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Pacific SportsBlogOkinawa-based sports reporter Dave Ornauer on military-related sports in the Far East. |
Coming soon: Pacific high school basketball "best five" of the last quarter century
Posted December 28th, 2007 by Dave OrnauerGoodfellow's suggestion has created an inspiration.
Come January, keep an eye out here for Ornauer's Pacific high school basketball "best five" players on DODDS and international school teams of the last 25 years, or since Ornauer began covering Pacific high school athletics in February 1982.
We're talking the best five players to don the uniform of their particular school, any year from 1982 to the present.
SportsBlog Nation ... feel free to chime in, sound off and be true to your school. Everybody's input will be duly considered along with my own observations, skillfully blended into the best starting five each school can offer since February 1982.
And it doesn't have to be your school. If you feel somebody leaps off the page and merits consideration from halfway across the ocean, don't hesitate to nominate.
If we can make this work, we'll try this in other sports as well, further down the line.
C'mon! Let's hear it!
Holy Smokes
Wow, covering Pacific area sports for 25 years...that means I was 5 years old when you began! Haha, just messing around, but it's true. On a serious note, I wanted to thank you for all the coverage and attention you give to the HS student athletes here in the Pacific. I know how much they love seeingtheir name in ink. When I read the sports coverage for HS sports in Europe, it's clear that they have guys doing a job; but we have a man with a passion. We're lucky to have you around Dave, here's to 25 more and covering the girls when they are in high school!
Top Players
Alright! Here are some names that should be considered, these are names that come to mind when I was in school in the late 90's and early 00's:
Colby Long, CAJ: Leader of title team and deadly from anywhere on the court
Rich Alvarez, Kinnick: Most domiant Big man on Mainland Japan
Matt Castanga, Faith: Maybe most unguardable player in 2000 at 6'4 had inside and outside game led Faith to title
Johnny Koyama, Zama: Scoring machine and triple double waiting to happen
Scott Smith, Yokota: Terrefic Scorer and athlete
Marcus Brown, Kadena: Big body dominated Far East
Will Newsome, Edgren: Unstoppable in open court
Karl Johnson, Edgren: Perfect pass first point guard and lock down defender
Thanks!
WOW! Thanks goodfellow for the props, I played against most of those guys and agree with you whole-heartedly, what about the big man from M.C. Perry, Jeremy Eck (can’t quite remember if this is his name) the guy who poured in 50+ a few times
Re: Thanks
Jeremy Eck, the 6-foot-7 aircraft carrier who lifted the SAMURAI to four consecutive 100-point performances the first two days of the 2000 Class A tournament -- won, incredibly, by E.J. King, in much the same improbable manner of the 1997 Cobras who took down a supposedly unbeatable Faith team.
J.KoyamaZama, while on the subject, let's not forget Joe Saunders, the 6-9 widebody who helped pace Faith to the 2000 Class AA tournament title at Kadena.
And while on the Zama subject, how about Demetrius Dixon, the high-flying guard, part of a powerfully athletic Trojans team that shared the Kanto title in 1994 with CAJ. And Chris Dabbieri, the Virginia transfer, part of a Zama team featured in a CNN Sports Tonight Play of the Day segment in January 1992.
Memories, memories, memories!
5 best players
I can't give u five from each school but i can give u a couple from Kadena and Kubasaki from Kadena i will like 2 go with Z'iare Jackson, Tony Watkins, and Jamil Barney and for Kubasaki Marcus Carson, Vance Maxey, and Quinton Mason
5 best players
I can't give u five from each school but i can give u a couple from Kadena and Kubasaki from Kadena i will like 2 go with Z'iare Jackson, Tony Watkins, and Jamil Barney and for Kubasaki Marcus Carson, Vance Maxey, and Quinton Mason
E.J. King and Guam High
As a resident of Japan and Guam from 1992-2000 and a member of the '97 E.J. King and '98 Guam High Far East Championship teams here are my top players for each school.
E.J. King
Julius Pangilinan - All Far East center, Class of '96. The reason we won that championship over Faith Academy. Relentless in the middle and unquestioned leader. Rest in Peace Julius.
Joel Bolina - All Far East guard, Class of '96. Lightning quick and solid shooter.
L.A. Brown - All Far East guard, Class of '99. Only a sophomore on the '97 squad, but played like one of the best guards in Japan.
DoDEA Guam High
Tyrun Willoughby- All Far East center, Class of '99. Hands down best player I've played with or seen in my Far East experience. Could score at will and dominated on both ends of the court.
Jay January - All Far East guard, Class of '01. Great ball handler and shooter. Played Division I basketball at Mercer University.
Troy Hoover - All Far East guard, Class of '00. Excellent 3-point shooter.
Dekovan Cook- All Far East guard, Class of '98. Great shooter and senior leader of the '98 championship team.
Faith Academy - Vanguards
(with apologies to the classes of '93 to '99. I'm not familiar with players from those years)
In alphabetical order:
Matt Castagna "00 - An aggressive player who could drive coast to coast like a guard and
dunk on defenders like a power forward.
Jon Dwyer '85 - A great outside shooter and slasher.
Todd Hardeman '82 - 6'4 playmaker led the Vanguards to two undefeated seasons and two Class AA championships. (I think he only lost two games in his high school varsity career.)
Kirk Long '07 - Three MVPs in a row. Three class A championships in a row. Quick first step, calm under pressure, high basketball IQ.
Joe Saunders "00 - A tall, powerful and athletic center. Best big man Faith has ever had.
Honorable mention:
Robby Compher '92 Class A MVP (?) 1992
Dan Landry '88 - for his sheer athleticism. Went on to bigger and better things in the sport of volleyball.
Best 5
Although I have only been in the Far East since 2000, I have coached against nearly every team during that time frame and here is my list of the best players I have seen in the last 7 years. If I may suggest so, please include a "Second" team as well as a brief list of Honorable Mentions. There have been so many good players in the Far East over that time period. And don't forget the girls as well!
1. Nino Etienne - Seoul American, Most Athletic player I have seen, could do it on both ends of the court. A man among boys. Far East MVP in 2002.
2. Nick Varner - St. Mary's, This kid did whatever his team needed to win. Score, assist, play defense, it didn't matter, he could do it all. Leader on back to back Far East Championship Teams.
3. Travis Eckmark- F, Kinnick, 4 year starter and All-Time leader at Kinnick in Scoring, Rebounding, Assists, and Steals. 3-time All Far East selection.
4. Jason Cleavinger- SG, EJ King, Best pure scorer I have seen in the Far East. 3 Time Far East selection and leader of 1 Championship Team and 2 Runner Ups.
5. Lars Kelly- C, St. Mary's, Absolute Matchup nightmare, he could score inside and was also deadly from the arc. 3 time All Far East selection and I believe was also MVP.
Honorable Mentions- Z'aire Jackson- Kadena, Jake Abramowitz -Seoul American, Caiveon Thomas- Yokota, and tons of other great players!!
Those were the days!
Showing love to my comrades!
EJ King:
Julius Pangilinan, C: Julius was by far the toughest player mentally and physically, the year we won Far East (MVP). A game changing player. Definitely one of the best players I've played with. Rest in Peace buddy, we miss you.
Curtis Scott, SG: Deadly three point shooter, hands down one of the best during our era.
Ron Martin, PF: This guy was a physical specimen. A high riser who could defend, block shots and rebound with the best of them. He made my life easy, I got quite a few assists off of alley-oops to him.
Joel Sampson, SF: He could score, rebound, handle the rock, you name it, he could do it.
Best Five Player/ Best Five Coaches
Really and truly I believe that there is no way to really just throw up five names
and say they are the 5 best players to come through the Far East. The five best players cannot be defined in my opinion! But I will throw up some of the best players that I have seen since I have played in the Far East tournament( 2004-2007):
* Guards: Cameron Cooper, Phil Ellison, Tobi Taniguchi, Travis Ekmark, Shamar Riddick, Marcus Carson, Greg Grobler, Wilberto Badillo, Willie Brown, David Willis, Victor Mason, Rico Fernado
* BIG MEN: Caiveon Thomas, Zaire Jackson, Andrew Luna, Jamil Barney, Steven Thompson, Miles Peterson, Jun Dambara, Carlos Walter, Paul Erguss, Raidion Fails
* I can give you 5 of the best coaches I have seen:
Paul Ettl
Fred Sava
Christopher Sullivan
Robert Bliss
Steve Boyd
* In no particular order
yokota 06 team
They are the best five i seen. Led by Cameron Cooper (three time all-kanto selection, two time all far-east, and far-east MVP of the championship team) he was a monster. Also a excellent defender. Then you have the big man Cavieon Thomas. You cant not hold him down low (three time all-kanto selection, three times all far-east)and if you double team him he will just kick it out to jason ricks...Lights Out behind the arc and have Mark Dixon a.k.a Fat boi...He played with a lot of heart aslo a all-kanto selection. Last but not least Doug Bloom a.k.a. Doug E. Fresh. He will produce when needed. Also went deep in the bench
Wonzie Gardner...he allowed no easy buckets. Peter Weaver another 3 point threat. Thats why thet brought the ship home in 06
Here's a list of who I recommend!!
I can't really pick just five of the bests since there were many to be recognized at those times.
Matt Castagna: Faith Academy
One of the best all around players I have seen at Far East.
Joe Saunders: Faith Academy
Was a monster down low during his Senior Year
Will Newsome: Edgren
Flashy, quick guard.
Rich Alvarez: Yokota
Was a hard player to defend down low.
Marcus Brown: Kadena
Helped Kadena on its title run
Andy Smith: Kubasaki
Pure shooter and showed heart his final year.
Carl Long: CAJ
Another player who helped with their title run.
Tryone Willoughby: Guam High
High Leaper
Corey Edwards: Osan
one of Osan's best
Jamie Holland: OCSI
a great all around player
Jason Cleavinger: EJ King
a tremendous shooter
Jerome Comia: EJ King
could play both pg and forward
Jeremy Eck: Matthew C Perry
a wall down low
Mike Adams: Matthew C Perry
All around player and had a quick first step
Gabe Lombard: St. John's
Was probably the best point guard the Far east has produce
Toni Arakaki: OCSI
lacked height but a terrific baller
Kirk Long: Faith Academy
had a heart of a champion
Nick Rabonza: Kadena
nailed deadly threes
memories
Remember the game when Kubasaki was beaten by OCSI for the first time in 19 years!! Arakaki was from OCSI though right?
ANy more from Okinawa?
I'm still trying to rmember the names of players who were really good from Okinawa...
I have given up, I cant
Rico Beard, Kelvin Smith of Kadena.....I think that was their names...
I have given up, I cant
I have given up, I cant recall none else from okinawa...I mean I remember their faces but not their names!!
couple more for Oki
Robert Weeks from Kadena (91) and the Walton brothers from Kubasaki (92)
help my memory
Mr.Ornauer, who was the other guy from OCSI crusaders along with Arakaki who helped beat the Dragons that year? I seem not to recall his name. I am sure no one pay attentioned to them since they were a small school.
Top Players
Yokota, Bruce Henderson
zama
I cant believe no one has mentioned Cory Stacie from Zama. The best high school player i have ever seen in person. The kid could run the point, play down low, throw it down, or shot from anywhere on the court. For a tall kid, he had it all.
top 25 for football
even though football hasnt been around nearly as much u should make one for football also.. ahah
Chung Yim c/o 07 (osan)
tops
How about the best 10 football teams the Pacific has ever seen? That would be pretty interesting, and certainly the 2002 Yokota Panthers would have to be tops. Mike Wright, Michael Chamberlain, Jason Vaughn, Andrew Johnson, Joe Stroud. That has to be one of the best teams ever in the Pacific.