VIDEO: Ballislife: Findlay Prep vs. Bishop Gorman Double OT thriller!

Findlay keeps the winning season going!
Photo Courtesy http://www.pointguardu.com/

Findlay Prep...featuring Canadians Myck Kabongo, Anthony Bennett and Naz Long took on Bishop Gorman Saturday January 22nd and the game was a dandy...Finlay Prep takes it 89-86 in a thriller as Kabongo found Kevin Kasper alone up top and he buried the game winning three at the buzzer...
Kabongo led Findlay with 26 points!
Gorman junior Shabazz Muhammad had a game-high 33 points, including a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to even the game at 71 and force overtime.



See the video evidence here :

http://www.ballislife.com/video/findlay-prep-beats-bishop

Also a nice article by Ray Brewer in the Las Vegas Sun on the game...Several big name coaches and scouts were in the gym according to the article:
"UCLA’s Ben Howland, Washington's Lorenzo Romar and UNLV’s Lon Kruger were three of an estimated 15 to 20 college coaches in attendance."


Check it out:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jan/23/findlay-prep-wins/

Also some more video from KSNV...great coverage of local basketball in Las Vegas...
Click on the grey bar at the bottom of the video to start it.




Yet another nice piece on the game from the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Damon Seiters

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/findlay-survives-gorman-scare-114443919.html

The St. Benedict's Gray Bees are really high on Tyler Ennis!

Tyler Ennis
Photo Courtesy of TTC/Bounce



Recently I got to see Tyler Ennis perform up here in Canada during the Canada Basketball scrimmages over the Christmas holidays and I must say I was truly impressed with his maturation as a PG since I last saw him play at the B-Game camp at HoopDome in the summer. There's something truly different about the brother of Dylan Ennis, a rising PG as well who plies his trade for Lake Forest Academy in Chicago, Illinois. In fact Tyler was also at Lake Forest playing alongside his brother but decided to transfer to the former school of fellow Canadians Tristan Thompson and Myck Kabongo! From what I have read on the blogosphere new coach Roshown McLeod's team desperately needed a true passing/distributing PG...and that's what Ellis is! He distributes with above average efficiency, can get to the hoop pretty much when he wants and he is just several solid practice hours away from becoming a true threat outside as well.
The 6'2", 185lb'er was impressive in his first game for St. Benedict's notching 14 assists. Why that's significant besides the fact that he tallied double digit assists is because the team itself was averaging about 14 assists per game coming into that contest!
Then against St. Patrick, who are the number 2 team in the nation and feature sensational baller Michael Gilchrist, Ennis notched 13 points and 4 assists in an 8 point loss. Ennis did commit 6 turnovers in the game but that could be attributed to the fact that he's still learning about his teammates and it was a super strong opponent they were facing in St. Patrick.
Ennis gives them a player who will get the ball to players like Tyler Harris and Mike Young in their "sweet spots". He will find out by studying game tape, which he has been according to coach McCleod, where each player on his team likes to get the ball so that each teammate will get the most out of their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
The coach team is really high on Ennis and rightly so, since he's now out of brother Dylan's shadow and forging a future and name for himself on the East coast!

Check out these two articles on another rising Canadian Tyler Ennis:

http://www.zagsblog.com/2011/01/11/st-benedicts-adjusting-under-mcleod/

http://www.zagsblog.com/2011/01/02/st-bens-adds-transfer-recruiting-rundown/

Good luck to Tyler Ennis at St. Benedict's!

Devoe Joseph leaving Minnesota Golden Gophers and Tubby Smith!

Devoe Joseph gone from Minnesota.
Photo Courtesy of http://www.basketball.ca/

Well the news has been out now for a few days...and I must say it is very shocking to hear that Pickering's Devoe Joseph is leaving the Golden Gophers after 2 1/2 years. He was suspended earlier on this season for 6 games for conduct detrimental to the team...something about off-court issues according to coach Smith.
I've heard he wasn't happy with being demoted to the first off the bench as Smith said he would benefit the team better to be the main scorer on the 2nd unit instead of starting.
There's a lot of reasons why student/athletes transfer; grades, criminal charges, playing time, coach/player conflicts etc, but the real reason for Joseph's departure is still a mystery. Apparently Joseph's mother Connie Joseph confirmed with a Minnesota Star-Tribune reporter that Joseph is indeed transferring, although where he's going is still a mystery.
Let's hope the talented, but seemingly misunderstood guard lands on his feet where ever he ends up...because no matter what the cause is, it's certainly not a positive incident w.r.t. his reputation.

Here's what ESPN has to say about it...

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/20614/devoe-joseph-appears-done-in-minnesota

Here's an article below from the Star-Tribune about his Mom and her feelings about Devoe's departure from Minnesota.

Devoe Joseph's mom: "I don't expect anything to change"
Posted by Myron P. Medcalf

Last update: January 4, 2011 - 12:27 PM

When you get an email at 3:49 a.m., you know you're dealing with a serious situation.

Connie Joseph, the mother of Gophers combo guard Devoe Joseph, reached out to me Tuesday morning.

She's traveled here from Canada to be with her son, who's preparing to transfer. She said she's convinced that her son will not change his mind.

"The decision to transfer, it’s a difficult decision," she said during a phone call Tuesday. "It’s not a good situation. … It’s not something that’s taken lightly and it’s a difficult thing to do. Having said that, it’s something that Devoe has [decided to do]."

Her view of the events leading up to Monday's news varies from what sources close to the team told the Star Tribune Monday.

Connie Joseph said her son has pondered his decision for a long time. But after the team's loss at Michigan State Friday, he told his mother that he felt like it was time to go.

Connie Joseph would not discuss the reasons behind her son's decision.

She said Devoe Joseph called Tubby Smith before the team's next practice and informed him of his decision to leave the program. Connie Joseph said her son skipped practice over the weekend because "once you've made this difficult decision, the best thing is just to move forward."

She said her son isn't suspended, as some outlets reported, but has decided to leave the team.

"No, there’s [no turning back]," she said Tuesday. "I'm going with him [Tuesday] morning to pick up his release papers. He wishes the team well. It’s a tough thing."

She added: "I don’t expect anything to change."

Connie Joseph said her son doesn't know where he's going yet. But she supports him, although she's shocked by the recent sequence of events. Just three years ago, Devoe Joseph was the top recruit in Smith's first recruiting class with the Gophers.

"I’m extremely, extremely surprised … really disappointed," said a sobbing Connie Joseph. "Devoe had dreams of playing for the Gophers."