Boys’ basketball: L.A. Dream Team falls in Las Vegas
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It was top prospect Renardo Sidney against top prospect John Henson in an opening-round game at the Reebok Summer Championships Elite Eight tournament this evening in Las Vegas.
Advantage Henson.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Round Rock, Texas, showed poise, a left-handed hook shot, a nice mid-range jump shot and a backboard-rattling dunk as his team, the Franchize Allstars, defeated the L.A. Dream Team.
Henson, who is bound for North Carolina, produced a game-high 25 points and also 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Sidney, a 6-10 forward from L.A. Fairfax who has not made a college choice, finished with 15 points and five rebounds and then complained about the officiating. ‘We got screwed,’ he said. ‘Ain’t nobody like the L.A. Dream Team.’
Sidney had four fouls in 21 minutes, and there were 26 fouls called on his team compared to 20 on Franchize.
Sidney seemed to become sidetracked by the whistles early in the second half, after Henson’s lefty hook gave his Houston-based team an eight-point lead. Sidney fouled Henson seconds later, and a referee barked, ‘I already told you to behave.’
Sidney smiled, but then glared at the official after scoring an inside basket. During a timeout, Sidney said, ‘Come on, ref!’ The official answered, ‘Play ball, boy.’ Seconds later, the official ordered Sidney away because he was standing too close to the Franchize huddle.
‘I told the ref to call it both ways,’ Sidney said.
Of his individual matchup with Henson, Sidney said, ‘They played a box-and-one [defense]. He’s a great player, but if you want to be good, you have to play one-on-one. That’s what they do in the NBA. I tip my hat to him, though.’
Among the college coaches watching were USC’s Tim Floyd, Kansas’ Bill Self, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie, Alabama’s Mark Gottfried and Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt.
--Lance Pugmire
