Hoops Notes: Findlay Prep not Nevada's only powerhouse

It would be easy for Bishop Gorman head coach Grant Rice to be put off by the arrival of national basketball powerhouse Findlay Prep in the Greater Las Vegas area.

But instead of shunning the independent program attached to the Henderson International School, Rice has embraced the opportunity to put a team like the Pilots on the schedule.

“Having Findlay Prep here, it’s huge,” Rice said. “We played them right before the state playoffs last year and it really helped us to play them close.”

Despite the loss, it’s all part of the plan for Rice and the Gaels, who have adopted a national view on scheduling. And it turns out that Las Vegas is big enough for Bishop Gorman and Findlay Prep as both own a spot in this week’s MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.

Bishop Gorman checks in at No. 22 after doubling up on holiday tournament titles, winning its own Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic and then the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Gaels are 11-1 with the lone loss coming to aforementioned Findlay Prep back on Dec. 12.

The tournament double began with a 61-54 win over Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) on Dec. 19 in the final of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic. Rice’s ambitious scheduling extends to his own event, where teams from Alabama, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas and even Australia and Germany converged on Las Vegas to knock off the hosts.

“We are proud of the fact that we’ve won our own tournament the last two years,” Rice said. “We’ve tried to get some good teams in it and we are proud of the competition level.”

As big as that was, winning the Beach Ball Classic was even more impressive given the challenge of winning eight games in a span of 16 days, and doing it without a certified rising star.

“I’ve always heard a lot about Beach Ball Classic, but this is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to take a team there,” Rice said. “We let our guys know that this is a special event on national scale, and they better be ready to play.”

And they were. The Gaels opened by thrashing North Carolina signee Kendall Marshall and Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) and Virginia signee Will Regan and the Nichols School (Buffalo, N.Y.) in the first two rounds.

“After our second game, we started to get the feeling that ‘We have a chance to win this.’ Of course we wanted to win going in, but that wasn’t necessarily our primarily goal,” Rice said. “We just wanted to go out and compete.”

Back-to-back December successes were achieved with a win over Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) in the Myrtle Beach final. Once again, Bishop Gorman was confronted with a Division I-bound star in Northwestern-bound Jershon Cobb, as well as imposing Florida State football commitment Tank Sessions.

Fortunately for Rice, Bishop Gorman has a little talent of its own on the roster, including several two-sport stars.

Senior guard Johnathan Loyd earned MVP honors at the Beach Ball Classic. Given all the talented programs and players in the 16-team field, seeing the 5-foot-9 Loyd take top billing was a surprise to everybody but Rice.

“He’s the best. He is a four-year varsity guy and a true winner,” Rice said. “He does whatever it takes for the team to win. He hit five buzzer-beaters last year, not go-ahead baskets, but last-second shots. Unbelievable. We want the ball in his hands. We trust him. I hate to even say it because it sounds so cliche, but he’s like having a coach on the floor.”

Fellow senior Anson Winder, a 6-3 guard, is Bishop Gorman’s leading scorer at around 20 points per game. He is headed to Brigham Young. Tim Carter, a 6-8, 230-pound forward, is a third senior garnering college interest.

Shabazz Muhammed, who missed most of the Holiday Classic and all of the Beach Ball Classic, is regarded as one of the nation’s top sophomores. The 6-5 guard has resumed practicing and is expected to rejoin the Gaels in game action later this week.

“He’s a kid who is capable of going for 30 points on just about any night,” Rice said. “He’s also a very good rebounder, real long arms and big hands.”

Fellow sophomore Rosco Allen is another intriguing 2012 prospect at 6-7, 185 pounds.

Then there is the Gorman football contingent. Seven players on the Gael basketball roster helped the football team win a state title this fall.

“When we played Findlay Prep, we had only had those guys for about four days,” Rice said. “They’ve adjusted well. Being a smaller, private school with about 550 boys, we encourage the kids to play more than one sport.”

The gridiron gang includes 6-6, 250-pound Xavier Grimble, who will play tight end next year at USC. Alex Turner, a 6-3, 235-pounder is headed to Stanford to play for Jim Harbaugh. Taylor Spencer, a starter on the basketball team, starred at wide receiver and free safety in the fall and has several offers to continue his football career.

Finally, there is sophomore Ronnie Stanley, who started at left tackle and transitions his 6-7, 280-pound frame to the hardwood in the winter.

The Gaels have already beaten teams from seven states this season and have another showdown beyond their borders later in the season when they face No. 18 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) at the Nike Extravaganza. The downside of creating all the buzz? The Gaels have a big target on their back as they attempt to repeat as Nevada’s Class 4A state champions and win their fourth title under Rice.

“I guess you could say we are the favorite, but anything can happen,” Rice said. “Last year, Cheyenne (with current Kansas freshman guard Elijah Johnson) was the favorite and we knocked them off. We played at Western last night (Tuesday) and we won by 10, but they were definitely up and ready. We like that.”

We are the (holiday tournament) champions

A quick rundown of champions and MVPs from 12 of the nation's top post-Christmas tournaments;

Arby’s Classic  - Bristol, Tenn.
Champion: No. 8 Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.) – Def. Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.), 55-51
MVP: Chris Jones, Melrose

Beach Ball Classic – Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Champion: No. 22 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) – Def. Columbia (Decatur, Ga.), 54-52
MVP: Johnathan Loyd, Bishop Gorman

Gatorade International Championship – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Champion: No. 5 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) – Def. Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 82-62

Great Florida Shootout – Kissimmee, Fla.
Champion: Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) – Def. Oak Ridge (Orland, Fla.), 44-36

Kingdom of the Sun – Ocala, Fla.
Champion: No. 21 Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) – Def. East Ridge (Clermont, Fla.), 48-41
MVP: Patric Young, Providence

Les Schwab Christmas Classic – Bellevue, Wash.
Champion: Bellevue (Wash.) – Def. Squalicum (Bellingham, Wash.), 57-50
MVP: Aaron Bright, Bellevue

Les Schwab Invitational – Hillsboro, Ore.
Champion: No. 15 Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Def. No. 16 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 52-47
MVP: Doron Lamb, Oak Hill Academy

MaxPreps Holiday Classic – San Diego, Calif.
Champion:  No. 1 St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) – Def. Newark Memorial (Newark, Calif.), 66-43
MVP: Kyrie Irving, St. Patrick

Orange Holiday Classic – Anaheim, Calif.
Champion: No. 18 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) – Def. Foothill (Santa Ana, Calif.), 68-43
Co-MVPs: Tyler Lamb and Keala King, Mater Dei

Proviso West Holiday Classic – Hillside, Ill.
Champion: No. 10 Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) – Def. Foreman (Chicago, Ill.), 79-64

T-Mobile Invitational – Birmingham, Ala.
Champion: No. 2 Yates (Houston, Texas) – Def. Butler (Huntsville, Ala.), 108-77
MVP: Joseph Young, Yates

Tampa Hoops Classic – Tampa, Fla.
Champion: Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) – Def. St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 54-41
MVP: Justin Jackson, Arlington Country Day

Hustle points

^ National No. 1 St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) got a big scare Tuesday night when superstar junior Michael Gilchrist suffered an injury and was taken to a local emergency room during a 62-46 win over Union, according to Adam Zagoria of www.zagsblog.com.

“It looked like a knee-on-knee thing. Hopefully it wasn’t too serious,” a source told Zagoria.  “Hopefully it’s something muscular and nothing more serious.”

Gilchrist and the Celtics are coming off a dominant run at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego.

^ No. 2 Yates (Houston, Texas) posted a controversial 135-point win over Houston Lee on Tuesday night, setting the state record for points in a game in the process with 170. Despite a 100-12 halftime lead, the Lions stayed true to their pressing and trapping style, which didn’t sit well with Lee head coach Jacques Armant.

“I feel very disrespected right now,” Armant told the Houston Chronicle. “I don’t understand why Yates just kept scoring and pressing when they were up so much. These are kids. It isn’t good to do that to other young men.”

Yates head coach Greg Wise defended his team’s style of play.

“We practice running, pressing, trapping every day,” Wise said to the Chronicle. “If we get to a game and I tell them not to do what we do in practice, I am not coaching well. I am not leaving my starters in the whole game. We have 15 guys, and all 15 play.”

According to the Chronicle, a second-half scuffle broke out. In a unique response, officials forced each team to finish the game with the same five players - no substitutions. Bench players watched the second half from the stands.

The Lions are averaging 119 points per game – which would be a national record for points per game over a season – and beat Houston Austin 139-51 last Saturday. Brandon Peters led the Lions Tuesday night with 43 points. Three other players scored 20 or more.

^ Back to Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev., for a moment. Head coach Michael Peck's roster took a hit with the defection of junior guard Jabari Brown, who returned home and enrolled at Oakland (Calif.) High School according to the Contra Costa Times. Brown was the team’s third-leading scorer at 16.4 points per game.

"It wasn't really working out," Brown told the Contra Costa Times. "I just decided it would be a good decision for me and the team and I decided to come home."

Brown is one of the nation’s top juniors and helped Salesian of Richmond capture California’s Division IV state title.

^ One of the perks of covering the T-Mobile Invitational last week in Birmingham, Ala., was the complimentary copy of the NFHS 2009 National High School Sports Record Book. There was plenty of time to digest its contents during a six-hour return flight from Charlotte to Seattle and one boys basketball nugget really stood out. The 15-year home winning streak by DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) is incredible.

The Stags won 124-straight games on their home floor from 1961 to 1976 under the direction of legendary head coach Morgan Wootten. That mark is actually No. 2 all-time to Newton County of Covington, Ga., who won 129 in a row from 1959-1967.