LAS VEGAS – Pardon me, but I must misplaced the e-mailed flyer that was sent out in reference to the National Association of Basketball Coaches meeting Wednesday night at Bishop Gorman High.
Oh . . . it only seemed as if there enough high-profile coaches in the building to hold a national convention of sorts.
With the likes of Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Roy Williams (North Carolina) and Rick Pitino (Louisville), along with John Calipari (Kentucky) and Sean Miller (Arizona), checking in from courtside, the folks who bring us the Fab 48 put on another spectacular evening of some of the finest of high school basketball.
The Fab 48 Tip-Off Challenge had 16 prominent travel-ball teams, from across the country, in annual appearances.
With it being the first day of the third NCAA-approved “evaluation period” there were coaches galore on hand, beginning with the 5 o’clock games played between Wisconsin Swing and the Los Vegas Prospects, and the Utah Prospects and Aim High of Los Angeles, and wrapping up with Texas Select vs. Mac Irvin Fire of Chicago and the Juice All-Stars of New York and Nothing-But-Net of Minnesota.
The standout drawing the most of the attention from coaches during the first set of games was 6-foot-8 multi-skilled left hander Brekkott Chapman of Roy High and the Utah Prospects.
Chapman hit deep jumpers in the first half, then polished off Aim High over the final 16 minutes with several driving dunks and at least a half-dozen nifty assists to wrap up the 69-49 victory.
He may be the most complete player in the west in the Class of 2014.
The second set of games saw The Big Red (the 2013-14 team, more or less, that will represent Santa Ana, CA, Mater) take on the Chicago Mustangs, the front for Chicago’s St. Rita.
The Southern Californians pulled away down the stretch for an 81-73 victory behind the 26 points of 6-5 senior-to-be Stanley Johnson, who was being check out by Calipari and assistants Kenny Payne and Orlando Antigua, as well as USC coach Andy Enfield and assistant Jason Hart, Krzyzewski and assistant Steve Wojciechowski, Arizona coach Sean Miller, Florida coach Billy Donovan and assistants David Grace of UCLA and Kurtis Townsend of Kansas.
The most eagerly anticipated contest was the Belmont Shore (CA) vs. Mo Williams Elite tilt and, with college coaches and fans in general trying to keep up the pace in what proved to be a 101-93 victory for the Southern California lads.
Tyler Dorsey, a 6-4 guard from St. John Bosco (in Bellflower, CA), got 34 points a remarkable display of jump shooting while his prep teammate, 6-7 Daniel Hamilton, added 31 and 6-10 junior-to-be Stephen Zimmerman (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman chipped in 21 more and a dozen or so rebounds.
The dandy backcourt of Emmanuel Mudiay (Dallas Prime Prep) and Malik Newman (Jackson, MS, Galloway) combined for 65 points in losing cause.
And in a game that rivaled the Belmont Shore-Dallas Prime Prep showdown for thrills and chills, 6-4 guard Lance Babb hit the front end of a pair of free throws and Jahlil Okafor missed a 17-footer at the buzzer as Texas Select held on for the 63-62 victory over Mac Irvin All-Stars.
They are also the entry through which very many people enter their homes at
the end of long days. Tilt up doors use fir, spruce and other soft wood;
roll up uses oak, redwood or plywood. You may want to check the batteries to see if they are low.
The more folks know about you beforehand, the more likely they’re to seek you
out compared to the other way around rather.