Belmont Shore Runs the Table at the
2010 Fullcourt Press Easter Classic
by Dinos Trigonis
(April 23, 2010)

The 2^nd annual Fullcourt Press Easter Classic held on April 9-11, 2010 @ Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas NV) attracted 88 teams in its four playing divisions.  Asizeable contingent of national/regional media and scouts attended including Van Coleman(Hoopmasters.com), Adam Gorney (Rivalshoops.com), Dinos Trigonis (Fullcourt Press, Hoop Scoop andNothing But Net),  Paul Dean (Westcoasthoopsreport.com), Victoria Sun (Westcoasthoopsreport.com), Etop Udo-Ema (Fullcourt Press & Hoopmasters), Matt Rodriguez (BallisLife.com), Christian Popoola & Lew Roberts

(PremierBall.com) and Chad Groth (AreaCodesBasketball.com) as well as Duke Pryor from IHoops.com – the NBA & NCAA’s basketball initiative.

Belmont Shore ran the table in Sin City by winning six straight games en route to the Elite Division Gold title.  Tourney MVP 6’8” junior DeAndre Daniels (Taft/Woodland Hills CA) poured in 26 points while 6’0” junior point guard Cezar Guerrero added 20 points and 7 assists to help Belmont Shore knock off Stoneridge 72-62 in the championship game.   Daniels played extremely well all tourney long but was especially heroic in the play-offs where he knocked in a 3-pointer against Belmont Shore Gold at the buzzer to force OT (giving his team another chance to squeeze out a narrow 1 point quarter-final win); got fouled on a drive to the basket with 1.5 seconds left and hit one of two free-throws to help Belmont Shore advance past Branch West Elite in the semi-finals and scored Belmont Shore’s first 10 points in the championship game.

Las Vegas Prospects(led by 6’2” junior Michael Thompson) beat Danny Granger Hurricanes II (sparked by 6’4” junior Kory Alford) in the Elite Division Division championship, Polynation (Las Vegas NV) beat Team Ariza in the 16 & under championship, San Francisco Rebels defeated Danny Granger Hurricanes (Albuquerque NM) squad 66-60 in the 15 & under final and Polynation (Las Vegas NV) topped their hometown rival Las Vegas Prospects 65-61 in the 14 & under title game.

In this report (Part I) we will highlight the players that were selected to the Elite Division all-tourney team

DeAndre Daniels                   6’8”     2011    Taft (Woodland Hills CA)     MVP
Daniels had a “statement” tournament – laying serious claim as California’s top 2011 prospect.   DeAndre combines excellent length, NBA 3-point shooting range and terrific athleticism to form a dangerous offensive package.  The Texas-bound Daniels has really improved his ballhandling and passing skills as well.

Here is the rest of the Elite Division all-tourney team in alphabetical order:

Steven Adams                       6’8”     2010    Pasadena (Pasadena CA)
Strong power-forward has made great strides since being sidelined over a year ago with a severe eye-injury.

Maverick Ahanmisi               6’2”     2010    Stoneridge (Simi Valley CA)
Sharp-shooting combo-guard is also a fine passer.

Kelly Assinesi                       6’0”     2011    St. Joseph (Greenville SC)
“Tough-as-nails” lead guard and Pasadena native has legitimate 3-point shooting range.

Kory Alford                            6’4”     2011    La Cueva (Albuquerque NM)
Son of Lobo head coach Steve Alford has an accurate perimeter stroke of his own.

Josh Amaya                           6’10”   2010    Mesquite (Gilbert AZ)
Big post with size is a prospect with value still on the 2010 board.

David Andoh                         6’7”     2012    St. Teresa (San Jose CA)
Promising combo-forward has excellent inside-outside offensive skills.

Demetrius Balark                  6’1”     2012    Kellis (Glendale AZ)
Young but talented point is a lefty floor general worth monitoring.

Askia Booker                         6’1’      2011    Price (Los Angeles CA)
One of the most underrated guards in Southern California, Booker put up big numbers here.

Dalvin Brown                                    6’9”     2011    Maryvale (Phoenix AZ)
Rugged rebounder and defender.

Henry Buckley                       6’10”   2010    Impact Prep (Las Vegas NV)
Athletic “big” is UNLV-bound.

TJ Burke                                6’7”     2011    De Niza (Tempe AZ)
Multi-dimensional forward has plenty of basketball IQ.

Alex Carmon                         6’3”     2011    Poly (Long Beach CA)
Athletic and wiry wing is a harassing defender and an improved perimeter scorer.

Jahii Carson                          5’10”   2011    Mesa (Mesa AZ)
One of the West’s and nation’s top PGs is an athletic playmaker that is difficult to contain in both the half-court set and in transition.  National stock and profile is definitely on the rise.

Jonathan Conley                   6’5”     2010    Ribet Academy (Los Angeles CA)
Strong forward is a dangerous slashing scorer.

CJ Cooper                             6’0”     2011    La Verne Lutheran (La Verne CA)
Scoring point has excellent ability to make clutch perimeter shots.

Tyrel Corbin                          6’0”     2011    West (Salt Lake City UT)
Son of former Utah Jazz star Tyrone Corbin is an efficient scorer that has the requisite basketball IQ to run a squad.

Gatete Djuma                                    6’8”     2011    West (Salt Lake City UT)
African import runs like a gazelle and can finish high above the rim.  Very intriguing upside.

Aaseem Dixon                       6’0”     2011    Centennial (Las Vegas NV)
Crafty lead guard is a low-mid major prospect to track in the 2011 class.

Dominique Dunning             6’4”     2011    Centennial (Corona CA)
Hard-working wing has terrific leadership qualities.  Committed to New Mexico.

Bruce English                       6’0”     2011    La Verne Lutheran (La Verne CA)
Dynamic combo-guard put up 31 points for Belmont Shore Gold in a narrow 1 point quarter-final loss to sister squad Belmont Shore.    Very good student.

Cameron Forte                      6’5”     2011    McClintock (Phoenix AZ)
High-octane scorer is one of the West Coast’s top underrated 2011 talents.

Christian Gore                      6’2”     2011    Franklin (El Paso TX)
Smooth pull-up jump shooter is deceptively agile and athletic.

Cezar Guerrero                     6’0”     2011    St. John Bosco (Bellflower CA)
Guerrero has detractors but they could not quarrel with the outstanding effort he displayed here – leading his Belmont Shore squad to six straight wins and the 2010 FCP Easter Classic crown.  Guerrero will challenge Josiah Turner for top billing as California’s top 2011 PG by the time July ends this year.  Unofficially visited Lon Kruger and UNLV after the event ended on Sunday night.

Michael Hardge                     5’11”   2012    Georgetown (Georgetown TX)
Solid point is an excellent distributor.

Mark Jackson                        6’3”     2010    Taft (Woodland Hills CA)
Playmaker with size was impressive here and his tremendous basketball instincts were very apparent to those who witnessed him leading his Stoneridge squad to the tourney finals.

Grant Jerrett                          6’8”     2012    La Verne Lutheran (La Verne CA)
Arguably the West Coast’s top 2012 post prospect, Grant has the skill package and the emerging athleticism to be a coveted coast-to-coast recruit.

Stephon Maxwell                  6’5”     2011    Taft (Woodland Hills CA)
Athletic wing forward is a 2011 SoCal “sleeper”.

Austin McBrown                   5’10”   2011    Campbell Hall (North Hollywood CA)
Sharp-shooting lead guard plays with plenty of confidence.

Alexis Moore                         6’2”     2011    Poly (Long Beach CA)
Rock-solid ballhandler and pin-point passer also has perimeter shooting range that must be respected.  Very good student.

Odera Nweke                         6’6”     2011    Terry (Richmond TX)
Tough PF is active on the glass.

Kevin Olekaibe                      6’1”     2010    Cimarron-Memorial (Las Vegas NV)
High scoring combo-guard signed with Fresno State shortly after the event.

Kevin Panzer                         6’8”     2010    Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo CA)
One of the West Coast’s top unsigned seniors was terrific here – running the floor with quickness and knocking down long-range bombs with regularity.  Very good student is visiting Nevada this weekend.

Evan Rocquemore                6’2”     2010    Foothill (Henderson NV)
Fast-rising 2010 prospect is a late-bloomer that can score in a variety of ways.

Wesley Saunders                  6’5”     2011    Windward (Los Angeles CA)
Athletic swingman is drawing Pac-10 interest.

Greg Sequele                                    6’8”     2011    Ribet Academy (Los Angeles CA)
After a very impressive effort here, Greg shed his “sleeper” tag and is now a bona-fide HM “big” that major schools should follow this July.

Solomon Singer                    6’5”     2010    Santa Monica (Santa Monica CA)
Very underrated unsigned senior swingman attacks the basket with the authority coaches love.

Kelvin Smith                          6’6”     2010    Impact Prep (Las Vegas NV)
Productive interior player also has 3-point range.

Shakir Smith                          6’1”     2011    Tucson (Tucson AZ)
Quick PG has a great cross-over dribble that allows him to elude defenders.

Eli Stalzer                              6’3”     2012    Mater Dei (Santa Ana CA)
Confident off-guard has surprising ability to elevate above the rim.

Chris Strong                          6’7”     2011    Eldorado (Albuquerque NM)
Solid rebounder can finish inside.

Michael Thompson               6’2”     2011    Canyon Springs (Las Vegas NV)
Smooth combo-guard can beat defenders off the dribble with regularity.

Steven Thornton                   6’6”     2010    Stoneridge (Simi Valley CA)
Splendid slashing scorer has the tools to be a lock-down defender on the next level.

Chili Tzazenua                      6’9”     2010    Stoneridge (Simi Valley CA)
Massive New Mexico State-bound PF is a force in the paint.

Grant Verhoeven                  6’7”     2012    Central Valley Christian (Visalia CA)
Skilled forward has terrific over-all skills.

Ervin Ware                             5’8”     2010    Gahr (Cerritos CA)
Tenacious defender has real ability to push the rock.

J’Quon Wroten                      6’2”     2010    Cheyenne (Las Vegas NV)
Another very underrated Sin City lead guard is a crafty scorer with plenty of sizzle to his game.

Gabe York                              6’3”     2012    Orange Lutheran (Orange CA)
SoCal’s finest 2012 guard prospect has excellent ability to light up the scoreboard.