RENO, Nev.—The prestigious George Maldonado Memorial Classic at Galena High officially tips off today, but the eight teams in the tournament were showcased Wednesday in what were called “marquee matchups.”
It was everything but a showcase for Weston Ranch, which stumbled to a 75-44 loss to two-time defending Arizona state champion Mountain View of Mesa.Onlookers also got to take a peep at 2005-06 California Interscholastic Federation State Division I champion Artesia (Lakewood), which boasts two collegiate signees and top-rated sophomore Renardo Sidney.Several coaches and scouts, including UCLA head coach Ben Howland, were in attendance.“
It was kind of like we were a little starry-eyed,” Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. “We just didn’t look comfortable, and weren’t that confident team anymore.”It showed early on, when the Toros of Mountain View (5-0) shot out to a 22-12 first-quarter lead.
Trailing by 13 at halftime, bad went to worse for the Cougars (1-1), who were held to just six points in the third.“What it boiled down to was us missing shots,” Slikker said. “We were missing 10-foot jumpers and easy putbacks. We were in position to score, but everything was short.“They’re a good team, no question, but we also took ourselves out of the ball game.”The Cougars struggled to contain Mountain View’s 6-foot-8 Cal signee, Karper Kamp, who turned in 18 points.
Walter Jackson was one of Weston Ranch’s few bright spots, as he turned in 19 points and 15 rebounds. James Nunnally added 11 points and five boards.“They were all very upset after the game knowing that they can play better than that,” Slikker said. “I told them that one of two things can happen: We can sulk and boohoo about it, or we can come back and show everyone that we’re the Weston Ranch team they expected us to be.“(The latter) has to happen, because it doesn’t get any easier.”Weston Ranch opens tournament play with host Galena (3-4)The Cougars will again have their hands full with 6-8 junior swingman Luke Babbit, who is being recruited by collegiate powerhouses such as Arizona, Duke, Washington and Texas.“That’s why we’re here,” Slikker said. “We’re here so that our guys can expose themselves, but also because they won’t see those types of players in the (North San Joaquin) valley.”Staff reports of theManteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2006/12/14/sports/sports2.txt
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