TheLounge
03-05-2007, 07:39 PM
The thing I like best about covering the Central Coast Section basketball finals is getting a chance to see some of the best teams and players compete. Although the Menlo and Menlo-Atherton boys’ basketball teams came up short in Division IV and Division II title games, respectively, it offered me an opportunity to see some of the top players the Bay Area offers.
Menlo took on top-seeded Palma-Salinas and their top player, Orlando Johnson —*who is serenaded with chants of “O.J.” from the student section whenever he does something good. Johnson, a 6-foot-5 forward who is headed to Loyola-Marymount, led CCS in scoring at roughly 26 points per game and he lived up to the hype in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points over the final 16 minutes. At one point, he hit seven straight shots.
Although I wasn’t super impressed with his performance Friday night — and credit goes to the Menlo defense for holding Johnson in check for a half, “The best defense I’ve ever seen,” Johnson said —*there were moments when you saw he was a legitimate Division I recruit. Several times he just muscled his way into the paint and then over the defender for a bucket. He also can handle the ball, serving as a point-forward on several possessions — although he did get his pocket picked a few times. He best play, however, came when he drove hard into the key, only to stop on a dime, rise up and knock down a mid-range jumper.
That was Johnson’s best “Wow” move of the game.
In the Friday night capper, I got my first look at Mitty’s Drew Gordon and Colin Chiverton —*Chiverton is one of the top junior prospects in the Bay Area while Gordon is one of the top junior prospects in the nation with every major Division I college program after him.
While Chiverton was just average, it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-10 Gordon to make his mark. Early in the first quarter, he came up with a steal in the backcourt, corralled the loose ball and headed upcourt. There was no doubt he would dunk the ball. But he cupped the ball with right wrist and forearm, took flight a couple steps into the key and slammed home a dunk that would make Michael Jordan proud. Unbelievable. Most dunks in high school games, around here anyway, are your garden variety, two-handed, two-foot flush.
Gordon’s dunk was the best by a prep player I’ve ever seen in person.
***
It’s from the frying pan and into the fire for the M-A boys’ team.
Friday night, they faced two of the best junior prospects in Gordon and Chiverton. Thursday night, the Bears travel to Richmond to take on Wendell McKines and Eli Holman in the first round of the NorCal tournament. Richmond defeated Montgomery-Santa Rosa to win the North Coast Section Division II title.
If you think Gordon and Chiverton are good, check out this duo. Their performance alone is worth the price of admission. The 6-foot-5 McKines, who is headed to USF next season, is averaging about 40 points a game this season. That is not a misprint. He’s been doing this for the last three years. Check out this scoring line against Berkeley during the 2005-06 season: 45 points, 23 rebounds, 13 assists and 15 dunks. On his myspace.com page, there are three YouTube videos of his play — two-handed jams, a reverse jam and my favorite, one in which he nearly jumps over a defender to slam home a missed shot.
Then there is his running mate, the 6-foot-10, University of Indiana-bound Holman. He’s played only about 10 games this season after serving an 18-month suspension for pushing a ref last season. But he quickly made up for lost time. In his first game back, Holman scored 27 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked nine shots in a win over Encinal-Alameda. As a sophomore, his last full season of high school ball, he averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
***
It seems to me that the M-A student cheering section has replaced Serra for the top spot on the Peninsula. The Bears’ supporters have been at full voice since the beginning of the season. They even showed up en masse for Wednesday afternoon games. They were especially vocal during the Bears’ run to the CCS finals. In the finals against Mitty, they were in full throat the moment their team took the floor for warmups.
The Serra student section was at their zenith two years ago during the Padres’ run to the state championship game. The last couple of years, however, there has been a definite drop-off. They’re just not as rowdy as they were two years ago.
Sorry guys.
***
A quick look at a fact sheet given to media members following Menlo’s loss to Palma showed the odds were stacked against the Knights.
Although Menlo was 4-0 in CCS title games —*the Knights won section championships in 1983, 1988, 1989 and 1991 —*it was 0-5 versus the Chieftains in CCS games, including first-round losses in 1975, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.
Menlo took on top-seeded Palma-Salinas and their top player, Orlando Johnson —*who is serenaded with chants of “O.J.” from the student section whenever he does something good. Johnson, a 6-foot-5 forward who is headed to Loyola-Marymount, led CCS in scoring at roughly 26 points per game and he lived up to the hype in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points over the final 16 minutes. At one point, he hit seven straight shots.
Although I wasn’t super impressed with his performance Friday night — and credit goes to the Menlo defense for holding Johnson in check for a half, “The best defense I’ve ever seen,” Johnson said —*there were moments when you saw he was a legitimate Division I recruit. Several times he just muscled his way into the paint and then over the defender for a bucket. He also can handle the ball, serving as a point-forward on several possessions — although he did get his pocket picked a few times. He best play, however, came when he drove hard into the key, only to stop on a dime, rise up and knock down a mid-range jumper.
That was Johnson’s best “Wow” move of the game.
In the Friday night capper, I got my first look at Mitty’s Drew Gordon and Colin Chiverton —*Chiverton is one of the top junior prospects in the Bay Area while Gordon is one of the top junior prospects in the nation with every major Division I college program after him.
While Chiverton was just average, it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-10 Gordon to make his mark. Early in the first quarter, he came up with a steal in the backcourt, corralled the loose ball and headed upcourt. There was no doubt he would dunk the ball. But he cupped the ball with right wrist and forearm, took flight a couple steps into the key and slammed home a dunk that would make Michael Jordan proud. Unbelievable. Most dunks in high school games, around here anyway, are your garden variety, two-handed, two-foot flush.
Gordon’s dunk was the best by a prep player I’ve ever seen in person.
***
It’s from the frying pan and into the fire for the M-A boys’ team.
Friday night, they faced two of the best junior prospects in Gordon and Chiverton. Thursday night, the Bears travel to Richmond to take on Wendell McKines and Eli Holman in the first round of the NorCal tournament. Richmond defeated Montgomery-Santa Rosa to win the North Coast Section Division II title.
If you think Gordon and Chiverton are good, check out this duo. Their performance alone is worth the price of admission. The 6-foot-5 McKines, who is headed to USF next season, is averaging about 40 points a game this season. That is not a misprint. He’s been doing this for the last three years. Check out this scoring line against Berkeley during the 2005-06 season: 45 points, 23 rebounds, 13 assists and 15 dunks. On his myspace.com page, there are three YouTube videos of his play — two-handed jams, a reverse jam and my favorite, one in which he nearly jumps over a defender to slam home a missed shot.
Then there is his running mate, the 6-foot-10, University of Indiana-bound Holman. He’s played only about 10 games this season after serving an 18-month suspension for pushing a ref last season. But he quickly made up for lost time. In his first game back, Holman scored 27 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked nine shots in a win over Encinal-Alameda. As a sophomore, his last full season of high school ball, he averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
***
It seems to me that the M-A student cheering section has replaced Serra for the top spot on the Peninsula. The Bears’ supporters have been at full voice since the beginning of the season. They even showed up en masse for Wednesday afternoon games. They were especially vocal during the Bears’ run to the CCS finals. In the finals against Mitty, they were in full throat the moment their team took the floor for warmups.
The Serra student section was at their zenith two years ago during the Padres’ run to the state championship game. The last couple of years, however, there has been a definite drop-off. They’re just not as rowdy as they were two years ago.
Sorry guys.
***
A quick look at a fact sheet given to media members following Menlo’s loss to Palma showed the odds were stacked against the Knights.
Although Menlo was 4-0 in CCS title games —*the Knights won section championships in 1983, 1988, 1989 and 1991 —*it was 0-5 versus the Chieftains in CCS games, including first-round losses in 1975, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.