Bulldog Classic

The 2008-09 season has begun and my first post comes from the Bulldog Classic at Bellevue CC. This was an eight team tournament hosted by Bellevue CC that included the following NWAACC teams: S. Puget Sound, Yakima Valley, Wenatchee Valley, Mt. Hood, Portland, Everett, and Highline. Here's how they finished:

1st Bellevue
2nd Yakima Valley
3rd Mt. Hood
4th Highline
5th Wenatchee Valley
6th Portland
7th & 8th S. Puget Sound and Everett

I showed up Sunday and caught the second half of the 3rd place game and the Championship game. Both were pretty good games and were fairly close to the end.

When I arrived for the Mt. Hood/Wenatchee 3rd place game it was 28-28 at half. Both teams were patient and under control but Wenatchee struggled hitting open shots which ultimately cost them the game. They did frustrate Mt. Hood defensively when the went to a zone with about 8 minutes left, they have big guards and they got their hands up and got some deflections and turnovers. It was close and looked like they might really cut into Mt. Hood's lead when FR Andre Norman of Mt. Hood knocked down a big 3pt shot with about 4 seconds left on the shot clock and 2 minutes on the game clock. Mt. Hood held on for a good win. Here are some observations of the players:

Wenatchee Valley
#5 - Greg Giese 6-2-SO- Long thin wing. Smart player with patience, he seemed to lead the team and kept them in the game. He got some big deflections and did a good job of penetrating to the paint on offense and shot 9 for 10 foul shots. Unfortunately he was 2-7 from the field. Had five steals but also 5 TO's. Led them in scoring with 13 pts. Could be a DIII or low DII guy, good team player.

#42 - Matt Best -6-6-SO- Big thick strong undersized post. He has good hands, he rebounds and finishes around the basket. Led them in rebounds with 9. DII/DIII

#2 - Jordan Emerson -5-11-FR- Starting pg from Louisiana. Somewhat athletic and long for his size, was a bit out of control and had trouble finishing around the basket. OK ball handler.


Mt. Hood
#10 - Earl Jones -5-8-FR Quick little pg, good ball handler but forces things sometime. Sets a good pace for the team and can blow it up the court in transition. Struggled finding passing angles against the zone. Got to the foul line. Led the team with 12 pts on 3-8 shooting also had 7 steals and 6 TO's. low DII/DIII could improve in a year.

#42 - Adam Nielson -6-6-FR Strong smart player. Hustles and makes plays. Not really quick more of a post. Seals well away from the ball. Passes and rebounds. Coaches son I think. I'm pretty sure his other son also played at Mt. Hood and went on to BYU-Hawaii. Adam looks like he'll be good enough to play DII as well.

#11 - Jamar Johnson - 6-2-FR Athletic long guard. A bit out of control, fouled out with 13 minutes left. Was aggressive and made some baskets.


The championship game was a good one. Bellevue and Yakima Valley are probably two of the best teams in the NWAACC. Both have athletic teams that play fast and aggressive. Yakima Valley held an early lead in this one but mostly because Bellevue was impatient and forced some bad shots. Bellevue was definitely deeper and had more talent. Bellevue played great half court pressure man to man defense and kept it up the whole game by playing lots of subs. They wore Yakima down and beat them by a final score of 77-61. This one was closer than the score suggests though. Some player observations:

Yakima Valley
#3 - Rico Wilkins -6-0-SO Athletic, long, and quick. Forced shots and finished 2-11 from the field.

#4 - Jody Johnson -6-4-SO Athletic, skilled forward. Kind of a tweener, not a post and not a guard. Plays hard, can make an open jump shot and rebounds the ball. Didn't have his best game but still had 8pts and 9rbs. Had a few balls slapped out of his hands on the offensive end. I think he'd be a good DII 4 in the right system, he can play inside and out and will rebound from all spots. We recruited him my first year at Fairbanks but nothing came of it because of a coaching change.

#20 - Nico Sandoval -5-9-SO That's right, Nico and Rico run the backcourt for Yakima, great names. Nico was fun to watch, savvy little guard that could pull-up and shoot over bigger players. He's got a quick release on his shot that is hard to guard. Handles and passes well though maybe gets a little too fancy as he has some turnover problems. DII/DIII

#42 - LeMar Anglin -6-6-SO Played really well. Strong kid. Very strong around the basket, finished his shots and grabbed rebounds. Played tough D and hustled. He can play the 4 or the 5 and looked like a solid DII player.

#33 - Trent Spellman and #5 Dennis Wilson are both athletic guards that contributed.


Bellevue
#24 - Pete Harris -5-11-SO Strong, athletic pg. Good ball handler that's focus was on getting them into their offense. Didn't try to force to much and controlled the tempo. Plays good on the ball D. DII/DIII

#2 - Curron Singleton -5-10-SO Quick athletic guard, could play the 1 or 2 but definitely trying to score. Led them with 17pts and 3 for 5 from 3pt line. Solid defender. DII

#22 - Sam Cartmell -6-3-SO Strong athletic wing. He took over the game in the second half and led them to the win. Scored 15 pts on 6-11 shooting and played great defense. He attacked the basket and made open 3's. Solid player, would be a great DII wing or low DI.

#32 - Blake Pankow -6-6-SO Mobile long forward. Not bad at putting the ball on the ground, played hard. Lefty

#40 - Rahiti Marere -6-6-SO Transfer from Evergreen St. Skilled big man but very thin. Great touch around the basket and played hard. Lefty, had an unsuspecting 15pts and 9rbs. Was consistent through out the game. DII/DIII