National Highlight Reel: Aaron Holiday, little brother to Jrue Holiday, scores 54 as incoming freshman

Fresh out of eighth grade, Aaron Holiday exploded for a spectacular 54 points during his first varsity summer league basketball game. Included were an amazing 28 free throws as he drove the lane throughout the contest and drew numerous fouls.

Even though his Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.) team lost a tough 89-80 decision to Simi Valley (Calif.), the 5-foot-10, 180-pound rising freshman guard left his mark.

Longtime Los Angeles Times sports writer Eric Sondheimer told MaxPreps, "I've never seen a freshman get that many points in his first game of the summer. He made a big impact."

Campbell Hall coach Steve Wachs admitted, "I've never seen a performance quite like that. He was attacking the basket, because we were playing a team that was pressing. Most of his shots were at the rim, so his shooting percentage was pretty high. He made excellent judgments. He's very heady and also has a very physical body. We have a pretty balanced team, but were missing some bodies (three starters)."



One of the missing starters was 6-8 senior Cole Huff, a San Diego State University recruit, who is recovering from a knee injury.

"Once Cole is healthy, he and Aaron will be quite a tandem," Wachs predicted. "Physically speaking, Aaron is a clone of Jrue (his brother, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers)."

In his next outing, Holiday scored 28 points. Then he had 15 twice in running-time games Saturday before notching 22 on Sunday.

* Adam Woodbury, a 6-11, 225-pound rising senior from East (Sioux City, Iowa), was named MVP at the prestigious NBA Players Association Camp in Charlottesville, Va. He had 20 points to help the Grizzlies nip the Magic, 82-81, for the camp championship. Six-foot-7 rising senior Amile Jefferson from Friends Central (Wynnewood, Pa.) was the leading scorer with a 20.8 average.

* Dre'Kalo Clayton, a 6-6 rising junior from Evans, and Adonys Henriquez, a 6-4 rising sophomore from Cornerstone Charter, are transferring to Orlando Christian Prep (Fla.), according to the Orlando Sentinel. Both are ranked among the state's Top 10 in their respective classes and they will be joining a program that has a 133-19 record and three Class A state titles in the last five years.

* Rising seniors Matthew Christiansen and Joe Edmonds have made commitments to the University of San Francisco, according to the Oklahoman. The 6-8, 230-pound Christiansen averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds last year for Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City), while the 6-5 Edmonds averaged 14 points, five rebounds and shot 90 percent from the free throw line.



* Former NBA player Rodrick Rhodes has been named head basketball coach at Cordia (Hazard, Ky.), which has 120 students in grades 9-12. He was an assistant last year at the University of Texas-Pan American.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: GREENWELL LEADS USA TO GOLD
Rebecca Greenwell was named co-MVP with Brazil's Izabella Frederico Sangalli after the USA National Team routed Brazil, 73-40, to win the FIBA Americas Under-16 championship in Merida, Mexico. The 6-1 rising junior from Owensboro Catholic (Ky.) averaged a USA record 15.6 points during the team's five victories.

* New Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown not only is sending his two sons, Elijah Brown and Cameron, to national power Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), but he also is sending 5-9 girls star Nirra Fields to the same school. He now is legal guardian of Fields, a native of Canada who averaged 26.5 points as a junior at Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

* Assistant Joe Lentz has been promoted to head coach at Ben Davis (Indianapolis). Stan Benge, who won 519 games – including a state record 81 in a row - and four state titles, has moved on to an assistant coaching position at Indiana-Purdue of Indianapolis.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}FOOTBALL: WILLIAMS, YELDON PICK AUBURN
Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) wide receiver Jaquay Williams has chosen Auburn University over Ohio State, LSU, Alabama and Tennessee, according to The Birmingham News. The 6-4, 205-pounder caught 48 passes for 728 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior. The previous year he snared 85 passes for 1,570 yards and 19 touchdowns at Heard County (Franklin, Ga.).

Auburn also has received a commitment from outstanding running back T.J. Yeldon from Daphne (Ala.). The rising senior (6-2, 191), who also had offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Florida State and Oregon, ran for 1,112 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall. He also had 34 catches for 504 yards and five touchdowns as Daphne won the Class 6A state title.



* Maryville (Tenn.) quarterback Pat Robinette has pledged to the University of North Carolina, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. The 6-5, 210-pounder, who has a brilliant 4.5 GPA and perfect 36 ACT, passed for 1,801 yards and 21 touchdowns and ran for 910 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior while leading his team to a 14-1 record and Class 6A state title. Out of 152 passes, he threw just one interception.

* Quadir Bryant broke a record that had stood since 1956 when he ran for 240 yards (26 carries) to spark the Gold to a 39-14 victory over the Blue during Delaware's annual all-star game in Newark, Del. The recent Lake Forest (Felton, Del.) graduate will attend Delaware State University.

* Pulaski Academy (Little Rock, Ark.) defeated Allen (Texas), 49-35, for the second straight year to win the 7-on-7 Shootout of the South in Little Rock, Ark. Tight end Hunter Henry led the way with three touchdown catches.

* Long Beach Poly (Calif.) won the 24-team Saugus 7-on-7 tournament with a 36-16 victory over Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.). The Jackrabbits are 13-0 this summer and more impressive every week.

* Plant (Tampa, Fla.) defeated Booker T. Washington (Miami), 31-27, behind wide receiver Austin Aikens to win the prestigious Heath Evans 7-on-7 tournament in West Palm Beach, Fla. Earlier, Plant ousted national power St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

TRACK: WOLVERINES SET NATIONAL RECORD
The Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) girls track team now holds four 2011 national season bests – including one national record – following spectacular performances during the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. The team of Amy Weissenbach, K.C. Cord, Lauren Hansson and Cami Chapus turned in a sensational time of 11 minutes, 22.23 seconds to win the distance medley relay and break the existing national record of 11:25.13. One day earlier the Wolverines won the sprint medley in a 2011 national-best time of 3:55.12. Weissenbach still holds the top 800-meter time, while Chapus has the No. 1 mile effort. Both are rising seniors.
Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.) was second in 11:25.13 and North Shore (Glen Head, N.Y.) was third in 11:30.45. Both also were under the old record of 11:31.26. Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) star Wesley Frazier won the 5,000 in a national girls sophomore class-record time of 16:24.83.



* Morristown (N.J.) senior Nick Vena broke his own state shot put record with a tremendous 75 feet, 10¼ inches effort to win the Meet of Champions for the fourth straight year. The 6-4, 270-pound University of Virginia recruit had 96 throws longer than 70 feet during his brilliant career. The national record is 81-3½.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}SOFTBALL: GATORADE HONORS MCDUFFEE
Junior Paige Mcduffee has been named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year. The 5-9 lefthander overcame nagging injuries to lead The Woodlands (Texas) to a 44-1 record and its first Class 5A state title, not to mention the top spot in the MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National Softball Rankings. The UCLA recruit compiled a 37-1 record with 227 strikeouts and a 0.97 ERA. She also batted .405 and drove in 42 runs.

* Ladywood (Livonia, Mich.) star Briana Combs pitched three consecutive perfect games during the Division 2 state tournament. However, after retiring 54 consecutive batters, she ran into a determined Lakeshore (Stevensville, Mich.) team that handed her a tough 3-2 eight-inning loss in the state semifinals. She was accidentally spiked in the fifth inning, but was able to finish the game.

* Lauren Gevaart fired a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts as Mattawan (Mich.) routed Anchor Bay (Fair Haven, Mich.), 12-0, to win the Division I state championship.

* Tom Prince posted his 500th coaching victory as Sergeant Bluff-Luton (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa) defeated West (Sioux City, Iowa), 12-1.

BASEBALL: IOWA STREAK AT RECORD 60
Martensdale-St. Mary's (Martensdale, Iowa) routed Winterset (Iowa), 18-3, to set a state record with its 60th consecutive victory. The record of 59 had stood since 1992.



* Central Hardin (Cecilia, Ky.) crushed Mercer County (Harrodsburg, Ky.), 21-2, in five innings to win its first state title in any boys sport during its 20-year history. It was the biggest winning margin in finals history for the 36-4 champs, who batted a lofty .405 as a team. Senior Austin Walters was named MVP following two pitching victories and a grand slam as a pinch hitter in the finale.

GOLF: KENNEDY JUST MISSES RECORD
Billy Kennedy of Alpharetta, Ga., shot 11-under-par 269 to win the FJ Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. The Clemson University recruit was just one stroke shy of the American Junior Golf Association 72-hole record which was set in 2001. His victory also qualified him to compete in the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August.

* Ariya Jutanugarn of Bangkok, Thailand, set an AJGA 72-hole record by shooting an outstanding 17-under-par 271 to win the Rolex Girls Junior Championship in Byron, Minn. She had 21 birdies during her four rounds.

SWIMMING: FRANKLIN GETS WIN AFTER COUGHLIN DQ
* Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) rising sophomore Missy Franklin won the women's 100-meter freestyle in 54.33 seconds during the Santa Clara (Calif.) International Grand Prix. Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin actually won in 54.1, but was disqualified for staying under water too long. Franklin has won a series–best 17 races during the 2010-11 Grand Prix series.