Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (1/15)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

Roy Williams: We only had one scholarship and we held that scholarship for Kevin Love, a youngster out on the West Coast that I just loved to death. He throws the best outlet pass I’ve ever seen in high school basketball and the only one who ever came close was Wes Unseld.... Because of putting all the emphasis on him, and the fact that we only had one scholarship, we decided not to recruit anyone else from this class at this time. CU Tigers 1/9

Chace Stanback, Fairfax: Had 35 points and 12 rebounds for Fairfax (9-3, 2-0), ranked No. 4 in the Southland by The Times, in an 86-44 Western League victory over visiting Los Angeles University. LA Times 1/10

Clackamas boys had no answer for 6-9 Kevin Love, as they yielded to the Lakers 90-56 in last week’s league opener. Love tallied 40 points and had half as many rebounds. Clackmas Review 1/10

In the West, it seems, there are talented young big men everywhere you look -- from Gonzaga sophomore Josh Heytvelt and the Washington duo through the Bay Area contingent, which includes Santa Clara's 6-11 sophomore John Bryant, to Arizona State sophomore Jeff Pendergraph, USC freshman Taj Gibson and UCLA recruit Kevin Love, an Oregon native who is the top high school big man in the country. Mercury News 1/11

Recruits

"It's been good," says Renardo Sidney, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound power forward who's rated the nation's No. 1 sophomore recruit by RISE. "I really like all of my teammates because they joke around and they've taken me under their wings like a brother. I was nervous, but I had already met James and Malik, so it was all right." "[Sidney] gets along well with everybody," says Artesia first-year head coach Loren Grover. "He's blended in here like he's been here for four years. The one thing we've been blessed with here is guys who don't bring the big ego and they just love to play. He's one of them." . Sports Illustrated 1/9

Renardo Sidney, Artesia: Had 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks for the Pioneers (14-0), ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, in a 74-32 Suburban League victory over visiting Cerritos.  LA Times 1/9

Eric Maupin and Luke Babbitt combined for 40 points Tuesday as Galena's boys' basketball team easily defeated Fallon, 78-48, in a High Desert League game at the Greenwave's Elmo Dericco Gym. Nevada Appeal 1/10

Not only will the top two boys' basketball teams in the San Fernando Valley face each other Saturday night at Pierce College, but so will two of the top juniors in the nation, when Woodland Hills Taft plays North Hollywood Campbell Hall at 8:30 p.m.Guard Jrue Holiday will lead Campbell Hall (13-1), ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times, against guard Larry Drew Jr. and sixth-ranked Taft (10-3) in the featured game of the San Fernando Valley Showcase. LA Times 1/12

Brendan Lavender, a 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard from Mountain View High in Mesa, Ariz., is among the elite prospects at his position in the West Coast class of 2008. He told us recently that his top three schools at the moment are Arizona, UCLA and Utah. Lavender said he's also hearing from Arizona St., Washington and Oregon, among other schools. Fox Sports 1/12

#4 Mitty 66, #15 Sacred Heart Cathedral 52: In San Jose, Mitty's Drew Gordon scored 20 points and Collin Chiverton added 15 as the Monarchs overcame a seven-point deficit at the half and defeated a shorthanded Sacred Heart Cathedral squad.  San Francisco Chronicle 1/12

Jordan Hamilton is special," said Johnson, who is coaching Hamilton for a second season. "He has the ability to play the point guard, shooting guard or small forward at any time. By the time he's a senior, he could be the No. 1 senior in the country." LA Times 1/13

Jordan Hamilton said. "I also took 1,000 shots a day. I like the three-pointer, and I love the pull-up jumper. I worked on that shot the most — two dribbles and pull up. I also like to drive to the basket and pass it out to my teammates." But regardless of the skills possessed by the 6-foot-7, 208-pound Hamilton, who is averaging 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, sports comes second to academics. LA Times 1/13

Jordan Hamilton said the increased attention to his schoolwork is beginning to pay off. He said his GPA is now "between 2.8 and 3.0," and he's beginning to seriously think about college. Gibson said he has received inquiries about Hamilton from Syracuse, UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Cal State Fullerton and Florida, among others. LA Times 1/13

GALENA BOYS 84, SPANISH SPRINGS 45: Luke Babbitt and Brice Crook each scored 23 points, J.D. Peters had 11 points and Brad Bosse added nine points for Galena. Nevada Appeal 1/13

Down by 21 points with just over four minutes left in the third quarter, Woodland Hills Taft, ranked sixth in the Southland by The Times, rallied to take the lead over third-ranked North Hollywood Campbell Hall as two junior All-American guards, Larry Drew Jr. and Jrue Holiday, took turns putting on a show Saturday night at the San Fernando Valley Showcase at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Holiday made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to give Campbell Hall a 73-71 lead. Then Drew drove to the basket and was fouled with no time left on the clock. As the sellout crowd stood in the bleachers, with Taft and Campbell Hall fans making lots of noise, Drew missed on his first free throw, ending the game and giving Campbell Hall its 15th victory in 16 games this season. LA Times 1/14

They contained two of Northern California's top players, Mitty juniors Drew Gordon and Colin Chiverton, who combined for 19 points....Mitty's No. 1 threat, Gordon, a 6-9 junior who is one of the country's top-ranked inside players, was saddled in foul trouble throughout but still finished with 10 points and six blocks, a couple of which were spectacular.  San Francisco Chronicle 1/14

(photo credit: Seattle Times and LA Times)