June 30, 2011

Play Hard Play Smart is SacTown royalty

Kevin McCarthy
 

After starring at McClatchy High in Sacramento, Brian Hamilton eventually made his way to BYU, playing for Steve Cleveland in the mid-1990s. In his Cougar profile at the time, he was asked to complete this open-ended statement: "In 20 years, I will..." Hamilton responded with "be spending time with my family and maybe coaching." Well, remove the ‘maybe’ on the coaching part because the founder of the Play Hard Play Smart (PHPS) club basketball team has his best squad yet, one that is repping Sacramento and northern California to great effect.

Kyiron Thomas

Just how well is PHPS doing in 2011?

Try 30-1.

According to Hamilton, "We went 4-0 at the Gerry Freitas SoCal Hoop Review in Los Angeles first, then we won the Pangos Sweet 16 in April. We went undefeated in the Super 60 Spring League, we lost at the buzzer in the city championship at San Francisco City College and we won the Magic Memorial Dal Festival in Los Angeles."

He has a simple mission statement of sorts about his team: "We're from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-6 but we play hardnosed pressure D." Someone else has described the PHPS display on the court as 40 minutes of hell, Nolan Richardson’s probable patent on such a phrase notwithstanding.

PHPS is loaded with transition talents, meaning rip down a rebound or cop a steal and it's off to the races.

As for the makeup of the team, here's Hamilton's descriptions in quotes:

"We had three players -- Dakarai Allen, D'Erryl Williams II, and Michael Bryson -- attend the Pangos All American Camp which features most of the top players in the country," Hamilton said.

• Dakarai Allen, 6-foot-4, wing, Sheldon High, 2013 - a wing, with extremely long arms plus athleticism, #13 in the NorCal Preps' 2013 rankings, a First Team All Delta River League selection.
  "He is playing really well and should end up as one of the top 100 in the various [national] prep rankings. Arizona, Washington State, Washington and UCLA are among the teams after him."
• Michael Bryson, 6-foot-4, shooting guard, Foothill High, 2012 - In an April 2011 NorCal Prep's article, Hamilton prognosticated this:
  "Michael will blow up this summer. He has a strong body, can shoot it and also defend, handle the ball and is explosive at attacking the rim." Hamilton just added "Stanford, Colorado, Pepperdine, St. Mary’s, San Francisco and Arizona State are interested."
• Erik Kinney, 6-foot-1, point, Sacramento High, 2012 - #30 in the NorCal Preps' 2012 rankings.
  "He is explosive, athletic and doing well. Davis, Cal Poly, San Francisco and Portland State are some of the schools interested."
• Ryan Manning, 6-foot-6, wing, Sheldon High, 2013 - the son of Rich Manning who played collegiately at Syracuse and Washington and in the NBA for the Grizzlies and Clippers.
  "He is playing well for us with Stanford, Davis and San Francisco displaying interest."
• Shawn Smith, 6-foot-6, wing, McClatchy High, 2012.
  "Shawn is explosive, has big time athleticism and can shoot it. He is getting better every game and tournament. He is being recruited by San Francisco, Bakersfield, Washington, Utah Valley, plus other west coast schools are interested."
• Kyiron Thomas, 6-foot-4, wing, Sheldon High, 2012 - #11 in the NorCal Preps' 2012 rankings.
  "Kyi is extremely athletic and already has interest from UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, San Francisco, Pepperdine, Cal Poly and more."
• D'Erryl Williams, 6-foot-4, Sheldon High, 2013 - #9 in the NorCal Preps' 2013 rankings, USF has already offered.
  "D'Erryl has had a really good spring, drawing interest from Stanford, San Francisco, Long Beach State, Washington State and Boise State."