The Peterson Principle 12/30/09

  I finally got out to see some high school basketball this week. The annual Temple City – La Salle Holiday Classic is always a good place to start. There were some good players, solid teams and competitive games. I’m not sure why but the transition from football seemed tougher this year.

  In my defense every time I thought about doing a game over the last couple of weeks Corey “Corn Dog” Kwok would send me roundups and recaps of nearly every game from the current tournament in progress. Say you want about the “Dawg” but I can’t remember anyone since I’ve been at the Mid Valley that covers as many basketball games and digs out as many scores as he does. When Corey tells me he wants to cover basketball my response is “Hey that’s all you got to say!”

  And for Corey it’s clearly and simply the love of the game. Believe me he’s not getting rich sitting courtside scouring all those stat sheets.

  Anyway back to the TC-La Salle Tourney. Nothing ever changes when it comes to Temple City basketball. The names might be different but the style remains the same. From Kevin Sweeney years ago to James Chen the last couple of years to Zach Aqunio and company this year it’s the same MO – run, gun and never stop until the final buzzer sounds.

  Under Coach Rich Hollinger, walking is not an option. You run after a made basket or a rebound. You run up the floor, you run to the bench and you run in warm ups. There is no such thing as walking the ball up the floor. If you’re up by ten you keep running and shooting. If you’re down by ten you keep running and shooting. And as a result the Rams are in every game.

  It seems there’s never a player over six feet tall- just a bunch of kids that run around, harass and shoot the ball. At times it seems like they have six players on the court.  

  Monday night, against a St. Francis team that had rolled over everybody it had played in the tournament, Temple City was down by only two points in the fourth quarter before finally falling short by seven points. 

  Zach Aquino and Matt Valazza combined to hit seven three pointers to keep the pressure on St. Franks. Sophomore Jordan Hill looks like he could be special.

  Speaking of Valazza has it really been six years since the head line “VALAZZA!” graced the front page of the Mid Valley News for his Little League heroics? Valazza is currently in his senior year.

  Anna Valazza, a sophomore and Matt’s sister, is playing varsity basketball as well for the Lady Rams.

  If you get a chance to see St. Francis keep an eye on guard Tommy Jordan. He wears number 20 and can usually be found ten feet beyond the top of the key launching threes. Unfortunately for opponents he consistently knocks them down. If he‘s in the building he’s in his range.

  Ian Hamilton is posting up down on the block for the Golden Knights these days. You might remember Hamilton playing football for St. Francis this past season. He transferred to St. Franks from Arroyo in the summer.     

  Dietrich Riley, a star on the football field, is listed on St. Francis basketball roster but he’s not playing. Although he hasn’t announced it yet, sources have said Riley will sign with USC in February. Riley showed up at the tournament wearing a USC hat.  

  Why does Keppel struggle year in and year out in football but the basketball team consistently hangs league banners? After a 63-45 win over Maranatha on Saturday at the Temple City-La Salle Tournament the Aztecs are 10-1 heading into a Monday night match up with Arcadia.

  Led by 6’4” junior center Justin Young and senior guard Timmy Wong Keppel again appears to be the favorites in the Almont.

  Maybe Coach Hung Duong can help out with the football team.

  That’s my principle.

Tim can be reached at tspeterson32@yahoo.com.

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