Hideki Matsui celebrates Japanese Heritage Day with his 2,500th professional hit

By Joe Stiglich

jstiglich@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 04/03/2011 06:38:39 PM PDT
Updated: 04/03/2011 10:48:20 PM PDT

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Matsui hits milestone on Japanese Heritage Day

Japanese Heritage Day turned out to be a big hit at the Coliseum on Sunday, highlighted by Hideki Matsui's first official hit with the A's and the 2,500th of his professional career.

Matsui, hitless in seven at-bats in Oakland's first two games, led off the second inning with a double down the left-field line. Feeling frisky, he tagged up on Kurt Suzuki's subsequent fly out to right field but was gunned down by Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki at third.

Matsui admitted afterward he wanted to try something special for the crowd of 22,292, many of them Japanese fans who came out for the occasion.

"I know the strength of (Ichiro's) arm and usually I don't run in those situations," Matsui said through interpreter Roger Kahlon. "But knowing it was Japan Heritage Day, I took a chance, and unfortunately it didn't quite work out."

Manager Bob Geren thought it was a good aggressive play to make with one out.

"There aren't too many guys who would throw him out," Geren said. "Ichiro's one of the few who would, but even though he got behind the ball on the throw, he just got him by a couple of inches."

Even though a number of teammates lauded Matsui's 2,500th hit afterward, the veteran designated hitter wasn't terribly thrilled by it.

"I feel more relief just getting a hit as a member of the A's and getting our first win," he said. "I'm not focused on
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the combined 2,500 hits between the U.S. and Japan. I kind of feel the same way about the goal of 3,000 hits. I think I'd like to focus on one hit at a time and just see what happens."

The A's generated more than $65,000 for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief through the Heritage Day event. The team donated $1 from every ticket sold, and amid other fundraising functions, raised more than $10,000 through a silent auction of game-worn jerseys by Matsui and Suzuki. Ichiro's netted $6,015 and Matsui's $4,555.

After hitting a single, triple and double earlier in the game, Coco Crisp admitted he was thinking cycle when he came to bat to lead off the eighth. He grounded out weakly to first base.

"I got a pitch up and I like pitches up, but I'm like Kit from 'A League Of Their Own' -- sometimes I get them and sometimes I don't," he said. "This was one where I didn't get it. But it definitely crosses your mind."

Mark Ellis has a 16-game hitting streak dating back to last season. He is hitting .387 (24-for-62) over that span.

Daric Barton dropped a foul pop in the first inning, his third error in three games. He made just 10 all last season, including three over his final 127 games

SF Chronicle Player of the year

Boys player of the year: Mitty's Aaron Gordon
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Mitch Stephens, Special to The Chronicle

Monday, April 4, 2011

At one end, in the WCAL championship game against Serra, Mitty's 6-foot-7, 215-pound sophomore Aaron Gordon blocked a shot off the backboard and secured the rebound.

He dribbled the length of the court, twice changing directions - first going behind his back to go left, then immediately spinning right to avoid two defenders.

Gordon was fouled as he approached the free-throw line, but he took one more dribble before floating 7 feet through the air and swishing a finger roll that didn't even count.

It didn't matter. The crowd groaned in amazement anyway. Gordon's coach, Tim Kennedy, and his teammates barely blinked.

"He does that sort of thing at practice every day, and he has for two seasons," Kennedy said. "We're almost spoiled how good he is."

The sequence might have bored the Monarchs, but it showed almost all of the vast skills that have made Gordon ESPN's No. 8 recruit nationally from the Class of 2013. It also demonstrated why he's The Chronicle's Player of the Year.

Gordon - the younger brother of two-time first-team All-Metro player Drew Gordon, who averaged 13 points and 10.5 rebounds per game at New Mexico this season - averaged 18.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game.

Among all the big-name Bay Area players up for the award - and there were many - Gordon was the only to lead his team to a state title. He is the first sophomore to earn WCAL Player of the Year honors and is the first to win The Chronicle's boys Player of the Year in recent memory.

He had 17 points and tied a state Division II championship-game record with 21 rebounds in a 53-50 win over Summit-Fontana. He had 17 rebounds in the NorCal finals and 15 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks in the WCAL title win over Serra.

Beyond his long wingspan, big vertical jump and guard skills, what sets Gordon apart is his maturity and competitiveness. He shot 63 percent from the field and took perhaps 10 bad shots all season as Mitty finished 32-2 and No. 1 in The Chronicle's rankings.

"The main thing about Aaron is he just wants to win," Kennedy said. "He doesn't care if he scores two or 20, he just finds a way to win, whether by block or assist or rebound ... or dunk."

Regional players of the year

Contra Costa/Tri-Valley

Travis Pacos (De La Salle-Concord): The 6-foot-3 senior was the heart, soul and leading scorer of the overachieving Spartans (27-6), who surprisingly won the NorCal Division I championship. Pacos, who scored fewer than 20 total points as a junior, averaged more than 17 per game and led De La Salle to a 49-43 win over Castro Valley in the NorCal title game, scoring 13 of his team-high 19 points during an 18-0 run starting in the third quarter.
East Bay

Jabari Brown (Oakland): The 6-5 senior guard, an Oregon signee, averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game for the Wildcats (20-9), who lost in the NorCal Division I semifinals. One of the nation's top 15 recruits, Brown was even better during the postseason, when he averaged just less than 30 points per game.
North Bay

Stuart Wesonga (San Marin-Novato): The powerful 6-7, 220-pound senior led San Marin to a historic season, claiming the school's first North Coast Section title in 43 years. The UC Irvine-bound forward averaged 21.5 points, 20.3 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game. He had a combined 52 points, 55 rebounds and 11 blocks in NCS semifinal and championship-game wins.
San Francisco

Brenden Glapion (Washington): The 6-3 senior guard averaged 23.0 points per game, seventh most in the Bay Area, leading the Eagles to their first San Francisco Section title since 1982. Glapion scored 27 points in the Eagles' wild 75-72 win over Mission in the final, making 14 of 16 foul shots. He was a model of consistency, scoring at least 20 points in his final 13 games and in double digits in all 35 games (25 wins).

Boys Basketball: SanFranPreps.com All-City Team

Boys Basketball: SanFranPreps.com All-City Team
Sunday, April 3, 2011 | 24 Comments



SanFranPreps.com Player of the Year Johnny Mrlik (top center) and firhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifst team selections (clockwise from top right) Joshua Fox, Aaron Anderson, Brendan Glapion, Noah Springwater and Taylor Johns. (Photos by AJ Canaria, Devin Chen, Christian Chew, Doug Ko and Eric Luis. Illustration by Josh Jalil)

By Jeremy Balan

Brenden Glapion, Johnny Mrlik and Noah Springwater really have a lot in common.

All three are left-handed guards, stone-cold scorers, senior leaders and candidates for City Player of the Year.

While Glapion averaged 23 points per game to lead Washington to its first Academic Athletic Association title in 29 years, and Springwater wrapped up a four-year varsity career as University’s top scorer in school history en route to three consecutive Bay Counties League West titles, no player carried his team quite like Mrlik this season.

He averaged 18.4 points per game on the season for St. Ignatius, and led the West Catholic Athletic League in scoring with more than 17 points per game in league. He led the WCAL in made three-pointers and free-throw percentage and set a league record for free throws made in a season.

Mrlik also had a distinct sense for the dramatic, with big showings in the Bruce-Mahoney game against Sacred Heart Cathedral and a shocking upset over eventual Division II state champion Mitty (one of just two losses for the Monarchs on the year).

That’s why he’s the SanFranPreps.com boys basketball Player of the Year.

Mrlik may have edged out a deep group of guards for Player of the Year, but the first team is loaded with talent and athleticism.

Glapion was Washington’s leading scorer all season, and Columbia-bound Springwater (the City’s only Division I recruit this season) dominated the stat sheet, averaging 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks per game.

Bucking the trend of solid guard play were Sacred Heart Cathedral junior forwards Taylor Johns and Joshua Fox, who led the Irish to a Central Coast Section title on the strength of their frontcourt play and imposing defense.

The pair could impact the momentum of a game with a thundering dunk just as much as a highlight-reel block.

Aaron Anderson, Riordan’s top scorer and rebounder, was also a lockdown defender. In a down year for the Crusaders, it’s hard to find another player who gave more effort on the floor, even when it meant playing against rival St. Ignatius with a debilitating sickness.

While the entire All-City team is ruled by mostly seniors, the favorites for next year’s Player of the Year are on our second team.

Johns and Fox should factor into the discussion, but just as it did this year, the fact that they play on the same team hurts their chances. But Marshall’s Theoatis Hill and St. Ignatius’ Stephen Domingo (both second team) will likely have to carry the load for their respective teams.

Domingo’s still-developing game should mature nicely, and Hill has already proven that he can carry the load, averaging a city-high 24.7 points per game this year, to go along with nearly 13 rebounds per game.

Our selection for Coach of the Year, like Player of the year, was also a three-horse race.

Randal Bessolo led University to a second consecutive NorCal title game and Lincoln’s Matt Jackson took over the reins of the program after the sudden death of coach Mike Gragnani, coaching both the Lincoln varsity and junior varsity programs, but our nod goes to Mission coach Arnold Zelaya.

Along with the pitfalls that can accompany coaching at any public school in San Francisco, and after winning the AAA championship last year, Zelaya led an almost entirely new lineup back to the league championship game.

Additional reporting by Bonta Hill

SanFranPreps.com Player of the Year
Johnny Mrlik, senior guard, St. Ignatius

Coach of the Year
Arnold Zelaya, Mission

First Team
Aaron Anderson, senior guard, Riordan
Joshua Fox, junior forward, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Brenden Glapion, senior guard, Washington
Taylor Johns, junior forward, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Noah Springwater, senior guard, University

Boys Basketball: Glapion named AAA Player of the Year

Boys Basketball: Glapion named AAA Player of the Year, All-AAA teams announced
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Selections made by Academic Athletic Association coaches, not SanFranPreps.com staff.


Washington senior guard Brenden Glapion takes the ball up the court against Piedmont Hills on Dec. 12 at Overfelt High School. (Photo by AJ Canaria)

Academic Athletic Association Player of the Year: Brenden Glapion, senior guard, Washington

First Team
Gione Edwards, junior forward, Mission
Theoatis Hill, junior forward, Marshall
Jeremy Jetton, senior guard, Washington
Antoine Porter, sophomore guard, Mission
Ricco Price, senior forward, Lowell

Second Team
Jonathan Burnoski, junior guard, Balboa
Ronnie Campbell, senior guard, Wallenberg
Terence Ching, junior guard, Burton
Kevork Demirjian, senior center, Lincoln
LeVander Moore, senior forward, Washington
Chris Young, junior guard, Lincoln

Honorable Mention
Aaron Brown, senior forward, Wallenberg
Casey Chow, senior guard, Lowell
Jeffrey Hua, senior guard, Galileo
Sharif Jenkins, junior guard, O’Connell
Thomas Kroner, senior center, Lowell
David Li, senior forward, Wallenberg
Damonta McForland, junior forward, ISA
Christian Pulusian, senior forward, Balboa
Jaleel Stancil, senior guard, Mission
Artrix Thomas, junior guard, Lincoln
Darius Webb, senior center, Jordan

Taft High basketball gets old-school coaching lift from Yutaka Shimizu

 

Taft High basketball gets old-school coaching lift from Yutaka Shimizu
If Taft High wins its third City Division I title Saturday against Westchester, it will be due in part to the quiet counsel of assistant coach Yutaka Shimizu, an institution in Los Angeles high school basketball.
By Eric Sondheimer

March 4, 2011

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Woodland Hills Taft Coach Derrick Taylor was in Louisville, Ky., four years ago coaching the West team in the McDonald's All-American game when he walked into a room for breakfast with assistant coach Yutaka Shimizu.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Coach Shimizu."

It was John Wooden.

"That's when you know you're the man, when the ultimate coach calls you over," Taylor said.

For 52 years, Shimizu has been coaching basketball, mostly at the high school level in Los Angeles. He has made it through 11 U.S. presidents, though don't ask him to name them.

"Heck no, I wouldn't be able to answer that," said Shimizu, who declined to reveal his age.

He never won a City title at Hamilton, where he was head coach from 1959-81, or at Granada Hills Kennedy, where he was head coach from 1982-99. He made it to the championship game when his best player, Sidney Wicks, was a sophomore in 1965. But since joining Taft as a volunteer assistant in 2003, he has helped the Toreadors win two City Division I titles, and a third could come on Saturday, when the Toreadors face Westchester in a 1 p.m. final at USC's Galen Center.

"He's my man," Taylor said. "It's more than coincidence when he came on we took off."

He serves as Taylor's Yoda, using his wisdom and experience to make observations and suggestions.

"He showed me how to structure practice and how to move on," Taylor said.

Shimizu has been coaching for so long that last week, he faced one of his ex-Hamilton players, James Paleno, who has been the longtime coach at Palisades and who bought a used car from Shimizu years ago.

Just as the car still works, so does Shimizu.

"I'll keep going as long as I can, as long as my health holds out and somebody wants my help," he said.

To say that Shimizu is old school would be an understatement.

He doesn't use a computer and he has no understanding of text messages.

"The only thing I use is an adding machine," he said.

Said Paleno: "Why should he need a computer? He has everything in his brain."

Teaching fundamentals and getting his players ready for games through practice are what he believes in.

Former North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller tells the story of a Hamilton game he officiated in the 1970s. The score was tied, and a Hamilton player called a timeout with 15 seconds left after a rebound.

"I walked over," Miller said, "looked at Shimizu and he's standing there and turns to his captain, 'Why did you call timeout? I don't want a timeout. I don't know what to tell you. You guys go make up a play.' I went over to him, 'Why don't you make the play?' He says, 'I wouldn't know what to say and they wouldn't listen to me.' The kid gets the ball, dribbles down, seven seconds left, drives and scores. Hamilton wins. I go, 'Great call, coach.' He says, 'I had nothing to do with it.' "

A player stepped up with leadership to win the game. That's what Shimizu wanted.

Shimizu stays in the background these days. He hasn't blown a whistle during practice in years. It's buried in a holder in his car. He sits quietly during games near the Taft bench, watching and letting Taylor do his thing.

"His style is a little different than mine," he said, referring to Taylor's sometimes fiery demeanor. "He's the head coach, I'm the assistant. Whatever he decides, that's what we do. He's very knowledgeable about the game, and to me, he likes to be offensive-oriented and gets along with the kids very well."

If anyone brought together a group of former Hamilton players and someone yelled out, "41," all would know what it means — the signal to full-court press. Ex-players don't forget what they learned under Shimizu.

"He's a phenomenal person," Paleno said.

Santa Teresa marches past Washington-S.F.

Santa Teresa marches past Washington-S.F.
By Alex Pavlovic
apavlovic@mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/08/2011 10:38:56 PM PST
Updated: 03/08/2011 10:57:58 PM PST
As it turns out, Santa Teresa's impressive run through the Central Coast Section playoffs was just a taste of things to come.

Playing in their first ever CIF regionals game, the Saints marched right past Washington (San Francisco) and into the Division I second round Tuesday night at Santa Teresa. Trevor Priest did the heavy lifting on both ends, leading Santa Teresa to a 70-60 victory that wasn't nearly as close as the final score.

Priest scored 20 points and for much of the night completely shut down Brenden Glapion, who came in averaging over 23 points per game. Glapion, an AAU teammate of Priest and Saints' guard Denzel Copeland, was held to 17 points, five of which came in the final minute after Santa Teresa coach Mitch Priest pulled his starters.

A picture of intensity during games, Mitch finally cracked a smile afterward when asked about his son.

"You know I'm his worst critic "... but he played a good game tonight," Mitch said of Trevor. "A lot of his athleticism is starting to show."

Trevor Priest showed off that athleticism with two stunning sequences in the second half. In the first minute of the fourth quarter, he made an acrobatic layup on one end and sprinted back on defense for a chase-down block after the Eagles (25-10) tried to get their transition game going.

With the Saints' offense stalling late, Priest jumped a passing lane for a steal and completed a tough old-fashioned three-point play on the other end.
Not that Santa Teresa (23-7) needed any more points by then.
The Saints ran off a 21-4 run to close the first quarter and led by 20 at the half.
"Being here for our last home game, we wanted to give our fans a show and get off to a great start," Copeland said.

Copeland finished with eight points, and like the rest of the Saints, he consistently found Spencer Koopman open in the corner. The Saints' sharpshooter hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Santa Teresa hit eight 3's and got big all-around contributions from Daniel Gunter and Chris Shaw, who scored seven points apiece.

The sixth-seeded Saints travel to Sacramento on Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup with No. 3 seed Sheldon (23-7).

"We hear they're real tough but we'll take this as far as we can," Daniel Karnes said. "We're setting school history every time we take the court."

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Here is another blog that I found
http://www.coach41.com/
CIF NorCal State Division I Boys Basketball Playoff: Washington (SF) vs. Santa Teresa (San Jose)
I was working in Santa Clara today and realized that the Washington High Eagles boys basketball team would be playing in San Jose tonight against Santa Teresa at 7 PM in a CIF State Playoff game. Since I was in the area (sort of, it was estimated to be some 19 miles + 30 minutes away), I decided to head over to the game. Some thoughts......

The drive to Santa Teresa High School took about 40 minutes as I ran into rush hour traffic. As I pulled into the school's parking lot, I was surprised to see a lot of cars already there. As I walked to the gym, I saw a short line out the door. It was then I knew I would be walking into hostile territory.

The environment was crazy. Both sides of the gym were packed with fans (the majority of them Santa Teresa). There was a student cheering section as well as cheerleaders. The entire gym was loud, especially since Santa Teresa played well and eventually beat Washington 70-60. I don't know if Santa Teresa is like this every game they play, but it was definitely a boost to their team and hostile to the visiting Washington team.

The Santa Teresa team deserves some credit too. I haven't watched a ton of varsity basketball games this year but Santa Teresa was one of the better teams I have seen. Santa Teresa shot the lights out from three point land, had great fundamentals, played hard defense and crashed the boards. In my opinion, Santa Teresa was probably the best team Washington had seen in recent weeks. I don't think Washington had seen such a balanced team in a while and that proved frustrating. Washington's defense couldn't lay back as Santa Teresa would hit the three's. If Washington played tight, Santa Teresa was able to blow by the defenders.

The Washington team wasn't bad though. While I am not a graduate of Washington, I had officiated one of their games during this past season and knew the coach personally. After winning the San Francisco AAA championship against Mission last week (first championship since 1982), I was curious how Washington would do in the bright lights of the CIF State Playoffs.

Some of the things I had noticed during the AAA championship game came to light against Santa Teresa. Washington and Mission both thrive on up tempo games as evidenced by the 75-72 final score in the championship. I thought it was interesting that Washington didn't hit a lot of outside jumpers. Most of their shots were put backs or layups.

This proved to be a key against Santa Teresa. With Santa Teresa hitting their shots, Washington was forced to play half court and had trouble generating offense. They went through a cold streak from halfway through the first quarter into the second quarter and allowed Santa Teresa to pull away to a 20 point lead. Washington never really challenged after that.

While it was a tough night for Washington, they should keep their heads high for making a great effort. Good luck to Santa Teresa as they travel to Sacramento for their next game.

Washington pulls away late against Lowell in AAA semis

Washington senior Brenden Glapion drives past a Lowell defender on Wednesday at Kezar Pavilion. (Photo by Devin Chen)

Boys Basketball: Washington pulls away late against Lowell in AAA semis
Thursday, March 3, 2011



By Bonta Hill

Washington High School advanced to the Academic Athletic Association championship game for the first time since 1986 with a 60-48 win over rival Lowell in the AAA semifinals on Wednesday at Kezar Pavilion.

Washington guard Brenden Glapion had a game-high 22 points (14 coming from the free throw line), Jeremy Jetton had 12, and Levander Moore chipped in nine points and 14 rebounds, lifting the Eagles one step closer to claiming their first AAA championship since 1982.

Washington senior forward LeVander Moore rises up for a contested shot in the lane against Lowell on Wednesday at Kezar Pavilion. (Photo by Devin Chen)

After watching his team struggle with Lowell’s slow-down style in the first half, which ended with Washington forward Kenneth Lui receiving a technical foul, head coach Jolinko Lassiter wrote one word on the board inside the locker room — composure.

The Eagles responded coming out of the locker room, going on a 13-4 run sparked by two Jonathon Lowe jumpers, and Glapion’s fast break layup off a steal put Washington up 39-32 with 4:18 left in the third quarter.

Washington outscored the Cardinals 20-6 in the third, taking advantage of the absence of Lowell’s leading scorer Ricco Price, who was mired in foul trouble. The Eagles also forced six turnovers in the quarter.

“[In] the first half, we were all over the place. We were fast breaking against four Lowell defenders and we’d turn it over,” Lassiter said. “But we came out [and] we made our run. It was 16 minutes left in the season and the guys really stepped up and responded.”

For Lowell, the end of their season certainly can’t be blamed on a lack of effort. The Cardinals flustered Washington in the first 24 minutes, making the Eagles play at their pace, diving and scrapping for loose balls that had the Lowell student section in a frenzy.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the game’s opening four minutes, but after Washington ended the first quarter on a 15-5 run, Lowell hung on without Price, who picked up two fouls in the opening frame.

Point guard Byran Robinson, who had a team-high 15 points, fueled the Cardinals with six points in the second frame, including his three-point play midway through the quarter that gave Lowell a 22-21, before going into the break leading 28-26.

“Even though we were kind of in control in the first quarter, it still was a little too fast paced for us. But I was really proud of the effort that we gave in the first half,” said Lowell head coach Robert Ray. “[In] the third quarter, the wheels kind of fell apart. Not having the senior leadership on the floor with Ricco getting in foul trouble, it caught up with us.”

Still, Lowell had its chances in the final quarter to get back in the contest. Down 46-38 with just over five minutes left, Lowell guard Casey Chow’s wide open three-point attempt to cut their deficit to five was just off the mark.

“[If] a couple of those shots drop, we get our momentum back and it’s a different ballgame. But credit Washington for doing what they do. We knew what they were going to do and we still couldn’t stop it,” Ray said. “It’s a down locker room, but not a sad one because we’re pretty proud of our effort. We’ll be back.”

Awaiting Washington is a rubber match with Mission, which beat Wallenberg 69-66 in the second semifinal to set up the showdown between the top two teams in the AAA.

Both teams won on each other’s home court in the regular season, with the Eagles winning the first meeting 89-66 back on Jan. 18, then Mission evened the score on Feb. 22 with a 77-66 win.

“It’s a great achievement for the school [to be in the AAA final],” Lassiter said. “It’s a great accomplishment, but we still have one more game.”

Scoring Leaders

Washington
Brenden Glapion – 22
Jeremy Jetton – 12
Levander Moore – 9
Johnny Fu – 7
Jonathon Lowe – 5

Lowell
Byran Robinson – 15
Thomas Kroner – 12
Ricco Price – 10
Max Pollard – 4
Three players tied with 2 points