March 20, 2012
Weekly Words:
The final seven state championships will be conducted in three regions — Far West, East and Midlands. The heavyweight states such as California, New York and Pennsylvania will certainly have direct affect on the Blue Star Go-To 25 boys basketball rankings. Last weekend state tournaments in Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey and New York continued to help reshape the Go-To 25 rankings heading into the final weekend. Once the state tournaments are complete, eight teams, mainly private schools and six from the Go-To 25, will convene at Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.) for the fourth annual National High School Invitational. The tournament will go a long way to determining our final No. 1 team but will reshuffle the rankings. Unless a team gets embarrassed at the event, they won’t drop from the Go-To 25. This week five teams are in action, including two from Pennsylvania. Three more regionally ranked teams vie for titles in California, New York and Ohio. No. 23 Trinity (Louisville) and No. 24 Mount Vernon (N.Y.) were added the Go-To 25 rankings upon winning state titles. Mount Vernon has one more game in the New York State Federation Tournament against New York City teams St. Raymond (Catholic State champions) or Boys and Girls (PSAL champions) in the Class AA final in Albany. Two more weekends of basketball, catch it while you can. See you at a game. — Christopher Lawlor
Varsity Letters: Here are a few nuggets from around the country.
Selected: Four of the nation’s most successful high school basketball coaches will serve as head coaches for the second annual All-American Championship, which takes place on Sunday, April 1, at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
The first game of the doubleheader will match the West vs. the East, followed by the North vs. the South. Tip-off is 3 p.m. ET. Each game will be aired live on ESPN3 with a rebroadcast of the doubleheader beginning at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Tickets for the All-American Championship may be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling TicketMaster (800-745-3000).
The East team will be guided by Mount Vernon (N.Y.) coach Bob Cimmino. In 18 years at Mount Vernon, Cimmino has led the Knights to six state championships, including the 2012 crown, marking the third time since 1978 that Mount Vernon has won back-to-back state championships.
No other coach in New York State history has won more state titles than Cimmino, who has won 387 games, 13 Section 1 championships (including the last seven in a row and 12 of the last 13), and four Federation crowns (with one more to be played next weekend in Albany, N.Y.). This past weekend he was inducted into the New York Basketball Hall of Fame.
Craig Brownson will head up the West squad. An assistant coach in last year’s inaugural All-American Championship in Houston, Brownson is in his fifth season at Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas). In that time the Tigers have won 131 games, including a school record 35 this season, and two straight district championships. He was named District 23-5A Coach of the Year in 2011.Serving as head coach of the South team is David Boyd of Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.). During his tenure with the Eagles, Boyd has guided his teams to 601 wins and six state championships in 10 appearances, including this year’s Georgia 5A title. He has also led Milton to 14 region championships. His teams are a remarkable 10-0 in state semifinal games and 18-2 in state tournament contests the past four year
The North squad will be led by Robert Smith of Simeon (Chicago). In his eight years at the helm of the Wolverines, Simeon has won five state championships, including each of the last three Illinois 4A titles. He owns a 230-37 record at Simeon and has coached, among others, NBA all-star Derrick Rose. These head coaches will be assisted by four New Orleans area head coaches: Bill Gallagher of Brother Martin (New Orleans), Errol Gauff of St. Thomas Aquinas (Hammond, La.), Chris Jennings of Jesuit (New Orleans), and Mike Krajcer of John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.). In addition, Kevin Dankosky (formerly of South Forsyth, Cumming, Ga.) and Gary DeCesare of St. Rita (Chicago) will assist.
A panel of the nation’s most respected media covering high school basketball serves as the selection committee for the All-American Championship: Paul Biancardi (ESPN.com); Eric Bossi (Rivals.com); Frank Burlison (BurlisonOnBasketball.com); Evan Daniels (Scout.com); Clark Francis (Hoop Scoop); Joel Francisco (ESPN.com); Rob Harrington (Prep Stars); Jason Hickman (Max Preps); Jim Hicks (RCS Sports, Houston); Tom Konchalski (High School Basketball Illustrated); and Chris Lawlor (Blue Star Media).
Reminder: Following in the shoes of Jordan Brand Classic alumni Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, the next generation of basketball’s brightest stars will take the floor in the 11th annual Jordan Brand Classic at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte on April 14.
The Jordan Brand Classic will be nationally televised live on ESPN.
The Jordan Brand Classic event will also include a Regional Game, featuring the top prep players from the state of North Carolina in an East vs. West showdown and the fifth annual International Game featuring 16 of the top 17-and-under players from around the world.
The tripleheader will begin with the International Game at 2:30 p.m. followed by the Regional Game at 4:30 PM, and the All-American Game at 7:00 p.m.
The International and regional rosters will be announced later.
Tickets for the Jordan Brand Classic are now on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, the Time Warner Cable box office, online at ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000.
Still available: Tickets for the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit on April (7 p.m. PT), at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., are on sale, with general admission still just $5 when purchased in advance and $10 on game day. Reserved courtside seating is $25 and $50, and tickets can be purchased through the Rose Quarter Ticket Office, by calling 877-789-ROSE (7673) or by visiting www.rosequarter.com.
The international game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net and its regional affiliates.
The 2012 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team roster will be selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee and is expected to be announced in the next few weeks, with the 2012 World Select Team announcement to follow in March.
The USA Junior National Select Team will consist of 10 players, a head coach and an assistant coach, while the World Select Team will consist of 11 players age 19-years-old or younger from FIBA’s five geographic zones.
Must-see events: There are six state tournaments this weekend in California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Here’s a look at them. In two of the aforementioned states the brackets will be completed on Tuesday or Wednesday.
