue Devils (Santa Rosa), 97-68. PF Peter Brown led the way with 17 pts and 10 rebs, both team-highs. SG Clifford Sutherland came off the bench to add 16 pts, including an afternoon-best 4 threes. But perhaps the top performer was PG Dewayne Green, who flirted with a triple-double before settling for 13 pts, 9 rebs and 8 asts. SG Taleek Norman and SF Derek Sorenson added 10 pts each.
The Blue Devils were a hardy crew, with just 6 players on hand and no coaching staff, managed to keep things relatively close through the middle of the second half before a superior Hemet team pulled away. PG Peter Beoris led the Blue Devils with 17 pts, while SG Anthony Malochnic added 16 with 6 asts. PF Eryk Thomas and SF Travis Clegg each had 14 pts, and Clegg led the team with 8 rebs.
Then came another highlight, with the host Compton Magic taking on Play 2 Win (Mt. San Antonio). Compton led by 7 at the half at 33-26 before Play 2 Win rallied to claim a 67-57 decision. SF Mike Moreno was the key to the rally, making 6 of 7 FGs including a pair of threes to score 14 pts, all in the second half. SF/SG Jamal Barnes led Play 2 Win with 16 pts and added 5 rebs plus 3 asts. And PG Jamal Vandy had a strong game with 7 pts, 6 asts and a day's best 6 steals. Ctr Keith Allen added 12 pts while PF Duane Wright contributed 10 and 5 boards.
For Compton, PF Sterling Byrd (Yavapai AZ) led the way with 15 pts, including a pair of threes, and 9 rebs. SG Wesley Washington (Compton CC) added 14 pts while SG Jushay Rocket chipped in with 11 pts and 9 rebs. Ctr Chris Berry tied for team and game honors with 9 rebs. But the Magic was plagued by 23 turnovers, which along with Moreno's hot second half, proved to be their undoing.
In the nightcap, the Whittier Warbirds (Rio Hondo) outlasted the Blue Devils (Santa Rosa). Once again, the Blue Devils kept the game relatively close well into the second half, but they were never quite able to overcome the Warbirds' 8-0 run to start the game. A 41-33 halftime deficit grew to 21 when the Blue Devils missed their first 11 shots of the second half, allowing the Warbirds to begin the half on a 13-0 run. Though the Blue Devils cut the lead to single-digits soon thereafter, that was as close as they would get.
SF Jabbar Jinna and PF Anthony Kimble each made 9 of 14 shots from the floor to tie for game honors with 20 pts. Kimble also added 8 rebs, while Jinna contributed 6 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Ctr Faruk Dokavic made all 3 of his shots from the floor for 6 pts, and grabbed a team-best 12 boards. And PG Tony Langston had a strong all-around game on offense with 9 pts, 9 asts, 7 rebs and just 1 turnover.
PF Eryk Thomas led a gutsy but tired Blue Devil squad with 16 pts and 10 rebs. SG Peter Beoris (yes, he moved to SG for this game) added 14 pts including a pair of threes. PG Anthony Malochnic had 11 pts, including 3 threes, plus 6 rebs and 5 asts. Ctr Ingo Beaudet finished with 7 pts and a team-high 12 rebs.
In another game of interest, Kingsley Glass (Antelope Valley) edged the San Diego Magic, 89-83, when SF Wendell White scored a FG+FT 3-point play with 39 seconds left to break an 83-all tie.
Box Scores & Stories Available
Jamboree front page
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
Player Ratings (Index)
Player Ratings (ARF)
