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NOTE: This is part of the column I wrote very early Friday morning for the April edition of Basketball Times.

 

LAGUNA NIGUEL – When things are back to “normal” – or whatever fits the definition in a post-COVID-19 world – here are some things that NCAA officials and presidents/athletic directors from the organization’s affiliated universities should consider:

*Men’s and women’s basketball players who were “seniors” during the 2019-20 season and whose teams were still scheduled to be involved in conference tournament action upon the shutdown of the season will be granted extended eligibility into the 2020-21 season, with “full-scholarship” status.

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NORTHRIDGE – With a little more than three minutes to go in regulation, it appeared as if the third meeting this season between the Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon boys’ basketball teams was, indeed, going to the charm for the former.

Instead, quickly unraveled into the nightmare.

Etiwanda, which dropped a couple of decisions to the top-ranked Trailblazers earlier in the seasons, held an 11-point advantage with a little less than three minutes remaining in front of boisterous, SRO-only crowd Tuesday night at Cal State Northridge during the CIF State Southern Open Regional final.

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NORWALK – There were multiple standouts during last weekend’s Pangos Junior All-American Camp at Cerritos College.

The “best of the best”, though, from the Class of 2024 – at least on Saturday and Sunday – were a couple of kids from Florida and Texas, respectively

Six-foot-two guard point guard Chandler Watts – who started smashing dunks, too, the moment he walked on the floor Saturday afternoon – got the nod as the camp’s Most Outstanding Player following the conclusion of the Best of the Best All-Star Game.

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SANTA ANA – The Etiwanda High boys’ basketball teams has lost just twice in the most recent 25 games it has played this season.

Tuesday night the Eagles will get a third pop at knocking off the squad that handed it those two losses.

Etiwanda (30-3) trailed by nine points midway thru the first quarter, used its stout half-court defense and balanced offense to knock off the host Monarchs, 65-61, in a Saturday night CIF State Open Regional semifinal pitting the division’s respective 3 and 2 seeds.

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BELLFLOWER – A year or so after winning CIF Southern Section 4A and State D-IV championships, the Ribet Academy program is showing it is more than capable of holding up to the “big boys” of high school basketball in Southern California.

Two nights after smashing long-time L.A. City powerhouse and Open champion Westchester by 24 points in a State Southern Regional D-I opener, the Fighting Frogs went into the St. John Bosco gymnasium Thursday night and toppled the bracket’s top seed, 61-58.

Six-foot -five sophomore Tre White – a transfer from Dallas who wasn’t cleared to play until Feb.

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