Columnist Adam Candee: Foothill gets nod over GV as hoops picks debut

Adam Candee

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

Adam Candee covers high school sports for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at candee@lasvegassun.com.

Remember those whimsical fall days that we filled with equally whimsical predictions of the outcomes of the weekend's prep football games, complete with an educated guess at the final score?

I already miss those days. Frankly, I don't feel like waiting another eight months to bring them back either.

So for at least a week, we are going to pull the Prep Picks staff off the beach, from what we can only assume was the beginning of quite an offseason bender. From deep in the recesses of the closet, somewhere next to the leisure suits and Darryl Dawkins posters, out of mothballs comes the Giant Prognostication Machine, if only to process one boys and one girls basketball matchup for the upcoming weekend.

(Note to editors and readers: Should this little exercise result in horribly wrong picks, we wholly reserve the right to shove the Machine back in the closet and return the Picks staff to Bali next week.) No. 3 GREEN VALLEY at No. 7 FOOTHILL

It's not quite Ozzy Osbourne and Pat Buchanan, but what a study in contrast we find in Friday night's Southeast Division clash of top-10 ranked teams.

Realistically, the winner of this game is on the inside track to one of the Sunrise's two state berths because the Southeast winner will draw the No. 4 seed from the very soft Northeast, followed by either the No. 3 from the Southeast or the No. 2 from the Northeast.

In one corner is Green Valley, a post-heavy team that would be very content to set up in the halfcourt offense every possession and bang away with 6-foot-10 center Mitch Platt. Hey, who wouldn't? One-on-one, no player in the city can check him.

In the other corner is Foothill, a smaller team predicated on its guard play and its ability to force turnovers and create easy scoring opportunities. Point guard Jamaal Smith may be the best player you haven't seen, and his crazy ballhandling skills key Foothill's offense. It is imperative that he stays out of foul trouble.

So what to expect when worlds collide? This game will be decided by who can control the tempo most effectively. For Foothill, that means pressuring Kellen Howard, Marquis Pittman, and friends in the Green Valley backcourt and hoping to steal a few cheap baskets. It's been done to the Gators this season.

Green Valley is at its best when its guards hit a few of the 3-pointers that naturally result from all the double and triple-teams on Platt. Given a chance to set up in the halfcourt offense, the Gators are a formidable opponent, especially now that forward Ron Dunlap is reasserting himself as the standout player everyone hoped to see.

Foothill coach Kevin Soares has been pleased with his team's execution since the wrist injury to Harvey Perry, and it will be interesting to see how the Falcons respond in a close game. They folded late against Bishop Gorman and Palo Verde, and it is time to see what they learned from those games.

This one should be a beauty, and it is a very tough one to call. We'll say home court is worth two points and an upset.

The pick: Foothill 66, Green Valley 64 BONANZA at No. 5 BISHOP GORMAN

Two of the Southwest's top girls teams square off as Bonanza tries to prove it belongs with the city's elite of Centennial, Gorman, and Western.

At 17-4, Bonanza sports the record to stake its claim. The Bengals, though, need to prove they have the inside game to hang with the best.

The burden falls to do-everything Lyndsay Gensler, along with forwards Cassie Lee and Mahina Gago. At 6-1, Gensler is the tallest Bengal, but her most comfortable spot is small forward. That means 5-11 Lee and 5-9 Gago are left to bang for rebounds. Against Gorman, they must do so to give Bonanza a chance.

Bonanza showcased itself against a good Green Valley team over the holidays, displaying a deft halfcourt offense predicated on ball movement and backdoor cuts, as well as a strong transition game keyed by Gensler and feisty guard Jen Davey.

For the Gaels, there is little secret that the sun rises and sets with Breona Gray, whose offensive contributions are key to anything the Gaels are going to do. Gorman showed its toughness by scraping by against Western in an early game with huge divisional implications.

There is little doubt that coach Sheryl Krmpotich is reminding her players of what it would mean to have knocked off both Western and Bonanza, which would clearly set Gorman up for a run to the Southwest crown. And that title means more than just bragging rights -- it also means avoiding Centennial until the region title game, at the earliest.

Bonanza is primed to break through, but it says here that the experienced Gaels are up for this one, and Gorman establishes itself as the class of the Southwest.

The pick: Bishop Gorman 55, Bonanza 46