By Bruin Basketball Report
Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.
Commits
The best game of the day saw Playaz Basketball Club Gold defeat Pump-n-Run Elite in the Adidas Super 64 at UNLV's Cox Pavilion, 90-88 in overtime. Rutgers-commit SG Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) turned in a superlative performance, scoring 30 points. 6-0 PG Pittsburgh recruit and Rosario's St. Anthony's high school teammate Travon Woodall scored 16 points and seven assists. Pump-n-Run was led by the future backcourt for UCLA, 6-4 SG Jrue Holiday (North Hollywood, Calif.), who scored 18 points while 6-3 PG Jerime Anderson (Anaheim, Calif.) had 13 points. Class of 2009 prospects twins David and Travis Wear, both from Santa Ana, Calif. impressed with their play . ESPN 7/24
Archbishop Mitty center Drew Gordon, who has committed to UCLA, had a cast removed from his right hand on Friday and was back in action Sunday at the Big Time tournament in Las Vegas. Gordon, who will be a Mitty senior this fall, broke the fifth metacarpal (his pinkie), during the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs in June. The timing of the injury was difficult for the 6-foot-9 Gordon, who was days away from competing for a spot with the United States junior national team. Last year, at age 15, Gordon was a huge surprise at the tryouts by lasting until one of the final cuts. “I was really disappointed,” Gordon said. “That was what my summer was going to be. I really didn’t have any plans for the summer but to play with that team.” Meanwhile, Gordon has been able to stay in shape by running, working on his fundamentals and practice some left-handed. Mercury News 7/24
Drew Gordon- Standing in contrast to Morgan, Gordon was running sprints up and down the court late in the game while Morgan was struggling to keep his hands off his knees. But on the otherside, Gordon doesn't have near the offensive skill set of Morgan, who also stands at least three inches taller than Gordon. With his motor running in high gear, Gordon scored ten points to go along with ten rebounds and three steals. Gator Bait 7/24
Drew Gordon (San Jose Mitty, going about 6-8 and 215 or so) has missed most of July after suffering a broken bone in his right hand during the USA Basketball Youth Festival in Colorado Springs. He’s lacking in a real low-post offensive game and has a tendency to “play too fast” on the perimeter but is a tremendous prospect. The next ounce of fat that crops up on that body will be the first. Rebel Nation 7/24
Pump N Run is one of the most talented teams anywhere, boasting elite talent like future UCLA teammates, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.) guard Jrue Holiday and Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) guard Jerime Anderson. The Wear twins, Travis and David, rising junior forwards will also have their pick of schools. Sports Illustrated 7/24
Today, we observed the other two members of what appears to be the nation's top early recruiting class, 6-9 C/F Drew Gordon (San Jose, Calif.) and 6-4 PG/SG Malcolm Lee (Riverside, Calif.). Gordon still had quality performance despite not being 100-percent due to a leg injury. He is a dominating inside player with outstanding low-post skills and has a good shooting touch facing the basket. He will likely play power forward for the Bruins when he arrives on campus. Lee has the versatility to play either guard position. He is an accurate 3-point marksman and excels at slashing to the hoop. Coach Ben Howland will have a number of options using Lee, Holiday and Anderson in his future backcourt alignments. ESPN 7/25
Jerime Anderson, a UCLA commitment, scored 14 points and four assists in the defeat. There is something about Anderson's game that is different than most floor generals in the class of 2008. He's confident with his body of work and smart while controlling the game. It's not surprise why the SoCal locals love his long term potential. Gator Bait 7/26
Recruits
Roe was matched up in this game with LA Dream Team's Renardo Sidney (Artesia, Calif.), widely hyped as the top-ranked prospect of the Class of 2009. The 6-9 Sidney disappointed with his effort and energy, finishing with 12 points (4-13 FG) and 10 rebounds. At one juncture during the game, with the score knotted at 50 and 2 minutes left on the clock, Sidney found himself on the bench, atypical for a player billed as the best in his class. His sub-par has left doubts about his status as the nation's No. 1 junior. ESPN 7/2
J'Mison Morgan- Playing in front of Ben Howland, Scott Drew, Bill Self and assistants from Alabama, Texas and Georgetown, Morgan played a productive second half after going to the bench with foul trouble five minutes into the first half. On the game, he had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks against Drew Gordon and the Oakland Soldiers. Blessed with good feet and hands and a feathery touch around the basket, Morgan has a chance to be a dominant college center if he improves his conditioning and gets his body where it needs to be. Gator Bait 7/24
The No. 1 prospect in the 2009 class, Renardo Sidney poured in 30 points as his LA Dream Team came up short in a comeback bid against the D1 Greyhounds. After the game, Sidney named a leader in his recruitment. "There are a lot of good schools out there, but there's one school in particular that I like," Sidney told Rivals.com. "I love Ohio State and the way they play. I enjoyed watching Greg Oden and Mike Conley, and I think Coach Matta does a great job coaching." Gator Bait 7/24
One interesting player is Los Angeles wing Jordan Hamilton, who has exploded on the scene this summer and is hearing from all the big-time programs. Hamilton is ex-Wildcat Hassan Adams' cousin, but right now Texas leads in the pursuit of him, with Arizona, USC, Syracuse, Washington, UConn and North Carolina State among the other favorites. Tucson Citizen 7/25
A top-tier recruit, Hollis Thompson is playing in a 16-and-under division of a summer league with the West Coast All-Stars. On Monday, coaches from Arizona, Georgetown, Stanford, Duke and UCLA were on hand for his game. Thompson, largely unknown in recruiting circles a year ago, says he has received offers from Georgetown and USC and is hearing from nearly every big-time program in the nation. He grew up a Duke fan, but he said that has little bearing on where he'll play college ball. He also expressed admiration for Arizona head coach Lute Olson and will return to Tucson for the second time since May when he attends Olson's elite camp next month. Tucson Citizen 7/25
Michael Snaer, an incredibly athletic 6-foot-3 guard from Moreno Valley, Ca. is having an incredible tournament. In what I thought was one of the more exciting games I have seen here in Vegas, Snaer dropped 27 points and had six rebounds. But Cat fans should not hold their breath. He also told me that he grew up loving UCLA and will probably end up playing closer to home in California. If UCLA offers, this one may be over early. Kentucky Sports 7/25
Jared Cunningham, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound point guard from San Leandro High School, didn't have the game he is capable of having but there is a lot to like with the class of 2009 prospect. His class doesn't have a lot of depth at the point and his size is a major plus. Cunningham is a smooth operator and good with the ball in his hands. His perimeter game was off in the morning defeat. WV Sports 7/25
I saw more from 7-0 John Brandenburg in this one. He was a force inside on the defensive end and seemed more active in this one. He still has a lot to learn about footwork and needs to strengthen his hands but I don’t think any major school would turn down his potential. Kentucky Sports 7/26
John Brandenburg is a 6-10, 235-pound rising senior at DeSmet Jesuit High in St. Louis. His father said yesterday that Brandenburg plans to take an official visit to U.Va. the weekend after Labor Day. "I think the two schools he's most interested in now would be Virginia and Stanford," said Jim Brandenburg. Other schools, including UNC and Kentucky, have contacted John Brandenburg recently, his father said, "but I don't think he's interested." Richmond Times-Dispatch 7/27
Pump `N Run was paced by 6-foot-1 North Carolina verbal Larry Drew and 6-foot-1 UCLA commit Jerime Anderson with 16 points each. Junior 6-foot-7 forward Reeves Nelson, who had not previously played due to bone spurs, had nine points. UCLA commit, 6-foot 3 Jrue Holiday was held to eight points, while 6-foot-9 David Wear scored six points and his twin brother Travis was held to just two points. Both of the twins struggled inside versus the athletic Atlanta frontline. CSTV 7/27
Renardo Sidney is a regular kid. For the most part. Sidney eats at Long John Silver's, has butterflies before every game and has to have his security blanket (a soft sheet) with him virtually at all times. The only difference is that the ultra-skilled 6-foot-10 forward could very well be the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Fox Sports 7/29
(photo credit: SI and Tucson Citizen)
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