High School Nation Jan. 4
By Chris HansenNational Director of Scouting
Posted Thu, 01/03/2008 - 20:56 Our weekly look around the country with holiday tournament recaps, recent rankings and news from around the country.
In our first High School Nation column, we look back and recap some of the holiday tournaments from around the country and bring you a different state each week with current rankings from the local media or coaches polls.
Tiffany Hayes and her Winter Haven team are no strangers to winning national tournaments. Behind Hayes’ 28-point performance the Devils of Winter Haven won the Crescent Bank Holiday Invitational Championship over Fayette County 73-57. Hayes shot 9 of 18 from the floor including four for seven from three-point range. The CBHI took place December 18-22, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Tiffany Hayes
Winter Haven had a close call in the quarterfinals when it was pitted against Georgia’s Stephenson Jaguars. A 22-point effort from Jylisa Williams was almost enough to knock off a Winter Haven squad that shot just 37 percent from the field in the first half. Winter Haven grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and had four players in double figures, led by Ashley Martin’s 18, and won 65-61.
Victory Christian of North Carolina rolled to a 43-24 win in the consolation bracket championship over Highland High School of Virginia. Victory Christian was led by North Carolina commit Candace Wood who scored 18 points to lead all scorers.
Tournament of Champions
We covered the first session of the Nike Tournament of Champions. Our coverage menu can be found at TOC Coverage Menu.
The first-session champions included: Black Bracket – Polytechnic (Long Beach, Calif.), Blue Bracket – Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.), Gold Bracket – Cajon (San Bernardino, Calif.), Gray – Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Green Bracket – Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Penn.)
The second session found a familiar school winning another tournament championship as Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco, Calif.), the Northwest Nike titlists, took the top honors in the White Bracket. Other winners include Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.) in the Orange Bracket, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.) in the Purple Bracket, and Mesquite (Gilbert, Ariz.) in the Red Bracket.
Though they didn't win their bracket, Timpanogos High School was awarded something at the Nike Tournament of Champions that no other team walked away, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Timpanogos players were rewarded for their impact off the court with the Mike Desper Community Service Award. The award honors a team’s community involvement and volunteering.
This was the inaugural award which should add a great element to an already great tournament. See the Salt Lake Tribune Blog for more information on this fantastic award.
Rankings Buzz
The Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association released the state’s Top Ten Rankings on Dec. 29. Coming in at No. 1 in the state’s largest classification, 4A, with a perfect 13-0 record is South Bend’s Washington High School. Washington is led by do-it-all junior Skylar Diggins who also is ranked as the No. 4 junior in the nation by HoopGurlz.com. Ben Davis High School (12-0) came in a close second in the coaches’ poll followed by Indianapolis’s North Central High School (9-2) which is led by Tennessee commit Briana Bass.
Rounding out the 4A Top Ten are Lawrence North (9-2), Penn (12-1), Ft. Wayne South (12-2), Mooresville (10-2), Bloomington South (10-2), and Carmel (9-2) tied with Terre Haute South (11-3) for ninth.
In 3A rankings the poll has 13-0 Twin Lakes number one with 11 first place votes. Ranked No. 2 is Wawasee (10-1) who received three first place votes. Elmhurst (12-1) and Chatard (11-2) are tied for No. 3 despite Elmhurst taking the last remaining first place vote. Rounding out the top ten are Crawfordsville (13-1), Plymouth (10-2), Owen Valley (10-1), Norwell (10-2), Memorial (8-4) and Vincennes (11-2).
In the 2A rankings Heritage Christian who is led by returning Indianapolis Player of the Year, Kelly Faris is ranked No. 1 with a perfect 12-0 record. In 1A rankings Oregon-Davis tops the list with all 15 first place votes and a 12-0 record.
Notes
Super sophomore Michala Johnson of Montini Catholic (Lombard, Ill.) is off to another hot start. She is 10 games into her season and averaging 18 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per contest. What is most impressive about her scoring average is the limited number of shots she is taking at just 11.4 shots per game. As a freshman she averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, shot 68 percent from the floor.
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Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women’s Basketball at HoopGurlz.com. He leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz. Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at chris@hoopgurlz.com.
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