Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (2/16)

By Bruin Basketball Report 

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday. 

Commits 

Campbell Hall had won 62 consecutive league games and 60 consecutive home games until Tuesday night, when Los Angeles Windward pulled out a 61-57 overtime victory. Darius Morris, who scored a game-high 20 points, clinched the victory by making two free throws with 6.9 seconds left. Wesley Saunders had 17 points, Anthony Stover 12 points and Malcolm Washington 10. LA Times 2/10 

Forget about Mater Dei looking ahead to the playoffs. The Monarchs came out Thursday night like they were in the biggest game of the year, jumping to a huge lead and going on to beat Orange Lutheran, 97-71, in a Trinity League game at Orange Lutheran that was the final game of the regular season for both....Most of his points came from layups, thanks to excellent passing by David Wear, Tyler Lamb and Gary Franklin. Franklin and David Wear had six assists apiece, and Lamb had five. OC Register 2/12 

MODESTO CHR. 96, RIPON 65, at Ripon -- Reeves Nelson, after missing a week due to suspension, has returned with a vengeance. The UCLA-bound star scored 36 points, and guard Leo Prophet had 16, as the top-ranked small-school Crusaders (16-8, 8-0) clinched the Trans-Valley League championship by beating the Indians (13-12, 4-4). MC scored at least 20 in every quarter to approach 100. "Reeves Nelson is dominant," said Ripon coach Rod Wright, whose club nearly upset MC three weeks ago. " It was a fun-filled first quarter, then they kind of just pulled away." Modesto Bee 2/14 

Sylmar 106, Reseda 101 (OT); Leading contributors: Senior forward Tyler Honeycutt had 26 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks for Sylmar. Senior forward Ryan Watkins scored 31 points and senior guard Randall Harris had 27 points and 13 assists for Reseda. LA Times 2/14 

Recruits 

Westchester 79, Hamilton 39: Jordin Mayes had 21 points and DeShun McCoy had 14 to lift visiting Westchester (24-2, 10-1). Daily Breeze 2/9 

Kentwood (16-4, 14-2) was led by 6-foot-9 junior Josh Smith, who poured in 25 points to go with 14 rebounds and four blocks. Smith's presence was felt no matter where his large frame was parked on the court, but the Eagles (18-2, 14-2) consistently worked the ball patiently to find openings in the Conquerors defense. Seattle PI 2/10 

To say that Josh Smith dunks the basketball would be to underemphasize the word dunk. Josh Smith DUNKS! And with each dunk he brings swaying backboards, cowering opponents and wincing athletic directors who know that Smith’s next dunk might be the last for that particular backboard. And yet dunking is only part of the game for Smith, a mountain of a man who at just 16 years of age and 270 pounds, already dwarfs defenders and teammates alike. His athleticism and made-for-the-NBA body already have college scouts drooling and have helped him earn the tag of the No. 1 junior in the country. It’s a badge he wears with honor, if not trepidation.... While many college recruiters make Kentwood a regular stop on their scouting journeys, Smith has yet to decide where he will play once he graduates despite already receiving 15 offers from schools incluindg UCLA, Duke and Kentucky. Well-spoken and thoughtful, Smith is enjoying high school and hopes to eventually study sports medicine and English. “It’s too early to choose a school,” Smith said. “My goal is to just be successful in whatever I do. Maybe I don’t go to college, maybe I don’t go to the NBA, but as long as I’m successful at what I do, that will be okay. My dad says that the only thing he wants for me is to have a better life.” MaxPreps 2/11 

Renardo Sidney, a 6-foot-10 forward from Fairfax High in Los Angeles who is considered by many recruiting analysts to be one of the nation's top 10 senior prospects, hasn't made up his mind regarding his college destination, but Virginia may still be on his final list of considerations. The Los Angeles Times reported that Sidney's list of schools included U.Va., UCLA, Southern California, Louisiana State, Oregon and Mississippi State. The newspaper also reported his father, Renardo Sr., said all the aforementioned schools were on his son's final list, except Connecticut and Kansas State were in place of U.Va. and LSU. Daily Press 2/12 

Westchester 73, Palisades 35: Jordin Mayes had 18 points, and Deshun McCoy had 17 points for host Westchester (25-2, 11-1), which will share the league title with Fairfax. Daily Breeze 2/12 

Harrison Barnes is quite a hot topic right now in the recruiting world. Barnes, from Ames, Iowa, traveled to Durham for his second unofficial visit and sat behind the bench in a Duke T-shirt. It was thought that Barnes would have a drawn-out recruitment. But things appear to be loosening up and momentum seems to be building toward what could be an earlier-than-expected commitment to Duke. Rivals 2/13 

As for Renardo Sidney, LSU has taken a stab at trying to land the top-10 prospect. But Sidney, a Mississippi native who goes to high school in Los Angeles, doesn't have LSU on his latest list of schools, which includes UCLA, USC, UNLV, Mississippi State and Texas. If Sidney gets a qualifying ACT or SAT score this spring, look for him to go to either UCLA or USC. Rivals 2/13 

James McAdoo scored a career-high 52 points as Norfolk Christian cruised past host Peninsula Catholic 88-35. Dayne Keese and Sam Kush led the Knights with nine apiece. Daily Press 2/13 

Take note, future opponents of the Kentwood boys basketball team, the Conquerors aren’t all about center Joshua Smith. Sure, the highly coveted recruit scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots in second-ranked Kentwood’s 55-48 win over Curtis in the SPSL playoffs Saturday at Auburn. But foul trouble sent him to the bench for much of the second half, and his teammates fended off the Vikings in the 6-foot-9 junior’s absence. “Josh is a very good player,” Conquerors coach Michael Angelidis said, “but at times I don’t think the rest of the team has gotten the respect they deserve.” Smith was whistled for his fourth foul with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the third period and Kentwood leading 42-36. He sat out for the next six minutes, and when he returned to the court Kentwood had extended its advantage to 53-46. News Tribune 2/15 

There's good news and bad news to report on 6-foot-11 center Renardo Sidney of Fairfax. The good news is that he does his chores in the morning. The bad news is that while washing dishes, he cut his right index finger, requiring four stitches, according to Coach Harvey Kitani. It forced Sidney to miss last Friday's game against Venice. Kitani is hoping Sidney is cleared this week so he can play in Fairfax's City Section Division I playoff opener on Thursday. LA Times 2/15