It's the same old story for Chuck Norris look-a-like and El Camino coach Ray Johnson. It's been all about victories and championships.
El Camino (Oceanside) (7-0) destroyed Duarte 113-31 in Monday's opening round of the Cantwell Tournament. The Wildcats' Chris Gorman, who netted 25 points in the Wildcats' championship win in the Eagle Invitational, buried 35 points while Jacob Snow added 26 against Duarte.
Scores like this are reflections of the Bill Walton era in the late 1960s at Helix. Walton and Co. were so superior that most teams – even those in the early round of the playoffs – could not keep up.
Keep in mind that in those so called "olden days" there were no 3-point shots or a shot clock, yet the Highlanders more often than not were able to destroy their opponents by unbelievable margins.
WATKINS TAKES CHARGE FOR CLASSIC CROWNMount Miguel (Spring Valley) head coach Robbie Sandoval does not select a most valuable player for his Matador Classic.
If he did, the choice would be simple – Mount Miguel senior Myishia Watkins.
With three starters eliminated by fouls and 6:30 remaining in Saturday's Red Division championship game, the 5-foot-4 point guard almost singlehandedly helped the Matadors maintain the lead in what became a 48-40 victory over visiting Serra.
"She did a great job of holding the game down those last 6½ minutes," Sandoval said of Watkins, who finished with 23 points. "Myishia controlled the game."
Watkins nailed eight field goals – one of them a 3-pointer – and netted six of seven free throws. She also recorded eight steals, three assists and three rebounds.
ARMY-NAVY ACADEMY'S 7-FOOTER STANDS TALLThe 7-foot-1 sophomore center
Cheikh Ndiaye of the Army-Navy Academy posted a pair of triple doubles in a five-game sweep of the Dubs by Dukes Classic at La Jolla Country Day. He had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks in a win over St. Margaret's and 24 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks against Valhalla. He had 19 points in a victory over Madison and punched in 24 points against Calipatria.
MONTE VISTA'S MONARCHS NAVIGATE UNIQUE TRAIL TO VICTORY LANEIn a bit of irony, the
Monte Vista (Spring Valley) boys basketball team (4-0) did not attempt a single free throw in a 54-34 victory over Mater Dei (Chula Vista). The Monarchs shot 50 percent (24 of 48) from the field, including hitting six 3-pointers.
BASEBALL SCHOLARSHIPS
Steele Canyon corner infielder
Wes Judish, who batted .377 with 12 doubles, three homers and 26 RBIs, will attend the University of San Diego.
Monte Vista (Spring Valley) pitcher-outfielder Nick Sabo has committed to a baseball scholarship at Cal State Long Beach. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound left-hander hit .376 with three home runs, 25 RBIs and 10 steals. As a pitcher, Sabo posted a 5-5 mark with one save and a 3.67 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
* It's taken the
Valhalla (El Cajon) Norsemen girls seven games to do what it took last year's squad to do in 26 games. That is, post five victories, which coach Al Silva's squad reached with a 57-42 romp over Christian Life Academy.
* In a battle of Top 10 teams,
San Diego edged Mission Bay 65-64. The Buccaneers' 5-foot-9 sophomore Briteesha Solomon was brilliant with 25 points, 16 rebounds, eight steals and three blocks.
* For the second year in a row, Molly Grabill walked away from the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships as an All-American following her ninth-place finish in the race at Morley Field.
*
Erica Lohrenz of Mt. Carmel collected 88 points in four games at the Vaquero Shootout, including 33 against Valley Center and 27 against Helix.
* El Camino's Dayton Boddie registered 84 points in four Wildcat wins in the Eagle Shootout.
* Six-foot-3 senior
Danny Bashara poured in 28 points, directing Fallbrook to a 61-58 victory over Carlsbad.
* Six-foot-6 junior
Matt Shrigley of La Costa Canyon knocked down 28 points in the Mavericks' march past Rancho Bernardo 92-65 in the North County Classic.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Holidays mean tournaments when it comes to basketball. Among the local tourneys for boys in the offing include the 16-team Grossmont Winter Classic Dec. 18,20,21,22, and the Granite Hills Holiday (Girls) Classic (Dec. 10, 11,15,16,17 and 18.
DICKENS' DEALINGS
Yeah, I know it's basketball season.
But, like the long-running CBS television color man on 60 Minutes, Andy Rooney, I always have a beef.
The focus this time concerns how the various football all-league teams are picked.
More often than not the coaches distribute points on the basis of team standings. While, on paper, this might seem like a fair way to award the warriors of the gridiron, it often creates loopholes. The problem here is if a poor team has an outstanding player or two there is surely going to be an argument. On the flip side, a bad team with a couple of quality players is going to lose out due to this method.
So what to do?
First of all let us define the points system, which is based on the final standings. Depending on where your team finishes, you are awarded "x" number of points. Basically it comes down to two points for a first-team pick, one point for a second-team pick.
Based on how many teams there are in your league is how the points are divvied up. The league champion gets additional points over the second place team, etc. For example, in a five team league, the champion would get 12 points. If you use your points for a first-team pick it will cost you two points; for a second-team pick, it will cost you one point.
For the coaches, this is an easy way to select an all-league team. It can also be very stressful to manage because not everyone fully understands it, which can – and does – cause players to be overlooked. And then the arguing starts.
Having personally attended countless all-league meetings where coaches are handcuffed by a points system, from my view this is definitely a flawed manner of selection. Keep in mind there are blue chip players on teams with sub-standard records. So should we punish blue chippers by the team's record?
It is an ugly situation. All players worthy of all-league selection should be placed on the board for post-season recognition.
The problem is, that doesn't happen. Far too many players are overlooked in the current football format.
