We could get used to having this guy around, helping out.
Our publisher and editor-in-chief, Dinos Trigonis, has been a busy man lately. And we’re not talking about jet-setting all over the country in an effort to make this one of the nation’s top publications. He’s been out there doing what he does best, evaluating talent. Make no mistake, he does this better than most.
And when Trigonis is out on the road scouting, that means one thing, he’s bound to offer up Nothing But Magazine followers some of his many observations. And that’s a good thing. A very good thing, mind you. So, without further delay, let’s take a look at a sampling of some of the talent he saw in action.
Remember JP Olukemi? At the 2007 Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas, NV, he played on a Belmont Shore club team that outlasted a 224-team field to win the championship.
The squad was led by future NBA lottery pick Brandon Jennings, now with the Milwaukee Bucks. Several other high-major players included, Renaldo Woolridge, currently with Tennessee, along with Leonard Washington (USC), Jeff Withey (Kansas) and Darius Morris (Michigan).
Olukemi may not have been the most well-known member of the team, but he was as important a factor as any player in Belmont Shore’s success in that event. Attacking the rim with force and confidence, as well as knocking down timely perimeter shots, he was the team’s unsung hero.
However, the native of La Habra, CA would travel a much different road to the NCAA Division I level. First, he made a junior college pit stop at Vincennes, where he played well during his freshman season, averaging over 15 points a game while improving immensely over the course the 2008-09 season.
This past summer, Olukemi was outstanding at Jerry Mullen’s Top 120 Camp, earning praise from numerous coaches and scouts present. Well-know talent evaluator Mike Mitchell pegged him as the top swingman returning to the junior college ranks this fall and proclaimed him as an “unquestioned upper-major.”
More importantly, Olukemi got the job done in the classroom, putting himself on course to obtain his degree a semester early. He will graduate from Vincennes in December of 2009. He’s become a valuable recruit in the meantime and is expecting to enroll at his school of choice in the Spring semester of 2010. He’ll suit up the following fall with three full seasons of eligibility remaining.
High-major schools have lined up to pursue this athletic wing, with Oklahoma State emerging as the early. Auburn, UAB, Oklahoma, Providence, South Florida, a team he will visit this weekend, are among the growing list of schools that are very interested. Stay tuned for details on how his story plays out…
One of the fastest rising high school wings among the 2010 class is Bryce Jones (Taft/Woodland Hills CA). The 6-foot-6 senior committed to USC last weekend, giving new Trojan coach Kevin O’Neil the greatest recruiting coup of his newly minted tenure, besting Arizona, Oregon State and Arizona State for Jones’ services. USC also picked up a second commitment on the heels of the Jones announcement when Garrett Jackson (Westview/Portland OR) pledged to the Trojans Give O’Neil his props. He’s doing just fine…?
Speaking of Taft, coach Derrick Taylor continues to load up as Kevin Johnson (formerly at Serra/Gardena CA) and Jordan Gathers (formerly at Loyola/Los Angeles CA) have both transferred into the San Fernando Valley school. The Toreadors, led by Jones and Texas-bound DeAndre Daniels, and beefed up by the recent transfers, look to be a real threat to Westchester for LA-City CIF supremacy…
Daniels and Cezar Guerrero (St. John Bosco/Bellflower CA) have been invited to participate in the Gymrats Midnight Madness event being held on September 26th at Cherry Hill East High in New Jersey. Also expected to play in the high-profile event is Jared Sullinger (Northland/Columbus OH), a top 5 national prospect for the talent-laden 2010 class. Syracuse-bound Fab Melo (Sagemont Upper/Weston FL) will be in attendance too, along with Rakeem Christmas (Academy of the New Church/Bryan Athyn PA), one of the country‘s top juniors around…
In Southern California transfer news, Keala King, formerly at Compton Dominguez but now at Santa Ana Mater Dei, has committed to Arizona State. Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek inherits a skilled perimeter scorer with a confident on-court swagger. Another former Dominguez player, junior Norvel Pelle, is at Los Angeles Price these days and his addition gives coach Michael Lynch another weapon to pair with Cal-bound seniors Richard Solomon and Alan Crabbe That is an impressive trio, to be sure…
Senior Shelton Boykin (Poly/Long Beach CA) committed to Long Beach State in August. In addition to landing an athletic scorer, the 49’ers also acquired the first local recruit of the Dan Monson era, an important link considering that Poly has a bevy of promising underclassmen, including juniors Ryan Anderson, Alexis Moore and Troy Carmon. Can’t forget about fabulous freshman Roschon Prince either…
La Verne Lutheran (La Verne CA) boasts one of the deepest young rosters of talent in the West this season. Juniors Bruce English, CJ Cooper and Xavier Jones will get plenty of playing time. So will sophomores Grant Jerrett and Cameron Osorno and freshmen Eric Cooper Jr., Nick Colletta and Jay Miller. With a roster so deep, there was a good reason that Trojan coach Eric Cooper Sr. had visitors at his practice last Wednesday, the first day of the fall NCAA contact period. Coaches from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, UNLV and Washington State were on hand to get a first-hand look at Cooper’s young but impressive looking squad…
Speaking of La Verne Lutheran, the Trojans’ lone senior, Jordan Salley, suffered a devastating ACL tear just prior to the July evaluation period, but is making good progress in rehab. He’s hoping to return by January. Prior to the injury, Salley, one of the top 2010 post prospects in Southern California, had been receiving interest from Tulsa, New Mexico, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Pepperdine. Due to the setback, the attention has been somewhat sluggish. Creighton, however, is in the process of setting up an on-campus visit soon. If Salley can make a full recovery, look for the rugged and bouncy forward to be a valuable recruit in the spring…
