“Argenal reunites with Musselman as Hogs’ new assistant” Andrew Hutchinson

Gus Argenal is always a plus addition to any coaching staff.

“Cougars Introduce New Boys Basketball Coach Nicholas Podesta” The Prowl

Congrats to Coach Podesta.

“Arizona forward Jordan Brown enters transfer portal” Ryan Kelamire

“ARCHBISHOP MITTY’S MARCUS GREENE SIGNS WITH MEN’S BASKETBALL” Sacramento State athletics

Team Arsenal: “2021 Robert Vaihola has committed to Fresno State! Congrats to Big Rob and the Vaihola family!”

He’s 6-foot-8 and out of Archbishop Riordan.

Miles Keefe: “Very excited to announce my commitment to UC Riverside. Extremely grateful for the opportunity. The work is only beginning”

Keefe is 6-foot-4, out of Branson High and a First Team All Marin County Athletic League 2020 honoree.

“Boulder on shoulder for SJSU commit Amey” Chris Jackson

6-foot-2 junior Jalen Dalcourt, who averaged 9.7 points per game this past season, is departing from San Jose State University. He started nine out of 14 games and played 23.7 minutes a contest. Did the arrival of Myron Amey play a role in his decision? Or the Spartan pursuit of other backcourt prospects? Or just desiring a fresh start?

“Washington Brings Home Quincy Pondexter as Assistant Coach” Max Vrooman

Pondexter prepped at San Joaquin Memorial High.

“Asian teen was punched and called racial slurs at Bay Area AAU basketball tournament” Joshua Bote

Here’s an update.

“Modesto Christian boys hoops beat Sheldon behind strong defensive performance” Julian A. Lopez

“Salesian gets revenge, holds off O’Dowd comeback” Isaac Lopez

“Big second quarter paves way for Bellarmine” Gregory Moreland-Tuhn

Siskiyous Basketball: “Proud of our 6 scholar athletes (3.0 gpa or higher) this past Fall semester! Kody (Mount Shasta High) Bauman 3.18, Harley (Weed High) Williams 3.0, Tripp (Weed High) Rodriguez 3.16, Cade Ealy 3.76 Presidents list, Not shown: Bryan Tapia 3.0, Zane Lueth 4.0 Presidents list”

Sacramento State Men’s Basketball: “Our 4th signing of the 2021-22 recruiting class! Marcus Greene – 6-2, 190-pound guard from Gilroy, Calif. – Played last year at Scotland Campus Prep in Pennsylvania – Prepped at Archbishop Mitty HS in San Jose – Two-time 1st team all-league Welcome to the family Marcus!”

Sacramento State Men’s Basketball: “Congratulations to Brandon Davis, who was selected in the 2nd round (19th overall pick) by the Guaynabo Mets of the BSN League in Puerto Rico! He will be one of 12 former Hornets currently playing pro ball.”

Earlier, I incorrectly had Davis returning to the Hornets. The additions of Greene and Chris Holley Jr. to Sacramento State are really important now.

6-foot-3 Myron (Vacaville High/Scotland Prep) Amey has committed to San Jose State University. The Spartans need point producers and Amey resides in that category.

“Lobos Add JUCO All-American Forward (Jay) Allen-Tovar” New Mexico athletics

He’s 6-foot-9 and out of Valley Christian High (San Jose).

Sean Paul: “New Mexico Military Institute guard Khaleb Wilson-Rouse announces his commitment to Pacific. Rouse averaged 22 PPG last season, which made him a top five scorer in D1 JUCO Hoops. He’s wired to score & super efficient. Expect him to make a name for himself in the WCC.”

Pierce Davis: “I’d like to thank everyone who helped me along my journey to get me to where I am today, a big thank you to @CoachLogie @_juliussmith @PFrost24 and everyone at PLNU for welcoming me to the community. I feel blessed to say I’m 100% committed.”

The 6-foot-8 Davis is out of Sheldon High and College Prep Academy. PLNU is Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. 

6-foot-5 Qiant Myers of Roosevelt High (Fresno) is headed next to Western Oregon University. link

Rose City Ballers: “Congrats to 2021 @MathewMontebon for signing with @paulsmiths way to go Matt.”

Montebon is a 6-foot-1 guard out of Newark Memorial High. Paul Smith’s College is located in the New York’s Adirondacks.

Rose City Ballers: “Congrats too @ChanceCarlton5 on his commitment too @GatorsMensBball thank you @coachdrakeg@zac_webb for recruiting our guys.”

The 5-foot-10 Carlton is out of Newark Memorial High. Green River College, located in Washington, is in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).

“Kiachian scores career-high 28 as Bellarmine tops Serra” Ethan Kassel

“Tamalpais pushes Riordan to the brink” Ethan Kassel

“Shorthanded SI grabs solid road win” Ethan Kassel

So what role will Ben Johnson play as assistant to San Jose State University Head Coach Tim Miles? It will be providing been there-done that experience with 30+ years in the coaching ranks plus hopefully (and critically) establishing a stronger Australia (and maybe New Zealand)-to-SJSU pipeline than was created during Johnson’s previous tenure at Portland.

Now Spartan basketball will finally have recruiting access to prospects in one or two foreign countries. That’s the goal at least.

A critical immediate test: can Johnson convince Aussie Deng Dut to sign with SJSU? He would immediately become the most talented Spartan on the roster and is a point to boot. The connection? Dut signed with Portland in November when Johnson was assisting there but recently asked out of his letter-of-intent and his request was granted. link

David Miller will be in his initial year as an assistant coach, coming over from being Arizona’s director of on-campus recruiting and basketball analytics for the past two seasons. He worked his way up from undergraduate manager to graduate manager at Arizona, then basketball analyst/video coordinator followed by Director of Player Development at Alabama as well as two and half years as Director of Basketball Operations at UC Santa Barbara.

His father Dave is a well-known basketball figure in southern California with NBA and college assisting experience who currently works in television now and also operates youth basketball camps. Dad’s hoops rolodex is ginormous so here’s hoping his voluminous contacts, especially in southern California, play a part in boosting SJSU’s recruiting productivity in the Southland. He is in his late 20s.

This is the hire whose primary responsibility will be saturating high school games and tournament events in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Damany Hendrix is the third and final assistant coach hire. He worked as a Director of Player Development at Vanderbilt in 2019, then was promoted to Assistant Coach in 2020. However, the April 2021 hiring of two new assistants in Nashville moved Hendrix back to the Director of Player Development position. He is out of Vallejo High and associated with the Oakland Soldiers, one of the top national spring and summer travel teams in the country.

But don’t even get started with the hope that the top level talents on the Soldiers, the national recruits, will be coming to Spartanville. That’s a fantasy. What his job will be is getting solid Bay Area and northern California prospects to consider becoming Spartans, making SJSU a player in geographic areas currently absent of a Spartan presence.

FYI: In 2016 at age 35, Hendrix wrote a book about his basketball journeys titled “The Pain and The Game: The Memoir of Damany Hendrix.”

Jeff Goodman: “San Jose State coach Tim Miles is hiring Vanderbilt’s Damany Hendrix as an assistant coach, source told @Stadium. Hendrix has strong Northern California ties and had previously been with Jerry Stackhouse in the G-League.”

The Vanderbilt bio for Hendrix.

Also from Goodman: “Jerry Stackhouse has revamped his initial coaching staff at Vanderbilt after going after people who criticized his original staff. Two former head coaches — Ed Conroy (who brought Liam Robbins) and Michael Curry — replaced Damany Hendrix and Faragi Phillips as assistants.”

Verbal Commits: “2021 College of Southern Idaho (ID)/Portland commit G Deng Dut is reopening his recruitment.”

CSI Men’s Basketball: “Our 6-4 PG, Deng Dut has decided to re-open his recruitment. Region 18 Player of the Year, soon to be All-American – Averaged 14.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg and shot 49% from 3”

Let’s see if new SJSU Assistant Coach Ben Johnson can work some magic on this Aussie. Dut would be the best talent on the Spartan roster if he comes aboard but some major programs will be moving on him.

Jeff Goodman: “San Jose State coach Tim Miles has hired Arizona recruiting coordinator David Miller as assistant coach, source toldd  @Stadium. Miller is a future star with strong west coast ties.”

Early on, Tim Marrion remained as the sole assistant coach holdover from Jean Prioleau’s staff but his name is no longer listed in the athletics staff directory.

“Marsalis Roberson | Rhythm & Flow” Mike Wood

CSU Pueblo MBB: “Help us welcome 2021 signee, Brett Thompson, to the Pack! Brett is from Oakland, CA and is joining us from the Pensacola State College”

Thompson is a 5-foot-11 sophomore out of James Logan High who averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 43%, 40% and 80% respectively this season. He attended Sheridan College in Wyoming as a freshman.

Tony Liebert: “Former #Gophers big man Sam Freeman has announced he will be committing to Pacific via his Instagram page. He will be joining Damon Stoudamire’s Tigers team.”

He’s a 6-foot-10, 220 sophomore who averaged 6.8 minutes per game this season.

Team Rampage Basketball: “Congrats to Myron Amey (2021) on receiving his 2nd D1 offer from the University of Maine”

He’s 6-foot-3, out of Vacaville High and currently doing a prep season at Scotland Campus Sports in Pennsylvania.

Quincy Urbina, formerly of CCSF and Clovis West High, played in six games/five starts for the NAIA-member Florida Memorial University Lions this season. He averaged 9.5 points plus 3.8 rebounds in 24.8 minutes an outing.

Under Tae Norwood, the new Humboldt State head coach, the Lumberjacks finished 4-5 in an abbreviated 2020-21 season as former Diablo Valley College guard Victor Mijas finished second on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game in nine contests/starts and 22.8 minutes an outing. He shot 43%, 40% and 81% respectively and grabbed 2.2 rebounds a night.

College of the Sequoias finished 8-1 this season and a number of northern California-connected talents took to the court for Coach Dallas Jensen:

• Ryan (Hanford High) Johnson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, has already committed to Coach Paul Trevor and Cal State Stanislaus. He averaged 18.6 points plus 8.2 rebounds.
• Connor (Dublin High/Hillcrest Prep) Jackson, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, averaged 6.0 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds
• Mohammed (Monterey High/Fresno City College) Adam, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, averaged 8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 47% overall plus 43% from long distance
• Amil (Moreau Catholic High) Fields, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, averaged 9.0 points and 3.1 rebounds
• Tivion (Selma High) Stroud, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, averaged 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds
• Tyler (Scotts Valley High/Gavilan College) Harris, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, averaged 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds

It will be interesting how many sophomores in the JC ranks decide to return for a full season.

Team Select, May 1-2 Jamboree / Antioch CA

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“Foundation for Excellence; On the Court, In the Class Room, In Life”

“Chuck Cooper III’s efforts made sure his dad got into Hall of Fame  Chuck Cooper was first African American drafted into the NBA” Jerry Bembry

Yes, Jack André took a self-described leap of faith. But he simultaneously developed a master plan and diligently followed it step-by-step. Successful in his approach, the 6-foot-8 basketball talent is now headed to Chico State in August as a member of Coach Greg Clink’s Wildcat squad.

With his recruiting interest a year ago not at the level he preferred, André faced a choice after graduating from Sacramento’s Jesuit High. That being, settle for something other than his dream school or use a gap year to upgrade his current reality. He chose the latter and began attending College Prep Academy (CPA) in Sacramento, a skill development program run by Brandon Cole and Don Manning-Fuimaono featuring training and practices as well as a national game schedule.

“I was real skinny coming out of high school but I’ve built my body up and gained close to 30 pounds by learning to eat right and lifting weights while at CPA,” André explained. “It was great competition, I loved every second of it.” He also developed three-point range on his shot as well as solidifying his inside and mid-range game. How did he improve his shooting? “It was repetitions plus more repetitions and doing everything at game speed.” Add in taking college classes on-line and André’s schedule was loaded.

All his work culminated in Chico State reaching out. “The whole week leading up to our Zoom call was stressful because I wasn’t sure if I would be offered,” André recounted. “Then I heard ‘we want to offer you a spot’ and I was looking at my parents with the biggest smile on my face. I responded, ‘I want to be a Wildcat.’ I took a leap of faith and it paid off.”

In a way, André to Chico State seemed almost preordained. “Our neighborhood is very close and it has some Chico State alumni so I grew up hearing all about the school and how my neighbors loved it.” Talking with Malik Duffy, another Jesuit grad and a five-year Wildcat, was also influential. “But what sealed the deal for me was listening to a podcast where some of the players talked about the Chico coaching staff (Clink and Assistant Coach Mark Darnall) as second father figures–that was awesome. Being at Chico State and a member of the team sets guys up for the rest of their lives.”

André will play the four and five spots and, as is the Chico custom, will likely redshirt in 2021-22 .”I’m super interchangeable. I have good footwork in the low and medium post, I can set a pick and roll to the basket or pick and pop. I space the floor really well now.”

So why the choice of CPA? “I’ve known Coach Cole since the seventh or eighth grade. He taught me so much and helped me fall in love with the game of basketball. I can’t thank him enough. The connection I have with him is what I want to have with my college basketball coach. We can talk about anything.”

Another close André influence is Dave Ancrum, the boys basketball coach at Sacramento Country Day School. “Since I was eight years old, he taught me how to work and love the game. He is like family to me and we talk about life.”

About on and off-the-court leadership, André said, “I definitely see myself as a leader, the guy who steps forward. I was a captain in high school and I’m vocal–I’ll tell you how I feel.”

André didn’t have to reach far into his memory bank when asked to detail his best basketball moment, offering, “it was my senior year against Christian Brothers High in the Holy Hoops rival game and I made a layup to put us up by one with two seconds left. They inbounded and got fouled but their player missed both free throws and we won.” When the buzzer sounded, “the bleachers cleared and our screaming fans swarmed us. It was so loud in the gym.”

“My Mom and Dad are in sales and I’m a people person,” so he will major in business.

Asked from where he derives his height, André explained, “My Dad is 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6 and my Mom is 5-foot-8.” The young man himself supplied the work ethic, the necessary co-ingredient to his hoops success.

Archbishop Mitty HS: “Congrats to alum Marcus Greene ‘20 who has received a scholarship offer from Sacramento State.”

Marcus Greene: “Blessed to receive an offer from @SacHornetsMBB. Thanks to Coach Katz and his staff for the invitation to join the family.”

Greene is a 6-foot-3 guard and a 2020 First Team All WCAL honoree. It would be good to get him back to the West Coast from Pennsylvania (Scotland Campus Sports) .

San Mateo Daily Journal: “Serra head basketball coach Chuck Rapp will miss the beginning of the Padres season as he continues to rehab from back surgery that caused him to sit out the 2016-17 season. Rapp missed the 2019-2020 because of the lengthy recovery.

Noah Stapes: “I want to thank all the coaches and schools that have reached out and shown interest in me these past couple weeks, I appreciate all of it! With that being said I am excited to announce I will be joining @CevinMeador and @coachike25 to play at Cal St Monterey Bay next year!”

Stapes is 6-foot-5 and out of St. Francis High. He previously was at Point Loma Nazarene University (San Deigo) where he averaged 7.5 points plus 4.8 rebounds this season while shooting 48%, 39% and 82% respectively. It looks like he’ll be a graduate transfer at CSUMB.

“THREE FROM MEN’S BASKETBALL GARNER (CAL PAC) POSTSEASON RECOGNITION”

“…6-foot-5 redshirt senior Chiwike (Salesian Prep) E’denchukwu anchored the (UC Merced) Bobcats to a perfect 9-0 record and a championship trophy with career-high’s across the board. The forward averaged just over 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals per game. His scoring and rebounding efforts were good for second in the conference, while his 1.5 steals per game led all Cal Pac Phase Two players. Only four other Cal Pac players in the last ten years have posted a similar stat line in league play (16 PPG, 8 RPG, 2 APG, 1.5 SPG), with the most recent player being Embry-Riddle’s Nick Johnson in 2018-19. E’denchukwu also led all players with a .635 field goal percentage, the Cal Pac’s highest mark in the last three years. E’denchukwu scored in double figures and shot at least 50% from the field in all nine games. He also grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four games, giving him a league-best four double-double’s on the year. His most notable performance was a 26-point, 14 rebound effort against La Sierra on March 19. With that effort, he earned his first of three Cal Pac Player of the Week awards in 2021…”

and

“CHAMPS! (UC MERCED) MEN’S BASKETBALL WINS FIRST CAL PAC TOURNAMENT TITLE”

From: “Northern Colorado has what it takes to make a run in 2021-22”

“…Sacramento-born guard Tre’Shon Smoots is a flashy player due to his quickness off the dribble & with high-end ball-handling ability, as he adds 6.2 PPG & 2.3 APG off the bench in a sixth-man role. Every great team contains a guy that’ll come off the bench as an energy guy, and that’s exactly what’s there with Smoots, oh and get this. Smoots shot over 40% from deep last season…”

Out of Oklahoma, 6-foot-4 Morgan Cox is headed to Simpson University. link

“Bay Area Boys Basketball Rankings” West Coast Preps

“Piedmont’s Harris, Murphy shine to beat SRV” Gregory Moreland-Tuhn

Bay Area Sports Guy: “Juan Toscano-Anderson postgame on NBCSBA: “Until I sign my name on that dotted line with a guaranteed contract, I’m still gonna still treat myself as a fringe NBA player. My back’s always against the wall.”

Ben Johnson is now on board as one of San Jose State University Coach Tim Miles’ assistants. Here is his Portland bio from the last five years assisting Terry Porter (fired on February 5) and besides his lengthy experience (seven years at Wisconsin-Green Bay plus 10 seasons with Washington State), it displays Johnson’s multiple connections to Australia basketball. Those ties are impressive but let’s dig deeper and explore results.

On new Portland Head Coach Shantay Legans’ (hired March 22) 2021-22 roster is one Aussie, 6-foot-4 junior Deng Dut, who is currently at Southern Idaho College but signed with the Pilots back in November 2020. He apparently is sticking with his choice and Johnson deserves credit for Dut coming to the Rose City.

The 2020-21 Portland roster contained one Australia native, 6-foot-5 freshman Zac Triplett, plus a talent from New Zealand, 6-foot-7 red shirt junior Takiula Fahrensohn. Credit Johnson for both although we’re unsure if the latter is a Johnson-influenced signing. Triplett averaged 2.8 points in 10.2 minutes per game during his initial season and is transferring from Portland with no new destination as yet. Fahrensohn, a redshirt junior this year, averaged 2.7 points in 13.3 minutes and is not listed on the 2021-22 roster.

The 2019-20 Portland roster featured no Australians talents but again Kiwi Takiula Fahrensohn appears.

On the 2018-19 Pilot roster, it’s only Takiula Fahrensohn. 

On the 2017-18 Portland roster, no Aussies or Kiwis appear.

On the 2016-17 roster, 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman Cheir Maker appears but he actually signed a season earlier and sat out. He transferred and eventually finished at Idaho State in 2020.

Johnson was hired at Portland in May 2016.

His tenure in Portland was not Aussie fruitful. No so-called recruiting pipeline developed between Oz and PDX.

So it’s fair to ask why will it be different now at SJSU?

What’s also fair is offering why Johnson will be an integral component of the Spartan coaching staff. In one word, experience, with little if anything, new or unfamiliar to him as he settles in as Miles’ top assistant (although Miles doesn’t do such designations). Johnson’s presence will also allow Miles, if he so chooses, to hire others lacking a lengthy college résumé but who bring different strengths to a staff.

6-f00t-2 point Damari (Moreau Catholic/Grand Canyon/USF) Milstead has entered the transfer portal as a graduate and thus is  eligible to play next season.

Portal Updates: “Pacific lands Utah State forward Alphonso Anderson. Averaged 7 ppg and 3 rebounds on a NCAA tournament team. Great pickup for the Tigers.”

The grad transfer stands 6-foot-6, 220 and redshirted as a freshman at Montana.

seckmor23: “Blessed to receive my 5th offer from UC Santa Barbara”

Rivals has Kansas, Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma State and USF (where he recently decommited) as the 7-foot Seck’s other offers.

Linton Brown: “Blessed and honored to receive my 13th offer from San Jose State University”

Linton Brown: “I will be changing my decision day, it will be May 2nd for my late grandmother’s bday”

The 6-foot-5 sophomore shooting guard (18.4 points per game) is out of the Florida JC ranks and particularly effective from long distance (48%, 73-151). Brown is now up to 14 offers with New Mexico and Iona (both of the Pitinos) having offered.

“Nevada basketball adds walk-on wing from the Bay Area in Caleb Oden“ Chris Murray

“(Oscar) Frayer’s mother, nephew receive GCU diploma  Basketball star finished Communications degree before March 23 fatal crash” Paul Coro

North Bay Basketball Academy has instructional classes coming up in and around Marin.

“Pull the Rope: 15 Principles to Create a Healthy Team Culture” Drew Torres, former boys varsity head coach at Freedom High and Antioch High

Rose City Ballers: “Congrats to 2021 Michael Moreno for signing with @MenloMBB thank you @bbrooney for recruiting our guys.

The 6-foot-5 Moreno is out of Christian Brothers and sports a 3.87 grade point average.

College of the Sequoias Men’s Basketball: “Congrats to 6’5” all-state wing @Johnson_Ryan12 on his commitment to Coach Paul Trevor and Coach Jordan Santa Maria with Stanislaus State Men’s Basketball.

Here’s an Ryan Johnson feature from 2020. Here’s another.

A very nice pickup — Johnson will be an all-league performer.

Chico State signs a SoCal big.

Cal Maritime Coach Tim Bross has been especially busy and productive:

Cal Maritime Men’s Basketball: “Welcome aboard Landon Courtman of Healdsburg, CA & Santa Rosa JC to the @Cal_Maritime Men’s Basketball team. The 6’7” forward will join the #keelhaulerfamily this fall!” Much more

Keelhaulers: “On signing day for Eric Figueroa and Miles Pennington, they tell us why they chose Cal Maritime, their strengths as a player, what they’re looking forward to about being a Keelhauler, and post-graduation plans. Press conference video including in article!”

Pennington is 6-foot-3 and out of Yuba College and Lindhurst High.

“MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS HIGH SCORING TRANSFER DAMION THORNTON” Sacramento State athletics

Santa Clara Men’s Basketball: “WELCOME to Santa Clara, Parker Braun”

The 6-foot-8, 220 Braun is coming over from Missouri. More on that move.

Team Arsenal: “Congrats to 2021 Robert Vaihola for receiving his 1st D1 scholarship offer from Fresno State! Hard work pays off!”

Vaihola stands 6-foot-7.

Full-Time Hoops: “Certain kids have gotten the raw deal out of the pandemic. 2021 Archbishop Riordan F Robert Vaihola is one of them. The 6-7 post is super productive (high level rebounder), and can score against length. And he can step out and hit the college 3. He’s a D1 prospect.”

Texas Tech Basketball: “Help us welcome @Kjallen32 to the Red Raider family!”

6-foot-6 Kaelen ‘KJ’ Allen is one of the prominent players out of East Los Angeles College and featured in Last Chance U.” He originally committed to USC.

On Monday, Salt Lake City College fell 93-89 to South Georgia State in the national JC tourname nt despite receiving 20 points, 12 boards and a pair of blocked shots from 6-foot-9 sophomore Jay (Valley Christian-San Jose) Allen-Tovar.

6-foot-3 senior Max Walters scored 39 points and the Soquel High boys basketball team beat host Scotts Valley 64-49 in a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League game Monday. He’s a Chico State signee.

“Pucci returns to his pavilion as short-term Colfax hoops coach” Nick Pecoraro

“LMU Signs Transfer Alex Merkviladze” Loyola Marymount athletics

Very interesting: “…I chose LMU because I felt genuine love from the team and the coaches,” said Merkviladze. The program checked all my boxes and I trusted my gut. Coach Stan spent time with me, gained my full trust, and I can call him my lifelong friend! Most importantly what LMU has and other colleges don’t is culture!…”

Tell us more.

Sean Paul: “Todd Golden & the WCC continue to make moves. Zane Meeks is a tremendous stretch four that joins a transfer class of Patrick Tapé, Gabe Stefanini & Yauhen Massalski at USF.”

Chris Murray offers a Meeks feature.

The 6-foot-9, 215 Meeks was hindered by a knee injury last season at Nevada while averaging 9.0 points plus 5.9 rebounds.

Massalski, Stefanini, Tapé and Meeks sound like partners in an international law firm.

CCSF Men’s Basketball: “Dale Currie has been offered by @SwordsMBB”

Currie is a 6-foot-1 guard out of Sheldon High. At CCSF, he averaged 10.8 points per game while shooting 43%, 35% and 72% respectively. He also contributed 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.2 steals an outing.

Kevin (Pleasant Valley High) Kremer and Raazhel (College Park High/Los Medanos College) Watkins are two from northern California already on the Chaminade University roster.

Myron Amey: “Blessed to announce that I received my first division 1 offer from San Jose State University. Thank you to Coach Miles and the coaching staff for this opportunity.”

Amey is 6-foot-2, 175 and out of Vacaville High and Team Rampage. He’s currently at the Scotland Campus Sports prep school in Pennsylvania. As is sung in “Les Misérables” –  “Bring Him Home.”

De’Sean (Grant High/Salt Lake CC/Portland State) Parsons was recently honored as the regular season Most Valuable Player of the Slovakia – Extraliga League after averaging 21.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

“Personal reasons force Cam Oliver’s stellar season in Australia to be cut short” Chris Murray

“Norcal Players with All-League Honors” Simply Basketball

Jake Lieberman: “Big news: (Darrion) Trammell announced that he will be withdrawing from the transfer portal, and will return to Seattle U.

The price for Seattle Redhawks stock just skyrocketed.

Kyree Brown: from San Francisco City College to Seattle in pictures:

Jeff Goodman: “LMU has landed Cal State Northridge transfer Alex Merkviladze. Freshman forward averaged 10 and 7 last year while shooting nearly 40 percent from 3.”

He’s 6-foot-9, 225 and out of Modesto Christian.

“James Akinjo enters transfer portal” Jason Scheer

and

“Can James Akinjo’s skills translate to the NBA?” Patrick Carr

Jake Lieberman: “Yaru Harvey has followed Shantay Legans to Portland. Was previously committed to Eastern Washington. 2021 recruit.”

Harvey is a 6-foot-2 guard formerly of Sheldon High now at the Southern California Academy.

IamRodrickMcCobb: “We headed back to Cali….NorCal wassup”

McCobb is a 6-foot-5 senior shooting guard coming back from Northern Colorado.

“JTA has outplayed his two-way contract and Warriors know it” Monte Poole

“What 36 years of the coaching carousel tells us about Arizona, Pacific and Damon Stoudamire” Will Maupin

Maupin is always a worthwhile read.

Checking in on …

6-foot-9 sophomore Jay (Valley Christian-San Jose) Allen-Tovar is averaging 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 60%, 27% and 73% respectively while playing in 23 games/16 starts and 21.4 minutes a contest. He has 28 blocked shots thus far for Salt Lake Community College which plays Monday against South Georgia State College NJCAA nationals.

Jay Allen-Tovar: “Just received my 4th offer from the University of Tulsa.” Lamar is one with Chicago State, Monmouth and Middle Tennessee the others.

His academics are definitely in order:

CCSF Men’s Basketball: “Kyree Brown has been offered and committed to Seattle U!”

Brown is a 6-footer out of Berkeley High with three years of remaining eligibility. As a Ram freshman, he averaged 8.7 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals. The airline flying out of SFO to Seattle ought to be subsidizing CCSF basketball.

“MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS LOCAL PRODUCT AND JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL GUARD CHRIS HOLLEY“ Sacramento State athletics

“MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS TOLEDO TRANSFER JONATHAN KOMAGUM“ Sacramento State athletics

7-foot Archbishop Riordan center Mor Seck has pulled his commitment to USF and also jumped back into the 2022 class.

Here’s a December 2020 Mor Seck feature.

“‘Work begins now’: Wildcats hire Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd as new coach” Bruce Pascoe

No mention of Damon Stoudamire’s name here although there is this: “…Arizona also interviewed several former Wildcats players, with Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner getting the most interest among them…”

Will this hire influence James Akinjo’s decision to stay or go?

Klein Cain Boys: “Congrats to Senior guard Drey Ubas and Senior Guard Seth Adams on signing to further their athletic careers at @SUMensBball”

Each is out of H0uston and heading to Simpson University. Ubas is a 5-foot-10 point, Ubas a 6-foot-1 two guard.

“Talented Campolindo is eager to build off the success from the past two years” Willy Lepori

“Playing through adversity, Granada basketball looks to have a strong season” Ray Morrissey

“Aptos’ Moreno, Soquel’s Walters battle for final bragging rights – the league title | SCCAL Boys Basketball Preview” Ray Hacke

2021 Prolific Summer Academy Camps

Prolific Summer Academy offers Old School, Overnight B-ball camps All summer (3x workouts per day), as well as day camps for local, commuter day campers. Work with the Prolific Prep stars and alumni all summer. Furthermore, we have two age groups and also will have a girls only camp in August.

Space is limited for OVERNIGHT CAMPER SPOTS (because of Covid), so act quickly. Boarding Campers cannot book online, and must call to lock in a spot in one of our houses.

For Prolific Academy: Sign up at: https://www.prolificprep.org/summeracademy

For Prolific Junior Academy: Sign up at: https://www.prolificprep.org/prolificjunioracademy

*Prolific Junior campers is for 7th graders and below

For more information: Call (707) 849-1212, or via email ProlificSummerAcademy@gmail.com.

“A whole different world for Tim Miles, the guy from Doland, SD” Mike McFeely

A brutally honest assessment of the South Bay hoops universe Tim Miles has chosen to enter.

“The Long and Winding Road For Spartan MBB” Matt Penland, SJSU Assistant Director of Media Relations

Success begets success. Quite often it’s true, but not always. Sometimes a different formula, whether it be nibbling at the edges or altering a core component is necessary to meet new challenges. However, Chico State basketball continues to compete for the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship with a tried and true formula of bringing in talented recruits who are committed students and unselfish individuals and Miles Daniels is a continuation of that blueprint.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard out of De La Salle High will be in Acker Gym next season because “I knew a lot about it (the school and program) and it felt like home. They were telling me they would need a point guard.” Also, “my coach (Justin Argenal) played there.” In fact, Argenal holds the Wildcats’ all-time assists record, an achievement Daniels may very well employ as motivation.

“Coaching Miles over the last several years has been an absolute joy,” said Argenal. “He is a coaches dream. His hard work has made him one of the best guards in NorCal. Coach Clink and the Wildcat faithful are getting a gem and we are so excited to follow his progress at Chico State.”

According to Daniels, “Leadership, being pass-first and getting teammates going” is what Chico State fans will be seeing when he is on the floor. “As the head of the snake, I lead by always going hard and being an example. That gets the respect of your teammates. You build a bond with them and they will listen when you give corrections.”

Daniels views point Chris Paul, now with the Phoenix Suns, as a model on the court especially so because “he controls the game and pace and is always a winner.”

Along with basketball, Daniels also played baseball up to his sophomore year in high school. But a growth spurt — “I was 5-foot-6 as freshman” — made it clear he had a future in basketball. Daniels then decided to focus on hoops. This compounded the inspiration received during his freshman season when “Coach Pelosi told me I was special. It gave me confidence and I began to trust myself.”

He will major in business and his academics are in order. “My parents, my Mom for sure, stay on me about studying.”

As for this season’s De La Salle squad, Daniels offered, “it looks good, we have a lot of talented players.” The Spartans are coming off back-to-back North Coast Section championships — “the tough practices and working hard paid off” — and will begin scrimmaging on April 22 followed by games through the end of May.

Can this season’s Daniels-led De La Salle squad again reach lofty heights? We’ll know soon.

“Aaron Gordon Has Raised the Denver Nuggets’ Ceiling Sky-High” Kyle Koster

Shams Charania: “The New Orleans Pelicans plan to sign guard James Nunnally to a two-way contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Nunnally has played parts of two NBA seasons with four teams.”

JoJo Murphy: “Blessed to have received my first offer from Point Loma Nazarene University!!”

He’s a 6-foot-2 guard out of Piedmont High. Here’s a March 2021 feature.

Jeff Goodman: “Cal transfer Matt Bradley announced he will head to San Diego State. Huge get for Brian Dutcher and the Aztecs. Averaged 18 points per game last season.”

After a coaching change, 6-foot-3 redshirt junior Brandynn (Pittsburg High/Merritt College) Manning is transferring from South Carolina State.

On Friday, April 9, Feather River College defeated College of the Siskiyou 85-80. 6-5 freshman guard Brandon Scott led the way with 29 points, followed by 6-foot-5 sophomore Jake (Pleasant Valley High) Rick’s 16, 6-foot-1 freshman Willie (Foothill High)  Goebbel’s 11 points and 15 boards plus 6-foot-4 freshman Jakarri (McClymonds High) Lindsey’s 10 and 14 rebounds.

“Immediately eligible: NCAA on verge of transfer rule change” Ralph D. Russo

“Talented Salesian basketball gets green light to play” Willy Lepori

“Winters, Greenwood and Rohosy look to lead Marin Catholic” Jake Morrissey

“Former NBA player Brian Grant tells a real story in his new book” John Canzano

Jon Rothstein: “Columbia transfer Gabe Stefanini has committed to San Francisco, per his Instagram page.”

Jon Rothstein: “Duke transfer Patrick Tapé has also committed to San Francisco, per the Instagram post below. Big AM for Todd Golden and the Dons.”

Sean Paul: “And yep, Tapé appears to be joining Stefanini. Two major adds for Todd Golden, a lot of fun connections here. Tapé & Gabe played at Columbia together — and Golden was an assistant at Columbia (not at the same time those two attended the school though)”

Stefanini is 6-foot-3, 210 while Tapé is 6-foot-10, 220. The former sat out last season due to injury and the Ivy League didn’t participate in 2020-21 but he averaged 13.8 points and 4.1 assists as a sophomore. The latter also sat out two seasons ago because of an injury and played little in 2020-21 with Duke as a grad transfer.

Then, Kevin Sweeney: “A great day for San Francisco continues as the Dons add big man Yauhen Massalki, a transfer from San Diego. Averaged 9.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 10 games this year at San Diego.”

Massalki is 6-foot-10, 245 and from Belarus who played in 10 games this season with five starts and at 22.5 minutes per contest.

The Dons need greater productivity at the five spot and it appears that need has been filled. Stefanini will be a major plus.

San Joaquin Delta Men’s Basketball: “We are proud to announce that Dillon Autrey has committed to CSU East Bay. Dillon averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds in 2019-2020″

The 6-foot-8 Autrey is also out of Calaveras High will be playing for Bryan Rooney, one of the best coaches and human beings in and out of sports.

Yaru Harvey has de-committed from Eastern Washington. Will he follow Shantay Legans and head to Portland? He’s 6-foot-2, currently at the Southern California Academy and formerly of Sheldon High.

Harold R. Kuntz: “Can confirm former BV Northwest and Mizzou player Parker Braun is headed to Santa Clara. Chose the WCC school over Oklahoma and Creighton.”

Braun is a 6-foot-8, 220 sophomore.

6-foot-4 shooting guard Kane Milling is moving from Nevada to UC Davis. link

Over half of his 104 shots were beyond the arc with 37% accuracy.

Jeff Goodman on Thursday: “Arizona interviewed Damon Stoudamire today and will interview Miles Simon tomorrow, source told @stadium. No decision has been made yet on a successor to Sean Miller. Gonzaga associate head coach Tommy Lloyd is also in the mix”

Jake Lieberman: “SIUE transfer Philip Pepple tells me that he has heard from Cal Baptist, San Jose State, Eastern Michigan, UIC, Boston U, Northern Arizona, and Cal State Fullerton since entering the portal. 6’10 big who averaged 7.8 PPG and 5.0 RPG this season.”

The Spartans need major help upfront and Pepple Jr. has intriguing potential. He played in four games with three starts and 24.7 minutes an outing. His 10 shot blocks is impressive.

Jake Lieberman: “Pacific transfer Broc Finstuen tells me that the following schools have contacted him since entering the portal: Montana, Montana State, San Jose State, Idaho, UT-Martin, North Dakota, NDSU, UMKC, UMass Lowell, SIU. Averaged 11.2 PPG and 5.7 RPG.”

Finstuen is a 6-foot-4 senior.

“Norcal Players Who Have Entered the College Transfer Portal” Carson Cook, Simply Basketball

“Barret Peery Moves To Associate Head Coach Position At Texas Tech” Portland State athletics

The Vikings job is open once again — will anyone from northern California be in the running?

“Matthew Dellavedova‘s return has given Cleveland the backup point guard it has been lacking all season, Fedor writes in a separate story. Dellavedova, who missed 47 games due to a concussion, whiplash, and an emergency appendectomy, is averaging a modest 2.3 points and 5.5 assists through four games, but his plus-minus rating is at plus-29 in 70 minutes. “Delly really does a great job of playing with his brain,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He understands how to set the table for other people. His game isn’t based on himself. When your game is based on the team and making your teammates’ job easier, it makes … your comeback a little bit easier.” – Arthur Hill

“Our Coach Should Still Be Our Coach” Jordan Coffin

For far too many, the Confederacy never ended.

“NCAA Tournament fall didn’t kill referee Bert Smith. It saved his life.” Greg Doyel

Quick hitters on Tim Miles, the new San Jose State University head coach:

The Proven

• Miles will change his team’s on and off court culture for the better
• Miles’ squad will play hard-nosed and physical – cue Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”
• Miles will become a Bay Area media darling, that is, IF any entity in the Bay Area is compelled to cover Spartan basketball
• Miles will perform as the ringleader in outreach and interaction with fans and students
• Miles’ enthusiasm will be a critical positive factor in prospects wanting to come play at SJSU
• Miles has the personal wherewithal to begin an overall change in the perception of San Jose State University hoops
• Whichever administrators are currently the actual major domos in the SJSU athletics department FINALLY ponied up solid money for this hire to happen.

The Unknown Elements Requiring Further Time and Then Evaluation

• Regarding the individuals Miles hires as assistants — what, if any, plus skill(s) will each hire bring?
• Regarding early-on media recruiting reports about the prospects Miles is pursuing – will they indicate he has raised the talent bar for SJSU?
• Regarding Miles’ initial recruiting class – will the signees be prospects also pursued by quality programs elsewhere, including fellow Mountain West Conference members, or the usual leftovers?
• Has the program budget been increased as well as the salaries for the aforementioned assistant coaches?
• A legitimate concern is the hiring of someone fired from his previous job (Nebraska), a school possessing far greater basketball program resources than SJSU (but albeit in a much, much tougher league)
• Another important concern is why the hiring of someone minus Bay Area/northern California ties and recruiting connections? Miles went 0-16, 4-12, 7-9, 9-7 and 8-6 in league while at Colorado State and then the 5-13, 11-7, 5-13, 6-12, 6-12, 13-5, 6-14 with Nebraska. As his records indicate, Miles’ recruiting success was sporadic and he must develop consistency in order to first achieve and then maintain success at SJSU

The mantra from here on out bears memorizing and repeating:  Want to be viewed as a first class entity? Act first class. Pay first class. Fund first class.

Jon Rothstein: “Sources: UC Santa Barbara’s Joe Pasternack has signed a five-year contract extension. Has led the Gauchos to four straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.”

Life in Goleta is very good for the former Cal assistant. Curiously didn’t see his name appearing for the current Arizona opening.

Jake Lieberman: “Seattle U transfer Darrion Trammell tells me that he has heard from the following: USC, Georgetown, Colorado, Iowa State, Oregon State, Washington State, St. John’s, +. Averaged 20.5 PPG this season.”

6-foot-5 Ryan (Hanford High) Johnson of College of the Sequoias has started the season strong with 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds a game while shooting 46%, 35% and 78% respectively. In nine games and eight starts, he is playing 27.2 minutes a contest.

Fascinating athletic history as he started out as a quarterback at San Jose State University.

“Warriors Sign Gary Payton II To 10-Day Deal” Luke Adams

If the Warriors take a tumble, how about then signing Gary Payton for a brief one game appearance? Understand that respecting the game is foremost but what a memory that would provide to the family and fans.

Law Murray: “Malik Fitts earned praise for his willingness to combine strong shooting with an ability to step up defensively in the G League bubble. Now he’s expected to join the Clippers after being with them in training camp.”

The 6-foot-8 former St. Mary’ Gael is stepping up.

Chris Murray on the San Jose State University hire of Tim Miles: “The grade: A- —My first thought when hearing Miles was SJSU’s new head coach was, “Tim Miles must really like pain.” Miles has taken on a number of reclamation projects during his coaching career, none as big as SJSU. This marks Miles’ six head-coaching job, including stints at Mayville State (an NAIA school), Southwest Minnesota State (a Division II school), North Dakota State (which he transitioned from Division II to Division I), Colorado State (which went 0-16 in MW play in his first season) and Nebraska (one of the Big Ten’s toughest jobs; had 13 straight non-winning conference seasons prior to Miles being hired). There appears to be no rebuild Miles won’t take on. And boy, oh, boy is SJSU a reclamation project. The Spartans have had only one winning season in the last 27 years (and that was a 17-16 campaign in 2010-11). It has one NCAA Tournament berth in the last 40 years. And since moving to the MW in 2013, the Spartans are 52-183 overall and 20-122 in conference play. Good luck, Coach Miles! Miles is a proven program builder, although it’s worth nothing he had only had four above-.500 conference records in his combined 12 seasons at Colorado State and Nebraska where he went a combined 80-126 in league play. I attribute that mostly to situations he inherited. Bottom line is Miles is a good coach who is a perfect fit for SJSU as somebody who is used to digging his program out of the basement, creating enthusiasm in the fan base (something the Spartans sorely need) and has experience in the MW, where Miles coached for five seasons, lifting Colorado State from 0-16 in conference play in season one to the NCAA Tournament in season five before leaving for Nebraska. This doesn’t mean SJSU is going to win big under Miles. That’s a gargantuan task. But Miles has as good a chance as anybody SJSU could have hired to turn this thing around.”

A thought: Somewhere (hopefully in the Bay Area), an AD will come to realize that CCSF’s Justin Labagh’s success with the Rams will transfer to the D1 ranks. It doesn’t take bravery, just conviction.