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Hoop Masters Jordan Wilson helps get Windward to the Regionals Championship Game March 15, 2010

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Troy Leaf, Wesely Saunders and Jordan Wilson, playing their hearts out

Windward avenges one point loss in February

Windward boys basketball rallied from being down 22-8 in the first quarter, to win 78-73 in OT against Foothills Christian. I was a little hesitant on driving 2 ½ hours to San Diego to see this one, especially when Westchester was playing up the street from my house, but thanks to my wife Gail, I went. I am glad I did. The game had as many twist and turns as a Michael Crichton Novel. A Hollywood ending that belies the famous neighboring city that Windward borders.

As in any good movie you need a back-story to bring out the fullness of the characters. Foothill Christian was led by senior Troy Leaf, averaging 28.1per game (attending UCSB in the fall) and Windward was led by Junior, Wesley Saunders, who averaged 23 pts, 11 rebound, 4 assist and 2.3 steals a game for the season. The supporting cast of both teams were all auditing for starring roles. If it wasn’t leaf or Saunders hitting a shot, it was Nick Stover, or Javante Brooks hitting a shot. There was a pay per view fight (Pacquiao vs. Cotty) on tonight, but from all accounts, there was a better fight going on in Cajon San Diego.

It was apparent from the beginning that Windward was going to need to have the heart of lions to over come Foothills advantages; the 2 ½ hour, home gym advantage and fans outnumbering Windward fans 5-1. Foothills fans were noisy, and plentiful. They were also the best opposing and well-mannered fans I’ve encountered this year I can always tell when a school is use to winning, they have character and class.

It wasn’t until the later part of the 2nd quarter that Windward got their legs underneath them, Freshman Jordan Wilson, scored 5 consecutive points, and then it was game on. Both teams showed the sociological meaning of what competitors really are:

rivalry between two or more persons or groups for an object desired in common, usually resulting in a victor and a loser but not necessarily involving the destruction of the latter.

In the end, well, in Overtime, Windward was the victor and, both teams were victorious. Sometimes we forget the high school sports is not the end of the world, it’s the beginning of these young peoples lives. The lesson they learn on the court or field will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Tonight, I was witness to how the game, when played with heart, is such a beautiful game to watch.

Windward was led by Wesley Saunders 27 points 12 rebounds, Nick Stover, 24 points, kwame Firewpong, 9 pts, and Freshman Jordan Wilson, 9pts.

Foothills Christian was led by Troy Leaf, 23 points, Javante Brooks, 26 points and Jamal Aytes 11 points.

Windward has a repeat date with La Verne Lutheran next Saturday, Colony High School, 3 Pm. La Verne won their semi-final game 67-50 over San Diego Maranatha Christian

The Heart Of CIF March 9, 2009

Posted by hoopmasters in High School update, http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping, learning, TheCrossovermovement.
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Jerome Green
Sports Editor

The Heart of The CIF

It takes heart to play in the CIF and that is what I saw over and over again from the various players over this past weekend. I traveled about 200 miles this weekend covering games at Colony High School, The Galen Center and The Honda Center, and for a person who has a major distain for traffic; it was well worth the drive.

I know we are approaching colleges March Madness and the NBA play offs, but for my money, there is no better value than the CIF playoffs. You get to see kids of all sizes and abilities play the game they luvv to the fullest of their capabilities. As an added bonus you get to see coaches bring their best efforts to the floor and at the same time exemplify the type of behavior that you would want any young person to model. CIF basketball is just plain fun and exciting. The organization of these events by CIF is tremendous. Each game that I attended went off without a hitch.

I witnessed players like Carl Hoffman. Loyola (playing on a bad ankle) give it his best while having to deal with his teams loss and taking responsibility of not coming through as well as he wanted to.

When I asked him about his ankle(only the team and his family knew how bad it was). He told me, “it was hard to move, but it wasn’t the reason I didn’t play well”. Carl Hoffman is a class act with heart.

I saw Riverside King go into to a game against Mater Dei, where the only people who thought they could win was they and their families and pull out a resounding 14 point win. Bringing their heart to the floor and once again proving that the game is played not in the paper or in the rankings, but on the court. I also witnessed Gary McKnight, coach of Mater Dei, acknowledge that the best player on the floor in his game was Riverside Kings’, Kawhi Leonard who finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks to show that San Diego State just stole one.

The CIF playoffs also show that hearts are not measured by physical statue. Michael Williams from Taft and Miles Cartwright from Los Angeles Loyola proved that by each scoring 32 points for their teams in losing efforts.

I also watch for every player, no matter what time in the game, if it’s 12 seconds to play or 1 minute who truly soak in the opportunity to play in a CIF game and I reflect back on my high school and college years