Two of the nation’s elite high school tournaments finished up Wednesday night on the West Coast, with Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick winning the National Division of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego, and Westchester (Calif.) downing Oak Hill (Va.) for the Les Schwab Invitational crown in Hillsboro, Ore.
St. Patrick 6-foot-7 junior wing Michael Gilchrist scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving added 22 to lift the Celtics over Newark (Calif.) Memorial. Gilchrist and Irving combined to outscore the entire team from the San Francisco Bay area.
“I was just playing my game,” Gilchrist told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s all about heart.”
Irving was named MVP of the tournament and Gilchrist and teammate Derrick Gordon joined him on the all-tournament team.
“There’s a reason they’re the No. 1 team in the country and we all got a good look why,” Newark Memorial coach Craig Ashmore told MaxPreps.com. “They really have no weakness. They’re skilled, well-coached, deep and play hard. You have to play perfect otherwise a single turnover turns into a 6-0 run.”
Kentucky and Villanova lead for Gilchrist, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2011, but he is also said to be considering UConn, Oregon, Rutgers, Memphis and Louisiana State.
St. Patrick (5-0) is ranked No. 2 in the Prepnation.com poll.
LAMB NAMED MVP, BUT OAK HILL FALLS
In Hillsboro, Ore., senior guard Doron Lamb was named tournament MVP but previously unbeaten Oak Hill (18-1) suffered its first loss at the hands of Westchester (Calif.), 52-47, in the championship game of the Les Schwab Invitational.
The 6-4 Lamb had 16 points and 4 rebounds in the final, after dropped 29 points in the quarters and 23 in the semis.
Pe’Shon Howard added 13 points for Oak Hill and Dayton-bound Juwan Staten added 12. Uncommitted 6-8 senior Roscoe Smith managed just 6 points and 7 boards.
Jordin Mayes led Westchester (11-2) with 16 and Reggie Murphy had 12.
Lamb is due to visit Arizona Jan. 7-9. He has already visited Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma and UConn.
ROSS DECOMMITS FROM MARYLAND
Terrence Ross has decommitted from Maryland, according to a report on Rivals.com.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound shooting guard from Montrose Christian is now considering Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Maryland, according to what Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter told The Washington Post.
Vetter was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
(Photos courtesy SteveBoylephoto.com)./ ESPN Rise Magazine; Rivals)
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Avaricious / December 31, 2009
Rumors that Duke is recruiting Gilchrist as well
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sports2012 / December 31, 2009
Well that’d be a waste of time Avaricious. He’s a one and done player. He’s either going to Nova or Kentucky. Its a done deal.
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TJCPenny / January 1, 2010
Word is he is going to ‘Nova…
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