The Peterson Principle 4/27/10

Kevin Smith put on a show at the 110 All-Star Game

By Tim Peterson

It’s something you don’t see here in the San Gabriel Valley. Here we see some really good football and some pretty decent baseball. It’s not too much different than what you would see in other parts of Southern California. But when it comes to basketball it’s a different story.

It’s not that the basketball is bad in the SGV. It’s always competitive and the kids work hard. It’s just that it isn’t comparable to anything you see in the city. The separation is far different than what you see in other sports.

This year Pasadena had a nice run and every once in awhile that area produces a kid that plays at the next level. In the city there are usually 3 kids on every team every year that play at the next level.

I was invited to cover a High School All-Star game Friday night at Whittier College. My first thought was that I’d rather be at home watching a rerun of Gilligan’s Island. Basketball in late April didn’t get the blood pumping. Three words- I was wrong.  

It was called the 110 All-Star game put on by Mike Aldapa. It featured the East vs. West with both the girls and the boys taking the floor.

The Girls put on a good show. Hilary Drinovsky from Long Beach Millikan, who appeared on the Mid Valley Sports Show last week, scored a basket at the end of regulation for the East to send it into over time. Cassis Pappas from Crescenta Valley sank three free throws in the extra session and the West escaped with a three point victory over the East. Pappas was rewarded with the MVP trophy for her efforts.

Then it was time for the Main Event. And what a main event it turned out to be. East Coach Anja Wilson of Lynwood told us last week that we were going to see some special talent. He wasn’t lying.

From the West, there were guys like Dushon Carter from Renaissance Academy, Jamaal McClerkin from Chaminade and Emmanuel Andino from St. Anthony. All of them were special players, with Andino reminding some of a young Charles Barkley.

The East had David Hall from Lynwood, another Mid Valley Sports Show guest, Kurt Davis of Compton Centennial and Cliff Simms Jr. from Compton.

Then there was another guy- the guy, the man. Kevin Smith from Compton Centennial. He stands 6’2” and weighs about 200 pounds. The other players were good. He was great. He stood out like Rush Limbaugh at the Democratic Convention. You noticed him right from the opening tip. When he got the ball you couldn’t wait to see what he did next.

He handled the ball like it was on the end of a string. He was quick as a cat but still smooth as silk. He could shoot the three and stop and pop in the key. And on top of all that he could jump.

Well jump is actually an understatement. Even leap wouldn’t be appropriate. Fly, soar, glide or jet would be more accurate. When he threw down the first dunk I thought I was seeing things. Then he slammed another and another. He was 6’ 2” but was jumping to 11’3” or in that vicinity.

He threw down double pump jams, windmills and roundhouses. He could take off from the free throw line if he wanted to but he could also sky from a dead stop underneath the hoop and jam it home.

The game was close at the half but the East behind Smith’s 20 points had the lead. The East then pulled away in the second half and turned it into a rout.

There weren’t a whole lot of people in the stands but the fans that were there were treated to quite a show.

Smith was so amazing, so outstanding, that I caught up with Coach Wilson after the game to see about Smith’s plans for college. He looked at me and said the most incredible thing.

“Yeah he’s going to the University of Washington…on a FOOTBALL scholarship.”

That’s my principle.

E mail tspeterson32@yahoo.com.

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