High School Basketball

Desert Pines' Julian Jacobs will sign Tuesday with USC basketball: Nov. 19, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Desert Pines High senior point guard Julian Jacobs will sign a letter of intent Tuesday with USC, Jaguars coach Mike Uzan said.

Ready to run: Christian Wood signs with UNLV basketball, leads long list of locals signing with colleges: Nov. 14, 2012; By Ray Brewer; When the UNLV basketball team gathers for its offseason conditioning next fall on the campus track, incoming freshman forward Christian Wood might be one of the leaders in the sprints and distance drills. Wood, who Wednesday signed his national letter of intent with the Rebels on the first day of the early signing period, is more than familiar with conditioning from his past two seasons at Findlay Prep in Henderson.

The adventure that is coaching against Findlay Prep: Oct. 31, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Pity the man who was coaching a group of Southern Nevada basketball standouts in an exhibition game against national power Findlay Prep. At the start of the third quarter in Saturday’s game, he embarrassed himself by darting onto the court, nearly causing a nasty collision between two players running at full speed.

Local coaching legend La Rocque back on sidelines in college ranks: Oct. 24, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Al La Rocque surveyed the basketball practice floor last week and noticed he was a little different than the other coaches. La Rocque, 61, is one of the most accomplished high school coaches in Southern Nevada history. For the next six months, he’ll try his hand in the college ranks as an assistant at Northern Arizona University, working alongside three coaches in their mid-to-late 20s or early 30s. Jack Murphy, La Rocque’s former student manager at Durango, is Northern Arizona’s first-year head coach.

Basketball player could have the biggest impact in the Sunrise Region: Oct. 17, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Roberto Zavala had no interest in soccer. Not watching it. Not playing it. In Mexico, where the 16-year-old Zavala lived before moving to Southern Nevada last December, soccer is the sport most are passionate about. The country partially shuts down when the national team plays and virtually every child grows up dribbling a soccer ball. Not Zavala. Rather, Zavala’s sport of choice is basketball. And he’s pretty good at it.

Desert Pines to retire Baylor standout Pierre Jackson's jersey Friday night: Oct. 5, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Pierre Jackson was selected as the preseason basketball player of the year Thursday for the Big 12 Conference by the league’s coaches. Yes, the 5-foot-10 Baylor point guard and Las Vegas native is one of college basketball’s best players. While he’s humbled by the honor, Jackson is even more excited about another award he’s receiving this week. The former Desert Pines High standout will have his basketball jersey No. 5 retired Friday at halftime of the Jaguars’ football game against Virgin Valley.

Defying disease, Findlay Prep's new coach living his dream at basketball power: Sept. 27, 2012; By Taylor Bern; Every morning Todd Simon swings his legs out of bed and prepares for the worst. The unsettling crunching sound is a given. So is the pain. “Those first two steps are just agony,” said Simon, the new coach of Findlay Prep.

Valley High's Daniel Young picks Cal-State Fullerton basketball: Sept. 22, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Daniel Young knew he could be a better basketball player. Despite having minor success last year as a junior, the 6-foot-8 Valley High power forward wasn’t satisfied with himself. He averaged 8 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game last year in helping the Vikings win the Northeast League title. The hard work has resulted in a college scholarship to Cal State-Fullerton.

Allen twins from Centennial High verbally commit to Stanford basketball: Sept. 16, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Stanford has always been the dream college basketball program for twins Malcolm and Marcus Allen of Centennial High. When national signing days rolls around this fall, their dream will be official. The guards verbally committed Sunday to Stanford after a visit earlier in the week.

Coaching change at Findlay Prep: Peck leaves for D-League, Simon to lead Pilots: Sept. 11, 2012; By Taylor Bern; Mike Peck is leaving Findlay Prep for the head coaching position with the Idaho Stampede, the Portland Trail Blazers’ NBDL team, it was announced Tuesday.

Julian Jacobs no longer committed to Utah basketball: Aug. 10, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Julian Jacobs, an incoming senior point guard at Desert Pines High School and one of Las Vegas’ most sought after basketball recruits for the class of 2013, has de-committed from the Utah basketball program, confirmed Anthony Brown, his coach with the Las Vegas Prospect

UNLV women's basketball scores rare commitment from local prospect: Aug. 6, 2012; By Ray Brewer; When basketball player Diamond Major took an unofficial recruiting trip to the UNLV campus, the 5-foot-11 forward was shocked at what she saw. “The facilities are amazing,” she said. “I didn’t realize how big UNLV was until I went on a visit. I wondered (to myself) why I hadn’t seen this before having lived here my whole life?”

Twins Malcolm and Marcus Allen drawing interest from recruiters for more than performances on court: July 29, 2012; By Ray Brewer; This play never gets old for the Allen twins. Midway through the second half Friday in their summer league basketball game, Centennial High senior-to-be guard Malcolm Allen came up with a steal near midcourt.

Darryl Gaynor breaking out just in time for AAU basketball week in Las Vegas: July 25, 2012; By Case Keefer; Thousands of high school basketball players have arrived in town this week with hopes of impressing hundreds of college coaches at various AAU tournaments. There’s one opponent in particular that all of them should want to avoid — the Las Vegas Prospects’ Darryl Gaynor. The 15-year old incoming junior at Palo Verde has transformed into a lockdown defender and rising recruit over the course of the summer.

UNLV commit Christian Wood nation's No. 35 recruit in new Rivals rankings: July 3, 2012; By Ray Brewer; Christian Wood, a 6-foot-8 forward who is verbally committed to the UNLV basketball team for the class of 2013, is ranked as the nation’s No. 35 prospect in the Rivals150, which was updated Tuesday by recruiting website Rivals.com. Wood shined last month at the Pangos All-American Camp in Long Beach, Calif., to firmly establish himself as one of the top players in his class, vaulting from a No. 55 ranking in April (Rivals updates its rankings three times annually) to No. 35.