Compiled By Stephen SpiewakMaxPreps.com1. From College to High School: At a time in his life when most eighth graders are busy attending middle school graduation parties and eagerly anticipating their final summer before high school begins, Michael Avery was looking ahead...very far ahead. Last week, Avery became the youngest player ever to
commit to the University of Kentucky, announcing his intentions to become a Wildcat after he graduates high school in 2012. Part of the intrigue of the Michael Avery story is that he chose Kentucky even before he chose a high school. Over the weekend, Avery
announced that he would enroll at
Crespi High School (Calif.) in the fall. Avery had previously been toying with the idea of attending a prep school in Indiana. At this rate, Avery is probably now deciding what color suit to wear for graduation from eighth grade.
2. Thumps Up From Teen Talk: The Sacramento Bee runs a regular feature called "Teen Talk", where adolescent therapist Kelly Richardson answers questions and provides advice for area teens. Last week, Richardson responded to a teen who wanted to quit his or her involvement with a high school sports team in order to land a part-time job. Richardson responds clearly; her last few lines are most insightful.
"You have the rest of your life to work. Enjoy being in high school and playing sports. It only comes once. Sometimes it is more important to make memories than to make money," she wrote.
Touche.
3. Feinstein to Test NBA Draft Waters: The practice of high school players entering the NBA Draft didn't sit well with everybody. Now, the buzz is that perhaps the NBA should implement a rule similar to the NFL, where players have to wait until after their junior season to become draft eligible. But what should the NBA do about a player who has not played organized basketball since the third grade?
Enter Zach Feinstein, current mathematics and systems engineering major at Washington University in St. Louis. Described as a "pint-sized Jewish kid from Irvington, New York," Feinstein, upon realizing how easy it was to declare draft eligibility, decided to make himself eligible for the June draft. He contacted the NBA, filled out the appropriate forms, and is now on the list of players in the draft pool. Read more about Feinstein's humorous happenings
here, or visit
www.draftfeinstein.com.
4. Who Needs the Pros? In the Sunday edition of
The Philadelphia Inquirer, sports writer Phil Anastasia pens a beautiful reflection on his career covering the Philadelphia scene. He mentions classic moments involving Michael Jordan, Villanova, the Eagles, and even the 1993 Phillies. But, he admits, "I'm a high school sports guy."
Anastasia writes about why high school sports are different than professional sports, and even college sports. One memory he shares that I can connect with: Former
Camden (N.J.) superstar DaJuan Wagner going coast to coast for a lay-up in less than three seconds to win the Tournament of Champions against St. Patrick (N.J.). Click
here for this absolute must-read.
5. Ode to High School Sports Mothers: Harold Gutmann of
The Journal News in New York told the story of several mothers who sacrifice so much time and effort to support their children's high school sports endeavors. Read the entire story
here.
NationalHigh 5 is a regular MaxPreps feature, highlighting top national high school news, game stories or human interest pieces from around the web. If we miss something, please e-mail us at sspiewak@maxpreps.com and/or mstephens@maxpreps.com.