San Diego Hoover's Angelo Chol pares recruiting choices

Six-foot-9, 210-pound senior center Angelo Chol of San Diego Hoover is arguably the top blue-chipper in the CIF-SDS class of 2011. No doubt he can name his school, as he's averaging 25 points, 14.8 rebounds and 8.4 blocks for the Cardinals (14-7).

Chol has trimmed his list of possibilities to North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Alabama and Washington.

EL CAJON CHRISTIAN'S LOWERY SISTERS, THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
A rising star for El Cajon Christian is 6-foot-2 freshman Chayan Lowery, who netted 52 points, grabbed 32 rebounds and blocked eight shots as the Patriots posted a pair of Central League wins. In 10 games this season Lowery is producing 14.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and three rebounds per game. Her junior sister, Alesia Lowery, chipped in 31 points and six 3-pointers in the latest two Christian wins. The elder sister is averaging 9.8 points per outing.

COACH ON COURSE TO REACH MOUNT MIGUEL MILESTONE
Mount Miguel (Spring Valley) girls basketball coach Robbie Sandoval, now in his 11th season at the Matadors' helm, has guided his teams to 10 Grossmont League championships and a circuit record of 95-1. Since Sandoval's crew figures to go unbeaten in league play again this year he should push his loop mark to 101-1 by capturing the Grossmont Valley League championship. Sandoval's overall mark is 570-62, which includes winning five CIF-SDS titles.

LA COSTA CANYON'S DUMIAK MAKES HER POINTS
Senior guard Jen Dumiak of La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) drilled a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Mavericks edged Irvine Woodbridge 36-35. Dumiak totaled 69 points in three La Costa Canyon victories.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
* Senior Drew Kitchens of La Costa Canyon poured in 58 points in victories over Rancho Buena Vista, Francis Parker and El Camino.

* Torrey Pines junior guard Joe Rahon rolled in 50 points and had six 3-pointers in wins over Morse, Westview and Poway.

* Mount Miguel junior guard Marcus Booker scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished eight assists and logged two steals as the Matadors defended their Grossmont Valley League crown by downing top challenger Santana 62-59 in round one.

* Six-foot-1 Steele Canyon senior Samantha Vernon scored 36 points and collected 19 rebounds against West Hills and Mira Mesa.

* Five-foot-6 senior guard Melissa Allen of Mission Hills knocked down 47 points – the majority coming off eight 3-pointers – as the Grizzlies chewed up San Pasqual and Fallbrook.

* La Jolla Country Day sophomore Kelsey Plum punched in 25 points in guiding the Torreys to a 69-66 nod over Huntington Beach Edison.

COMING ATTRACTIONS
As league play continues in the CIF-SDS section, a boys game of interest pits Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) (12-7, 2-3) at No. 1 Lincoln (San Diego) (18-1, 5-0) on Friday in a Western League faceoff. Another duel worth attending matches No. 10 La Jolla Country Day (11-6, 2-1) at No. 8 Parker (San Diego) (13-6, 3-0) Friday night.

DICKENS' DEALINGS
Usually a little cooperation will go a long way. But those who choose to turn a deaf ear only exacerbate the problem.

Case in point is the Helix-Grossmont girls Grossmont Hills League basketball game which was suspended on Friday when cooler heads did not prevail.

Bottom line is the district bus ticketed to transport the Helix girls to the game picked the team up an hour late. That, obviously, was no fault of the basketball team.

Meanwhile, Grossmont's girls were warming up when a Helix assistant coach called to say the team was caught in traffic (the schools are only four miles apart).

Miscommunication such as that between the parties further evolved into a double D – unneeded discussion and delay. That added up to escalating frustration and led the late-arriving Highlanders' coach Dean Brunson to march out of the gym when in his opinion his team was not allotted proper time to warm up.

That point in itself is one of those "he said, she said" deals. The home team Foothillers claimed they agreed to give the Highlanders 30 minutes to prepare for the late-starting game.

However, Helix said Grossmont offered only 10 minutes to prepare as there was a boys game between the two schools that was already facing a 30-minute delayed start.

"I just wanted to get the girls situation figured out," Helix veteran boys coach John Singer said. "I told (Grossmont veteran coach Frank Foggiano) I didn't care what time we started."

Foggiano said he was willing to give in some, but noted that referees were becoming antsy. Ultimately, the girls game was not played as scheduled.

Perhaps Grossmont girls coach Megan Long said it best… "It was a frustrating situation for everybody."

As the debate continues this week, several scenarios come to mind. If Grossmont is awarded a forfeit win over Helix, that is not fair to anybody but the Foothillers. To her credit that is not the top option Long seeks.

"We want to play the game but I'm upset that we will not have our usual Friday home crowd," she said.

In the Grossmont Conference, Friday nights are doubleheaders involving the girls at 5:30 and the boys at 7. A round-two twinbill between Grossmont and Helix is slated for Friday, Feb. 11 at Helix.

Long views it as an advantage for the Highlanders if a makeup game with Grossmont as host is played on a day other than a Friday, in front of what Long feels could be a sparse gathering.

"Now, if we do play the game, it will probably be on a weeknight with a crowd less than half the size it would have been if we'd played on the originally scheduled Friday," Long said. "I don't think that is fair to my girls."

Both teams are considered contenders for the GHL title, which means a forfeit should be out of the question even if the game is played at midnight on a Saturday.