High School Notebook : Skyline Stumbles Into Own Trap

After watching Cleveland point guard Adonis Jordan rip through his team’s trapping defense for 20-first half points in a second-round game of the Las Vegas Holiday tournament at UNLV on Tuesday, Oakland Skyline Coach Don Lippi shrugged off his team’s 85-72 loss as a learning experience.

And much more.

Skyline, a perennial power in the Oakland Section of the CIF, had been taught a lesson through the use of its own tactics. Lippi said that his team now knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a swarming defense.

“I have to look at it as a growth type of thing,” Lippi said. “We’re looking down the road here, toward league play, and this team is better than anyone we’ll play in league.

“Where we come from, nobody does that (traps and presses). I’m sure that where Cleveland plays, in L. A. against Manual Arts and teams like that, they see it all the time, but not where we’re from.”

Jordan, who finished with 28 points and was named the game’s MVP, easily handled the Skyline pressure, something Lippi said rarely happens.

“He made some moves out there that I can’t begin to describe,” Lippi said.

Add Jordan: In Cleveland’s first 3 games in Las Vegas, he turned the ball over only 13 times, despite constant harassment and Cleveland’s virtual nonstop running style.

Jordan said that the only way to beat a good press is to put your head down and keep running.

“If you see the trap coming, you have to get it and go,” Jordan said. “If you stop, it’s all over. You don’t have time to stop and think, you just have to take it and run. Even if you turn it over, don’t stop.”

Last add Cleveland: The Cavaliers’ 73-72 semifinal win over a well-schooled team from Redmond, Wash., was an eye-opener for some. Redmond, the defending state 3-A champion, forced Cleveland out of its running game with hot shooting and good defense--the Cavalier guards were held to only 23 points, a total equal to senior guard Adonis Jordan’s average over the first 3 games--and into a half-court offense.

“We practice our half-court game all the time, just in case we ever need it,” Cleveland center Warren Harrell said. “We try to keep it fast-paced, but we can also execute the half-court if we have to. We have the capability and the talent to do that.”

Harrell helped lead the charge inside. He scored 17 points and added 11 rebounds and senior forward Lucious Harris had a team-high 20 points.

Redmond, which made all 12 of its field-goal attempts in the third quarter, effectively shutting down the Cleveland running game, forced the front line’s collective hand. And the Cleveland front line delivered, scoring 40 points.

The ranking file: Nevada Las Vegas--which landed point guard Dedan Thomas of Taft--ranks sixth among Division I colleges in an evaluation of recruiting after the fall early signing period, according to Hoop Scoop magazine of Louisville, Ky.

UNLV, which also signed Larry Johnson of Odessa Junior College in Texas and Melvin Love of Salt Lake City Junior College, is ranked 2 positions ahead of UCLA.

The Bruins’ recruiting class includes Mitchell Butler of Oakwood and Zan Mason of Westchester, the top-ranked high school team in California.

Indiana, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Arizona and Oklahoma are ranked Nos. 1 through 5, respectively.

USC, which signed Harold Miner of Inglewood and Keith Greeley of Riverside, is ranked 22nd, third-best among Pacific 10 Conference schools.

Bell-Jeff tournament: Oak Park’s first-round opponent in the 8-team Bell-Jeff tournament was Lick Wilmerding?

Lick Wilmerding?

“That’s what it’s called,” Bell-Jeff Coach Joe Dunn said. “Except there’s a hyphen in there.”

Lick-Wilmerding?

“They’re from San Francisco,” Dunn said of the first-year entry. “I’m not sure how they found out about it. They contacted us. I’m just thinking maybe the coach had some relatives down here that he comes down to visit.”

Staff writers Steve Elling and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.