The 2011 Las Positas Shootout took place July 23 & 24 at beautiful (air-conditioned!) Las Positas College in Livermore.
I covered 11 games over the two days, seeing each of the 15 teams at least once. This is the 4th straight year I've attended this event and the 5th time overall.
Anyway, here are my picks for Top Team, Most Valuable Player and the All-Tournament teams. Though the choices are my own and therefore somewhat subjective, I believe I was the only media person in attendance and I did watch a lot of games...
In any case, thanks as always to co-hosts Tony Costello of Las Positas and Steve Coccimiglio of Diablo Valley. They put on a great event year after year, and it has become a highlight of my summer schedule.
Top Team: Diablo Valley (wins over Canada, Las Positas, Fresno & Ohlone). In 2010 DVC was the only team that went 4-0 playing a top-level schedule, and wins over Ohlone and Las Positas made them the logical choice for Top Team. But the Vikings didn't play Fresno, and Reedley also went 4-0 against a lesser schedule. This time around, DVC was the only 4-0 team and that included most impressive victories against both Ohlone and...Fresno. There was no doubt as to which team merited Top Team honors in 2011.
Most Valuable Player: Brian Goins, PG, Diablo Valley (31 pts, 14/23 fgs, 7 asts, 3 stls, 4 turns in 2 games...and his team went 4-0). In 2010 Goins played extremely well and was the logical choice as Most Valuable Player in this event. But there were other players, some even on his own team, who could easily have been the choice. This year, there was no doubt. There were rumblings he didn't play as well as usual on Saturday, but when I saw him on Sunday he was dominant, as the above stats show. And in the early moments of the two games, his team outscored the opposition 38-4 (and led by double digits the rest of both games).
All-Tournament Team:
PG - Brian Goins, Diablo Valley (MVP)
SG - Mikhail McKinney, Ohlone
SF - Ronnie Baker, Diablo Valley
PF - Bobby Barnes, Sacramento
Ctr - Delvon Henderson, Reedley
2nd Team:
G - Rodney Webster, Fresno
G - Jordan Ruedy, Foothill
F - Jose Rodriguez, American River
F - Joell Crawford, Canada
C - Rafael Carter, Diablo Valley
3rd Team:
G - Josh Bonner, American River
G - Shailo Leafa, Fresno
F - Derrick Wofford, SJ Delta
F - Devonae Leach, Las Positas
C - Nick Hodge, Mendocino
Honorable Mention:
G - DeSean Atkins, Sacramento
G - Mike Beltramo, West Valley
G - Emmmanual Bradford, Los Medanos
G - Ryan Cali, Foothill
G - Emmitt Clark, Mendocino
G - Kris Collins, Reedley
G - Jovante Evans, Las Positas
G - Randall Jackson, Fresno
G - Mardell Thompson, American River
G - Bobby Syvanthong, Diablo Valley
F - Qaadir Ali, Canada
F - Eric Brown, Los Medanos
F - Dylan Heath, Las Positas
F - George Johnson, Mendocino
F - Zayne Kirkendoll, Canada
F - Zack Korby, Los Medanos
F - Tyrelle Phillips, Diablo Valley
F - Bryse Pittman, Contra Costa
F - James Pugh, Las Positas
F - Kenonte Ramsey, Contra Costa
F - Che Salabarria, Sacramento
F - Joe Slocum, Napa Valley
F - James Weimer, Foothill
F - Brandon Wilhite, Canada
F - Warren Wright, Ohlone
C - Kris Gallop, Los Medanos
C - Jerrell Green, San Joaquin Delta
C - Jordan Greenwell, Napa Valley
C - Kyle Jackson, American River
C - Junior Morgan, Fresno
C - Roy Rissas, Las Positas
