Some observations from the shootaround we had Wednesday for kids in the Mail Tribune All-Star Basketball Classic. The games are Friday at 6 p.m. (girls) and 8 p.m. (boys) at Kids Unlimited:
First off, the voting for starters is blowing up. We’re gonna cut it off at 2:30 p.m. Friday, then have the results posted on www.varsity541.com by 3 p.m.
Last time I checked about 7 Thursday night, on the boys side, Mitch Singler of South Medford had taken over the lead from Crater’s Travis Robbins, 421 to 416. They were among four players — Crater’s Josh Lokeno and North Medford’s Josh Pecktol were the others — with more than 400 votes. By comparison, our leader last year had 280. Others to make big moves were Austin Rowley and Logan Winter of Eagle Point, Chris Bates of St. Mary’s and Talon Haggard of Ashland.
Four girls also have eclipsed 400. North Medford’s McKenzie Smith was at 410, followed by Phoenix’s Kelsey George (408), South’s Brittney Newcomb (407) and North’s Karissa Dixon (405). Sheena Barkley of South, Brenna Heater of Ashland, Jen Noon of Crater and Veronica Valdez of St. Mary’s also made strong moves. As it turns out, Heater won’t play, having been hit hard by the flu. We added her Grizzly teammate, post player Natalie Del Carlo, to fill her spot. The senior Del Carlo was a second-team all-Southern Sky selection.
Go to www.mailtribune.com/allstars to cast your votes.
We had a great turnout Wednesday considering some kids had spring sports events and winter awards banquets to attend. Thirty-three of the 38 players on the rosters were on hand to work with the four coaches. We put up a video on V541 of an interview with Oregon Tech coach Dan Miles and some of the action. Miles will coach the Siskiyou boys.
Some of the things we saw:
Chelsea Passante can fill it up. The Phoenix sharpshooter made, I think, four 3-pointers in short order during a scrimmage.
Talon Haggard, the athletic and powerful quarterback-post for Ashland, can get up and throw it down. He had several rim-shaking dunks during drills.
Skyler Reagan, a junior, and Alex Young, a freshman, will be a potent one-two combo for Phoenix next season.
Eagle Point’s Rowley is a burly sort but he sure has some nice moves and touch around the basket and can step out and stroke it.
The Snooks — Gary the father and son Kevin, who starred for Illinois Valley — made the long trek from Cave Junction and turned it into an opportunity to visit family. Dick Jewett, the former longtime MT sports editor, is Kevin’s great uncle. Gary was just one of a number of parents who turned out to watch the proceedings Wednesday.
Another who made the journey, the outgoing Harley Casillas of Class 1A Butte Falls, jumped right in with the big-school guys without missing a beat.
North Medford’s Dixon found herself playing inside during the scrimmage because at 5-9, the point guard was one of the bigger girls on her side. She said she enjoyed it.
Her teammate at North, Smith, was hurt much of the year but poured in 19 points when she got back on the floor late in the season and is said to be considering playing basketball at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.
