Rancho Buena Vista senior guard Johnny Dee isn't listed on many players to watch lists. No doubt that is an oversight as Dee has put together back-to-back scoring bonanzas the past two games.
Dee erupted for 45 points — 22 in the third quarter — in the Longhorns' 88-67 win over Bonita Vista in the Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High on Saturday (Dec. 18).
A day later, Dee knocked down 42 points to lead the Longhorns to a 71-68 win over St. Augustine in the Grossmont Winter Classic on Monday night.
"It's good to have him back," Longhorns coach Terry Miller told the North County Times. "He is a great on-the-floor leader."
Dee, who moved to Kansas with his family after his sophomore year at RBV, hit six 3-pointers and was 5-for-7 from the free throw line against Bonita Vista.
"(Scoring points) is something I have been able to do, something I am good at," Dee told the North County Times. "I am able to take advantage of the opportunities my teammates give me."
Against St. Augustine, Dee drilled in five 3-pointers among his 15 field goals, and he also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. He's averaging 34.1 points in seven games, the highest in North County.
MOUNT MIGUEL'S MILLER FLYING HIGH
Senior Danielle Miller helped the Mount Miguel (Spring Valley) Matadors show why they are the No. 23-ranked team in the state in Monday's White Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions 79-71 victory over Pacific Palisades in Phoenix.
The 5-foot-8 guard, who averaged 20.3 points in her first six games, erupted for a career high and tournament record 40 points as the Matadors improved to 6-1.
Fifteen of Miller's points and eight of Myishia Watkins' 19 came in the second quarter as Mount Miguel scored 33 points to overcome a 19-14 deficit.
"Danielle hadn't really played well the last two games," Mount Miguel coach Robbie Sandoval said. "She picked it up this game. They wound up fouling her because they couldn't guard her."
The UNLV-bound Miller burned the Dolphins (6-4) by converting 13 of 18 free throws. She also hauled down 10 rebounds, registered seven steals, dished three assists and blocked two shots.
"That's the most points I've ever had a player score in a game since I've been at Mount Miguel," said Sandoval, now in his 11th season at the Matadors' helm.
Miller clicked on 12 of 18 shots from the floor, which included netting a trio of triples.
CHOL CHURNS ST. JOSEPH'S INSIDE OUT
San Diego Hoover shot-blocking post Angelo Chol scored 41 points in an 83-58 romp over St. Joseph's of Santa Maria. The 6-foot-9 Chol missed only one of six three-pointers and was 15-for-23 from the floor overall. Averaging 27.7 points and 13.7 rebounds, he has blocked 69 shots in 10 games.
EL CAMINO SUFFERS FIRST LOSS
Denzel Johnson's layup with one second left lifted Clovis West past El Camino Diego 59-58 for the championship of the Cantwell Sacred Heart Cardinal Classic in Los Angeles. Johnson, the tournament MVP, had 28 points, and teammates Derek Walkers and T.J. Jackson made the all-Classic team. It was the first loss in 11 starts for El Camino.
FALLBROOK FOLDS IN FINALS
La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) (9-1) trailed by 11 points five minutes into the game, but the Mavericks made 59 percent of their shots over the final three quarters and had four players score in double figures to rout previously undefeated Fallbrook (8-1) by a 71-48 count.
After hitting 7 of 8 shots to open the game on its way to a 16-5 lead, Fallbrook missed on 7 of 9 to start the second quarter and found itself down 36-27 late in the second quarter.
Zach Beery led La Costa Canyon with 22 points, shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor while scoring on putbacks, tip-ins, and a variety of layups. He also had six rebounds.
Drew Kitchens had 16 points, David Travers 13 and Matt Shrigley 12 for the Mavericks.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
* Sophomore guard Skylar Williams of Granite Hills (El Cajon) powered the Eagles to the championship of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational. She scored a game-high 12 points in both the semis vs. Grossmont and the title game vs. Sweetwater, plus added a season-best 22 points in a pool play contest vs. Ramona.
* Mount Miguel's
Myishia Watkins scored 19 points and dished nine assists in the Matadors' win over Pacific Palisades in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix.
* University City point guard
Stephen Rivera scored 23 points in a key win over Westview.
* Army-Navy freshman guard
Devin Watson, who is averaging 17.3 points per game, netted 23 points against Madison and equaled that output against Morse.
* Fallbrook's
Danny Bashara tallied a game-high 25 points for the Warriors (8-1) against La Costa Canyon.
* In the four-game Granite Hills Holiday Invitational, El Cajon Valley junior
Chelsea Ball collected 84 rebounds and 63 points.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The championship of the Hosea Hall Christmas Basketball Invitational will be conducted on Wednesday in the San Diego Lincoln Hornets gym at 8:15. The Southern California Prep Holiday Classic girls basketball tournament runs from Dec. 27-30 in Lakeside.
DICKENS DEALINGSHow much is too much?
Basketball traditionally runs heaviest during the winter holidays. Some teams will play as many as 10 games in 12 days.
Is that healthy? Is that beneficial?
Probably not. As much as coaches like to play as many games as their schedules will allow, they admit that conducting practices is more worthy than playing an endless number of games.
Ask any coach and they'll say the same thing. If they're having trouble perfecting an offense or a defense, they'll admit they need practice time to work out the kinks.
On the flip side there are other coaches for whom hosting tournaments and making money is what it's all about. That should be understandable, considering the average budget for a basketball team in San Diego County is around $1,200 – give or take a hundred bucks here or there.
In some schools the winter holidays mean vacation and some parents are going to demand their sons and daughters join the family on trips, no matter what their coach might say. That leaves the coach handcuffed.
The majority of coaches will say if you elect to take vacation during the season, don't bother coming back to the team.
One of the known exceptions in San Diego County is
Valhalla (El Cajon) coach Keith Jackson, who has learned to work around his snowbunnies.
"I know the parents are going to put pressure on their kids, so I schedule all my tournaments before Christmas," Jackson said. "That means if they want to go on vacation after Christmas, fine."
Jackson, however, is in the minority. There are other coaches, such as Grossmont High's Frank Foggiano, who requires his players to make a commitment to be available to the team throughout the basketball season, regardless of conflicting dates.
An informal poll of coaches backs Foggiano's stance. He is in the majority.
