Westchester @ Fairfax

Yesterday, mel kiper fan and I were apart of the sold out crowd at Fairfax High School to watch the Fairfax Lions take on the Westchester Comets. We arrived at Fairfax around 2:30pm hoping to purchase the few remaining tickets to the game. School officials informed us that there were 60 tickets left and that over 700 tickets had been sold. It was an amazing atmosphere for a high school basketball game. I'm ashamed to say that the crowd at Fairfax would have put the Galen Center crowds during the winter break to shame.

We were both excited to see Solomon Hill(09') and Dwayne Polee(10'), two furture Trojans, battle it out head-to-head. We also wanted to get a first hand look at the 6'10 Fairfax center Renardo Sidney(09').

Dwayne Polee goes up for the block against future teammate Solmon Hill

The game went back and forth during the first two quarters. Renardo Sidney showed great shooting touch, knocking down a barrage of three pointers in the first half. He finished the game with 34 points. Solomon Hill impressed me with his handle and quick passes. He's a very quick and athletic 6'6" 200 pounder. However he wasn't very aggressive. More often then not he deferred to Sidney, who demanded the ball, instead of looking to create off the dribble. Fairfax played pretty lazy on defense, as the Westchester guards had there way with them.

Dwayne Polee is an athletic freak. He has some serious springs. He gets off the ground higher and faster than... anyone I've ever seen. He had a few amazing blocked shots and some great putbacks. He definitely needs to work on his jumpshot and strengthen his hands.

Westchester took a large lead in the fourth quarter. Fairfax tried to stage a comeback but the Westchester guards were too quick and were shooting lights out from all over the court. The Comets closed out the Lions 78-73.

Westchester junior guard Jordin Mayes

The one lasting impression the game had on me was not Polee's athleticism. Not Sidney's massive frame and long range shooting touch. Not Solomon's ball handling. But the play of Westchester junior guard Jordin Mayes. This kid can shoot. He was draining threes left and right in the first half of the game. Mayes finished the game with 17 points. Tourney Tim definitely needs to go after this kid hard. I'm hoping his teammate Polee is doing his fair share of recruiting as well. He's going to be a great basketball player at the next level.

Fight On!

Beat the Wildcats!

Another big weekend

This weekend when the Trojan football team faces off against the Ducks, the Trojan basketball team will be hosting two elite 5-star high school seniors. Dominguez HS small forward Jordan Hamilton and Fairfax HS power forward Renardo Sidney. Both players were in attendance two weeks ago for the USC/Ohio St. game. This weekend will be the deciding factor for Hamilton, who is set to make his official announcement on Monday(October 6th). It appears to be a two team race for his commitment between the Trojans and Longhorns.



Sidney, once the #1 player in the class of 2009, has fallen a bit in the recruiting rankings due to questions about his work ethic. There are also concerns that Sidney may decide to follow in the footsteps of Brandon Jennings and play oversees for a year, before declaring for the NBA draft. Hopefully one of these local standouts will join an already talented 2009 class that consists of Evan Smith, Demetrius Walker, and Noel Johnson.

Fight On!

Beat the Ducks!