NorCal Clash Player Evaluations, Comments

Kevin McCarthy

Here’s our take on some of the various players, plus thoughts on the ball that was played:

» Politicians and corporate leaders get dinged for lacking "the vision thing" but Juan Anderson overflows with this attribute. He displayed the ability to pick out both open teammates, soon-to-be open colleagues, and to deliver pinpoint passes. Anderson was named the Player of the Game. His shooting was off though throughout most of the game.
» Finally, a replacement slogan has emerged for the venerable "it ain’t over until the fat lady sings" description of a game’s make-or-break outcome. From now on we’re going with "it ain’t over until Juan Anderson says so" as his last millisecond run-and-jump block on a breakaway layup attempt amply demonstrated not to count your points until the basketball emerges through the net.
» 6-foot-7 David Andoh was king of the midrange jumper -- a seemingly lost art. He is going to bring frontcourt scoring to St. Mary’s this coming season.
» Mark Tollefsen is a net-nestling shooter. To let him catch and fire is simply a losing strategy, as his treys never met iron.
» Just like in boxing, it’s the lower weight divisions that are often the most enjoyable to watch in hoops. The matchup of TJ Taylor and Dominic Artis banging each other around out front via dribble-drives and defensive stops was quite the spectacle.
» 6-foot-11 Robert Upshaw opened the game with a nice spin move inside for a basket and later nailed a top of the key trey. There’s promise in the 2012 big but also much work still to do. The PAC-10 will be watching.
» JT Adenrele may ‘only’ measure out at 6-foot-6 but no one battled harder and played bigger inside than the soon-to-be senior from Oakmont High.
» Berkeley’s High Langston Morris-Walker already looks college-ready physically and enjoyed some nice sequences on the court.
» Gary Williams is a solid glue guy and the 6-foot-3 Castlemont backcourter is one to watch as he enters his senior year.
» Watch to see the development of 2012 frontcourter Richard Longrus. The 6-foot-7 Bishop O’Dowd star had his moments and the addition of a couple more inches should throw his recruiting interest wide open.
» Which is true: Sometimes it is the little things that count versus don’t sweat the small stuff? Context rules the day, but it’s certainly the former on the basketball court.
» As is usual, not a lot of outside-shooting accuracy was on display in the Contra Costa College gym -- attempts, yes.
» The play was certainly uptempo but too often sloppy. Game-long penetrating the key resulted in seeking and making contact rather than many mid-range shot attempts. There were also no dunk freebies on the menu as it seemed every attempt to swoop in and send the ball downward was hotly contested.