By Michael Elliott
“Gonna Be A Showdown”- And there was. At Mission Prep. Just as the preceding musical line from the Electric Light Orchestra song states. (Um, dating oneself here but more on that later). MP exacted sweet revenge on Righetti High School by pounding out a 58-52 victory in front of a standing-room-only fervent following. During warmups an independent observer would have sworn that the Royals were going to get their goose cooked as Righetti trotted out one of the most formidable collections of prep basketball height one could imagine! But the eye of this beholder came to envision the beauty with which Mission Prep dispensed of the Warriors. The Royals’ penchant for unselfish play on the night and for buying into Coach Terrance Harris’ team concept was refreshing to observe. As Righetti keyed on Columbia University-bound Quinton Adlesh, his running mate at the guard position, Brandon Jones, enacted his own backup plan and tossed in a gritty, team-best 19 points. A perplexing aspect of the game was that Righetti chose to station their three 6’4” plus front court players up top and out on the wings defensively. Mission was able to break those defensive sets down to their advantage and come away with the important win. Good teams. Good battle. See you both in the playoffs.
Tark Goes Dark- Jerry Tarkanian, college basketball’s former rebel with a cause, who guided his University of Nevada Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels to the 1990 NCAA Basketball Championship, has entered into the nether world. Tark the Shark had a monumental coaching career which included stints at Long Beach State, UNLV and Fresno State, among others. In order to get an edge on his rivals Tarkanian would recruit junior college malcontents and players of dubious character and mold them into fascinating teams prone to full-court pressure defense and run-and-gun offensive flair. They might not have graduated, but they sure could play ball! Other coaches snubbed his style, and the NCAA infractions committees were always sniffing around Tark’s programs in search of wrongdoing. They were on his case his entire career. He once stated, “They’ve been my tormentors my whole life.” Playing baseball at Long Beach State in the early ‘70’s afforded this columnist the luxury of watching Tarkanian work his on-court magic firsthand. He had a conference record of 40-4 while at The Beach. Our 1970-71 team took UCLA to the brink in the NCAA Western Regional Final before falling by a bucket. His UNLV teams made it to four Final Fours. Rest well coach. The NCAA can’t touch you now.
Heaven On Earth- There’s nothing quite like hanging out on the Monterey Peninsula when the weather is accommodating. Placid mornings and pristine afternoons greeted the professional and amateur golfers this past weekend in the Monterey area as the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was contested. The weather was the talk of the tournament as there wasn’t a cloud in sight and nary a rippling of the flags as Brandt Snedeker collected his second AT&T title in three years. One of the really cool aspects of this tournament is the sprinkling of movie, music and sports stars amongst the professional golfers in order to give the tourney a unique flair of its own. Buster Posey, Bill Murray, Wayne Gretzky, Huey Lewis, Ray Romano, Clay Walker and Alex Smith were but a few of the notables who attended. It’s a kick to traverse the links at Pebble Beach, watching the golfers and soaking in the history of the event, as well as the sun. Great getaway.
Perplexing- Isn’t it difficult to date oneself?
And Finally- Russell: “Pete, why’d ya call a pass play?” Pete: “Why’d ya throw an interception?” Marshawn.
