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PHOENIX – Day I of the inaugural NCAA-front “College Basketball Academy” drew varying number of college coaches to its multiple “camp games” played Tuesday afternoon thru late evening.

At least that was the case for the “western” version of the event, which is being held at Grand Canyon University, in the impressive and well-conditioned campus arena and newly built Canyon Activity Center across campus.

The largest crowds of coaches – and schools they represented – were on hand for the games involved high school players already “identified” as well-better-than-average college prospects.

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LADERA RANCH – The Eyes of Texas shined upon the Ladera Ranch Sports Center Saturday – metaphorically speaking, that is.

The Ft. Worth-based YGC36 club program – fronted by Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and only in existence for four years – rolled out of the Ladera Ranch Sports Center Saturday evening with a couple of adidas Gold Gauntlet Finale championships.

The YGC36 (“Young Game Changers”; 36 is Smart’s jersey number) 17s flipped the result on its Compton Magic counterpart from the adidas Summer Championships in Alabama the week before, holding off the Magic in a gut-twister, 59-58.

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GARDEN GROVE – The Veritas club program will be represented in the championship games of each of the top 17s and 16s division in the Pangos Summer Sweet 16 Sunday afternoon at MAP Sports Facility.

The “International” squad (made up mostly of players originally from Latin and American countries) had to rally from 10 points down late to edge Arizona Firestone Elite, 54-52, late Saturday via the game-deciding layup from 6-foot-9 Deiman Reyes.

Coach George Zedan’s club also got clutch buckets from 6-7 forward Carlos Rosario and guard Julio Rodriguez in the final couple of minutes.

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IRVINE – What did my spending 13 hours in the Momentous Center leave me with Friday – besides a $50-plus dent on my Visa card because of some insanely over-priced snacks, that is?

It gave me the opportunity to see some outstanding “club teams” and terrific basketball players – some of those, multiple times, on the second dame of The Hoop Circuit’s West Coast Challenge.

The last game of the evening was a cool matchup between Las Vegas-based “Simply Fundamental” and one the top 17s clubs in the west in NorCal’s Lakeshow Elite.

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NORWALK – The Fullcourt Press All-West Basketball Camp, held Saturday and Sunday at Cerritos College, served as nice “run up” to the NCAA’s “evaluation period” – in which coaches from its membership schools can watch players at camps and tournaments across the country – that is being held from this coming Thursday to Sunday.

There were approximately 150 players on hand, largely from Southern California but also from the central and north portions of the state, as well as Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Alaska, Utah, Michigan and Kansas.

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