Krider's National Notebook

By Dave Krider

MaxPreps.com

Brad Redford appears well on his way to becoming one of the greatest free throw shooters in the history of high school basketball.

The senior point guard from Frankenmuth, Mich., has made his last 75 free throws, which places him No. 4 all-time. He is one free throw short of No. 3 and 12 short of No. 2. The record is 126 by Daryl Moreau of De La Salle (New Orleans, La.). Moreau’s sensational streak stretched over two years (1978 and 1979) and included 21 games.

The Xavier University recruit also is currently ahead of the national record for free throw accuracy. He is shooting a near-perfect 97.9 percent. The record is 97.7 percent by Seth Colclasure of Bellmont (Decatur, Ind.), who drilled 167 of 171 during the 2000-2001 season. Redford’s 92.5 career percentage is second only to Colclasure’s 93.6.

Despite being the team’s tallest starter at only 6-foot, Redford’s not too shabby of a scorer, either. Entering this week’s action, he as averaging a whopping 37 points a game and his Class B team has posted a perfect 14-0 record. He has made 256 career three-point baskets, which places him third in Michigan history.

Boys Basketball Notes

* Unlike Indiana (which downgraded from a great single-class tournament to a four-class system) Kentucky preserved its single-class format by giving the small schools a tournament (All “A” Classic) in the middle of the year and also letting them compete with the big schools at the end of the season. 

This past weekend Hopkinsville University Heights captured its eighth small-school crown with a 53-46 victory over Hazard at Eastern Kentucky University. Talented senior Scottie Hopson had 20 points and nine rebounds for the champs, but MVP honors went to Tyshawn Edmondson, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

* In a match-up of nationally-ranked powers, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) edged Norcross (Ga.), 68-65, to win the Mountain State Coal Classic National Division championship in Beckley, W.Va. Super guard Brandon Jennings paced the champs with 34 points and six assists. Jennings ably was supported by Glen Bryant with 15 rebounds. Norcross was led by its 6-8 star, Al-Farouq Aminu, who had 35 points and 11 rebounds.

* Unbeaten Carmel, Ind., is having one of its greatest years and no victory has been more satisfying than its 77-45 rout of four-time state champion Indianapolis Lawrence North before a standing-room crowd of 4,000. The Greyhounds had not beaten North since Dec. 14, 1989. Stuart Douglass led the charge with 21 points, while Daniel Moore contributed 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

* North Carolina recruit Ed Davis amassed 30 points, 22 rebounds, 10 blocks and four assists as Richmond Benedictine defeated Alexandria T.C. Williams, 69-61, in a Virginia headliner…Ellsworth senior Cody Schilling is only the fourth boy in Minnesota history to surpass 3,000 career points…Standout guard Tyreke Evans also reached 3,000 career points as Aston American Christian defeated Academy of the New Church, 78-71, in a major Pennsylvania collision. Evans finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

* On the recruiting front, Tyler Griffey has committed to the University of Illinois. The 6-8, 220-pound junior is averaging 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks for Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.)…Johnny Martin posted his 500th career coaching victory for Allen Central (Eastern, Ky.), while Pat Kahny picked up No. 400 for Westchester Country Day (High Point, N.C.).

Girls Basketball Notes

* Lexington Christian defeated Paris, 61-52, to win Kentucky’s All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University. Courtney Clifton scored 18 points and was named MVP. Teammate Anna Martin had 20 points and four steals…Sophomore center Genevieve Okoro exploded for 34 points and a whopping 34 rebounds as Voorhees Eastern nipped Medford Lenape, 68-63, in triple overtime in a New Jersey thriller.

* Shane Cordell recorded his 500th career coaching victory as Little River (Kan.) defeated Peabody-Burns, 52-24…Turning to Colorado, Silver Creek snapped Broomfield’s 41-game winning streak with a 40-37 victory. Less than one month earlier, Broomfield had routed Silver Creek. Both teams now have one loss. Colorado State recruit Meghan Heimstra led Silver Creek with 21 points. Broomfield’s 6-6 junior star, Anna Prins, got into early foul trouble and was held scoreless.

* Elena DelleDonne is back (from mononucleosis) and Ursuline Academy (Wilmington, Del.) again is one of the best teams in the nation. The 6-5 superstar had 33 points (13-of-19 from the field) and 12 rebounds and sat out the final 4:23 during a 57-44 victory over Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.) in the Kobe Bryant Classic. The next day she had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks during a 45-41 victory over nationally-ranked Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.), which had won its last 13 games.

Football Recruiting Notes

* Nate Montana is going to be a preferred walk-on at Notre Dame in the fall. The son of former Irish great Joe Montana, the 6-5, 185-pounder was a substitute quarterback at De La Salle in Concord, Calif. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown and ran 17 times for a net of 33 yards. He had similar walk-on offers from Stanford and Southern Cal. His potential is ahead of him, because the De La Salle offense is not fitted to a drop-back quarterback.

* On the eve of National Signing Day, a lot of players have made commitments. Two MaxPreps All-America picks from Poly in Long Beach, Calif., were among the many who made announcements. Big tackle Jurrell Casey chose Southern Cal, while defensive specialist Vaughn Telemaque selected Miami (Fla.)…Southern Mississippi picked up a blue-chip wide receiver, DeAndre Brown from Ocean Springs, Miss. Brown is 6-6, 225 and runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds.

* Kenny Tate has declared for the University of Maryland. The 6-4, 215-pound wide receiver made 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns as a senior at national power DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)…George County (Lucedale, Miss.) star Alonzo Lawrence has chosen the University of Alabama. The 6-1 standout made 30 catches – 11 for touchdowns – while also scoring five times on kick-off returns, twice on fumble-recovery returns and once on a punt return.

* Texas A&M has received a commitment from standout DeSoto, Texas, running back Cyrus Gray (6-0, 189)…Another Texas star, Plano East quarterback Riko Smalls, has chosen the University of Virginia. The 6-0, 183-pounder, who runs a 4.4 40, passed for 2,989 yards and 33 touchdowns last fall…Two-way tackle Jarel Lowery (6-4, 280) has chosen Syracuse. He had 57 tackles and 8.5 sacks last season for Paterson (N.J.) Catholic.

* Olive Branch (Miss.) linebacker Marlon Walls has switched his allegiance from University of Mississippi to Tennessee. The 6-4, 220-pounder made 124 tackles, 10 sacks and recovered three fumbles as a senior…Troup County (LaGrange, Ga.) junior tackle Chris Burnett (6-4, 290, 4.0 GPA) has made a commitment to the University of Georgia.

* Oregon star Andre Broadous has made a commitment to Cal Poly. The 6-0, 190-pound Portland Grant quarterback completed 141-of-225 passes (62.7 percent) last fall for 2,064 yards and 20 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 992 yards and 18 touchdowns…Kevin Whaley has chosen the University of Minnesota. The 5-11, 175-pounder ran for 6,301 yards during his brilliant career at Salem in Virginia Beach, Va.

Other Football Notes

* The winningest coach in Illinois history, Gary Korhonen, has retired at Oak Lawn Richards. In 38 years (including a 9-7 record in Iowa), the 67-year-old coach compiled an outstanding 315-98 record. He coached undefeated state champions in 1988 and 1989…Dave Meadows has been fired as head coach at DeSoto, Texas. The 61-year-old Meadows had a 271-99 record during his 32-year career…Former NFL player Ray Roberts is the new head coach at Lake Washington in Kirkland, Wash. For the past four years he was an assistant at Bellevue Interlake.

* Orange (Calif.) Lutheran recently picked up seven transfers who play football. Four could be starters next fall. Brothers Mike and Connor Loftus are kickers from Anaheim Servite. Mike is a junior and Connor a freshman. Junior Gabe Lemon made nine interceptions at Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills. Donyae Fields is a sophomore linebacker who was the No. 2 tackler at Los Angeles Verbum Dei. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Orozco (6-3) passed for almost 400 yards as a sophomore at Chino Hills. Defensive end Mike Nelson started on the freshman team at powerhouse Long Beach Poly. The seventh transfer is freshman Chance Baker from Norco.

Track Notes

* Junior Jillian Smith is raising her stock every week as a distance runner at Southern Regional in Manahawkin, N.J. Last weekend she overcame a sinus infection to win the mile during the prestigious 101st Millrose Games at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Her time of 4:50.87 was the third-fastest since the event was initiated in 1984. One week earlier she captured the Boston Indoor Games mile in a national season-best 4:48.83. Her former teammate, Danielle Tauro, now running for the University of Michigan, won the Millrose mile the previous two years.

In the boys division, Kyle Merber won the Millrose mile before a crowd of 12,647. The Half Hollow Hills West (Dix Hills, N.Y.) senior was clocked in 4:13.86…Morristown (N.J.) phenom Nick Vena broke his own national freshman shot put record with a heave of 61-10.25 in the New Jersey Metropolitan Invitational at the Armory in New York City.

Hockey Notes

* The U.S. National Under-18 team was nipped, 2-1, in overtime by the University of Notre Dame. Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) notched the USA’s only goal, his ninth of the season…USA Hockey is going to stage a 24-hour game on Feb. 29 to help celebrate the International Ice Hockey Federation’s 100th anniversary. Each of the 50 states will hold a 30-minute game (running time) starting in Maine and finishing in Hawaii. Alaska and Hawaii will be playing “overtime” contests, making it actually a 25-hour marathon.

* Minnesota prep hockey is as good as it gets. Last week Edina edged Minnetonka, 4-2, in a classic match-up. Even though the game was on local TV, it drew an overflow crowd of almost 4,000…Panorama City Montclair Prep senior forward Austin Mandel leads California hockey scorers with 32 goals and 78 points. The Brown University recruit also has moved into sixth place in career goals with 116…Frank Colabufo notched his 200th coaching victory as Camillus West Genesee nipped Liverpool, 2-1, in a New York headliner.

Baseball Notes

* The National High School Baseball Coaches Association has elected four new Hall of Fame, who will join last year’s initial class of eight during a December 5 induction to be held in Chicago, Ill. The newcomers are Bob Colburn, St. Andrew’s (Middletown, Del.); Ron Davini, Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.); Dave Demarest, LaQuinta (Westminster, Calif.); and Jim Phipps, Niles West (Skokie, Ill.) and Lake Havasu (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.).

* This year’s Tommy Lasorda Baseball Achievement Awards were given to southern California coaches Spud O’Neil (Lakewood) and former Calabasas coach Bret Saberhagen. O’Neil, in his 25th year of coaching, has won over 500 games. Former Cy Young Award winner Saberhagen was honored for rebuilding a program in just two years. The awards were given by Lasorda in a ceremony at Dodger Stadium.

Potpourri

* No. 3 seed Sekou Bangoura, a 16-year-old from Bradenton, Fla., outlasted top-seeded William Federhofer, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, to win the Tennis Plaza Cup boys-18 title in Coral Gables, Fla….In the girls-18 division, Mallory Burdette of Jackson, Ga., nipped 15-year-old Maria Belaya of Melbourne, Fla., 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Burdette, age 17, was unseeded.

* Jackson County Central senior Travis Rutt, a 171-pounder, set a Minnesota state wrestling record when he won three times in the Bulldog Invitational. That gave him 248 career victories. The previous record was 246 by Kirk Anderson of Barnesville. Last year Rutt was Class 2A state champion at 160 pounds.