News Bits
William Jessup University's 5-foot-10 guard Troy (Sheldon High/Elk Grove High) Crighton enjoyed a very efficient night in the recent Jessup 79-52 victory versus Dominican University in which he scored 15 points on 6-7, 2-2, 1-2 shooting—what economy and all in 28 minutes. He is shooting 52%, 33% and 75% on the season.
..."WJU head coach Mark Darnall spoke on Crighton's production after the game, noting, 'We're always asking our guys to make the most of their minutes when their number is called, and Troy answered tonight. He's been in this spot before, so we knew what to expect of him...'"
..................................
JUCO Football Frenzy: "Big ruling by a court today that JUCO athletes who play college sports, retain all 4 years of NCAA eligibility even if they play a year or two of JUCO."
Here's much more on the subject.
The JC teams win because more high schoolers will be heading in that direction as NCAA teams shift focus to recruiting much more at the JUCO level.
..................................
24/7's Joe Tipton attended the City of Palms Classic event and ranked the college prospects he witnessed on the first day:
"7. 3-star CG Melvin Bell Jr. (San Jose State)
Melvin Bell Jr. really impressed me tonight. The three-star out of La Lumiere (IN) has strong frame and a college-ready body. A hard-nosed player who excels in the paint and has the ability to stretch the floor. A steal for San Jose State. Finished with 21 points."
Bell Jr. signed in November with the Spartans.
Jake Lieberman: "2028 PG Jordan Hopkins out of Emerson HS (TX) & Drive National EYBL has been offered by San Jose State, he's told me. Other programs involved in his recruitment are the following:
- LSU (Offer)
- Memphis
- UCF
- Michigan State
- UTSA
- TCU
- Little Rock
- Wake Forest"
Hopkins will be an extremely tough sign for little ol' SJSU. Not sure why they are bothering with an offer—maybe there is some special connection.
..................................
John Bynum Jr.: "Jake Davis (West Valley College) has received an offer from Fresno State. Davis is averaging 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds this season for the Vikings. The sharp shooter is shooting 56% from Downtown this season."
Davis is a 6-foot-4 sophomore out of Las Lomas High.
..................................
Shams Charania: "Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Damian Lillard has agreed to a lifetime contract extension with Adidas, sources told ESPN. Lillard now joins LeBron James and Kevin Durant (Nike) and Stephen Curry (Under Armour/Curry Brand) as active NBA players with lifetime shoe endorsements."
Few people know that it came down to either me or Dame and I graciously told Adidas to give the lifetime contract to him since I have enough shoes. Wait, what? There giving him $$$ too? I had to settle for some stinkin' shoes which I rarely wear (getting me out of Crocs requires a bribe most cannot afford), not even when I'm turning out my eloquent award-winning prose. Seriously, good for Dame. Much deserved.
..................................
On Wednesday, Green Bay lost 72-70 to mighty D2 Michigan Tech (actually a very good, lower level opponent), another game in which Anthony (Dublin High/USF) Roy didn't make an appearance.
..................................
Skyline Basketball: "Congrats to DeAndre Minor for being selected as Cal Maritime’s first-ever Gilman Scholarship recipient. This highly competitive scholarship will help DeAndre build skills critical to our national security by providing the opportunity to study abroad. Proud of our #SkylineMBBFam."
The 6-foot-5 Minor prepped at Carlmont High. Congrats go out to him. No, I was never in the running for the Gilman Scholarship either.
..................................
UC Santa Cruz fell 91-85 to Redlands on Wednesday despite receiving 19 points, 13 rebounds and a trio of blocked shot from 6-foot-9 junior Joseph (Pleasant Grove High) Espy. 5-foot-11 senior guard Ryan (Serra High/Skyline College/) Wilson led the Banana Slugs with seven assists.
..................................
6-foot-5 feshman guard Mario (Venture Academy - Stockton) Williams Jr. scored 21 points in 19 minutes alongside securing seven boards and nabbing four steals in a 73-71 Western Oregon University victory over Linfield College (OR).
..................................
"Cal-Hi Sports Northern California Boys Basketball Player of the Week Daniel Bibioff (Kerman) Sr.
We don’t need to look up Kerman’s location like we do for many of our weekly players of the week because we just did that a couple of weeks ago when the school’s football team was selected to play in a NorCal regional championship after winning the CIF Central Section D3 championship. Kerman isn’t far to the west of Fresno and was the furthest north school to win a section football title along with Central of Fresno in D1-AA.
Speaking of section titles, Bibioff made a name for himself in last season’s CIF Central Section D4 basketball final when he came up with a steal in the final seconds to give the Lions a 61-60 win vs Kerman.
Perhaps because of that momentum from last season, Daniel has erupted as a scoring machine this season. The 6-foot-2 senior guard had 41 points in his first game vs Sanger West and last week he remained on fire.
In a 70-50 win last week vs Chavez of Delano, Bibioff poured in 38 points. He then ended with week with a 51-point explosion in a 81-39 triumph over Firebaugh. Entering a game later this week vs Madera, Daniel is averaging 36.3 points to rank among the leading reported scorers in the state. He also was averaging 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game."
..................................
Jordan Mehta: "In a win over Madera, Kingsburg’s Gus Swenning breaks the school single game scoring record with 49 points."
One look at the 6-foot-6 frontcourter : "Swenning is an athletic and physical forward that controls the glass and spaces the floor with the 3-ball. Swenning had a solid 8 points and 6 rebounds in his first game, which earned him a spot in the Top 30 Game where he had 8 points and 8 rebounds connecting on a pair of threes. Swenning uses his size to control the boards, has good touch on finishes around the basket, can play back to the basket or facing up, has enough handle to get downhill off the perimeter, and is a threat beyond the arc. Swenning has good bounce, alters shots around the cup, and gets up the court in transition to make himself available for easy layups and dunks. Swenning could be a key piece for Clovis North, as they look to replace the post presence of Jaylen Bryant and Malik Musleh."
He was attending Clovis North High but now seems to be at Kingsburg High.
..................................
Wed, Dec 18, NCAA D1 scores
LeMoyne 80, Dartmouth 76 box. Freshman Connor (Clovis North High) Amundsen scored 13 points shooting 4-9, 2-3 and 3-4, grabbed three boards and dished out a trio of assists in 38 minutes, most on the team.
Bradley 66, San Francisco 64 box. USF guard Malik Thomas buried a trey at the buzzer for the final score. The Dons led by two at the half.
UC Davis 74, Idaho 66 box. Ty Johnson led the Aggies with 19 points while Vandal Takai (Vanden High/Sunrise Prep) Hardy earned a 13 point, 10 rebound double-double.
Santa Clara 94, Kennesaw State 74 box. The Broncos shot 50% overall and made 27-34 free throws.
Washington 89, Washington State 73 box. for UW, forward Tyler (Granada High/Portland) Harris tallied 14 points but grabbed just a single rebund in 34 minutes.
Thu, Dec 19, NCAA D1 scores
Incarnate Word 101, Schreiner 57 box. Dylan (Healdsburg High) Hayman provided 13 points, five boards and two assists versus a DIII opponent. Without really focusing, it initially looked like IW was going up against the Shriners.
St. Mary's 73, Merrimack 68 box. Mitchell Saxen loomed large with 18 points plus 12 caroms and teammate Paulius Murauskas demonstrated his almost equal effectiveness via 18 points and 11 boards.
Texas 98, New Orleans 62 box. Jordan (Freedom High/Prolific Prep/Oregon State) Pope exploded for 42 points as the Longhorns finished one basket shy of the century mark. He took a total of 21 shots and shot 8-12 from three-point range.
..................................
Wed, Dec 18, CCCMBCA scores
Cañada College 74, Merced College 73
Cosumnes River College 84, DeAnza College 52 full box 6-foot-7 freshman Mason (Whitney High) Marsh enjoyed the best stat game for the victors with 16 points (6-9, 1-1, 3-4 shooting respectively) plus nine boards, four assists and three steals.
Lower Columbia 89, Monterey Peninsula College 67
Chabot College 78, Diablo Valley College 66
Thu, Dec 19, CCCMBCA scores
City College San Francisco 119, Merritt College 51
West Valley College 70, Sierra College 64
College of San Mateo 75, Reedley College 65 Reedley box
Contra Costa College 88, Butte College 76
Los Medanos College 66, Mendocino College 62
College of the Sequoias 82, Cerritos College 53 box. Leyton McGovern led the charge with 29 points plus 10 boards, four assists and two steals. Tyree (Burbank High) Gill finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a trio of steals.
College of Alameda 64, Solano College 63
Yuba College 83, College of Marin 68
Shasta College 91, Foothill College 86
DeAnza College 65, American River College 51
Skyline College 85, Lemoore College 70
College of the Redwoods 74, Pasadena City College 68
San Joaquin Delta College 95, Simpson University JV 67
..................................