The 2005 California JUCO Showcase took place July 30-31 at the American Sports Center in Anaheim. Some 43 teams attended the event, including teams from both Northern and Southern California. Once again it was a resounding success, and just as in past years the credit goes to Coach Dieter Horton at Fullerton College, who set it all up.
I managed to attend 15 games featuring 27 teams. I tried to concentrate on teams that are usually fairly successful, and a few of the better teams I missed here I covered last month at the Beach Camp at the Long Beach Pyramid. But if I happened to miss your team, please try not to take it personally. Since there were usually 6 games going on simultaneously, I had to make some tough choices!
On Team Names: Since these are, strictly speaking, travel teams and not official school teams, they played under names not associated with any school. However, each team was made up of players who are expected to attend the same school in the fall, and most if not all were coached by members of that school's coaching staff. So...to make it easier to find what you're looking for, I've listed the team's showcase name but also put the school name in parentheses. For example, the team from College of the Canyons is as follows: The Cats (Canyons). That is, they played under the name "The Cats" and it was made up of players who are expected to attend College of the Canyons this fall.
What's Posted: There are box scores from the games I saw, a brief game-by-game summary for all 15 games, individual game player ratings and an overview of the entire event. As you might expect, it's just about impossible to keep records on the 200 or so players involved without there being some mistakes. I've made an effort to be accurate, but if anyone finds any mistaken identifications, please tell me! I'll change them as soon I as know better!
On the Box Scores: The game format was two 20-minute halves with running time. Each game took about an hour and obviously the stats are going to be affected by the shorter playing time. As a rule of thumb, I'd recommend multiplying all the numbers by 1.5 to get an accurate comparison with a regular season game. So if someone scored 10 pts in a Showcase game, it would be comparable to 15 pts in a regular season game. The same goes for the other stats, particularly rebounds and assists. As always, I kept my full slate of usual stats for the games.
Another thing to mention is the free-throw format: free throws were condensed to keep the game moving. If a player was awarded 2 shots (or a 1-and-1), he got just one shot but if he made it the shot would be worth 2 points. If the player was fouled when attempting a 3-pointer, the free throw would be worth 3 points. If a player was fouled while shooting and made the shot, he was awarded a free throw worth the normal 1 point.
On the Player Ratings: I've used 2 formulas, each of which rate each player for each game I saw them play. The first is a player rating that is a slight modification of what the NBA Pre-Draft Camp uses: Index=pts+rebs+asts+blk+stl+3pt+fg-fga+ft-fta-turns. This measures a player's performance, and also puts a premium on efficiency since missed shots and turnovers reduce the rating. The second is an "activity rating": ARF=fga+fta+reb+ast+blk+stl+turns. This measures if a player was active or aggressive, not how successful the results were. Missed shots and turnovers actually increase the rating. Still, as John Wooden noted, the team that makes the most mistakes usually wins (because by being aggressive they risk mistakes but also makes plays that win games). And the idea of this rating is to show which players were out there making things happen. I Couldn't See everyone. For teams I missed, none of their players are rated, which doesn't mean they didn't play well. It just means I didn't see them. And again, several of these teams were covered at the Beach Basketball Camp in June.
On Mistakes: Again, I've tried to be accurate on the box scores but I'm sure there are mistakes. And again, if I've misidentified a player, I'd be happy to correct any errors if someone lets me know about it. (If you think my stat totals or whatever are wrong, well, that may be something we all have to live with).
For More Information: Contact Dieter Horton at Fullerton College - (714) 992-7395 - dhorton@fullcoll.edu. This was his show. I was just part of the audience.
And finally: Much thanks and appreciation to Coach Horton for not only organizing this outstanding event, but inviting me back again this year and getting me set up with the information I needed to know what was going on. I had a great time once again and am very happy to have once again had the chance to report on this great event!
Box Scores & Other Features
Event Summary
Game-By-Game Summary
Player Ratings - Performance Index
Player Ratings - Activity Rating Formula
Glendora (Citrus) 61, South County (Saddleback) 57
Pier Pressure (LA Harbor) 48, The Pier (Santa Monica) 46 (OT)
Cucamonga (Long Beach) 76, The Beach (Long Beach) 62
San Bruno (Skyline) 52, The Cats (Canyons) 41
The Dawgs (East LA) 52, The Wolverines (Contra Costa) 39
Sehorn's (Yuba) 58, 17th Street (Santa Ana) 57
The 99 (Sequoias) 56, Hayward (Chabot) 35
We Play Hard (SBVC) 57, Saratoga (West Valley) 41
Valley Blue (Irvine Valley) 49, Champion Springs (Desert) 45
Speed City (San Jose) 42, Inland (Riverside) 25
Sehorn's (Yuba) 55, Valley Fever (Bakersfield) 49
Team Valley (LA Pierce) 52, Kingsley Glass (AVC) 33
The Buzz (Fullerton) 66, Glendora (Citrus) 30
The Cats (Canyons) 47, Spot Up (El Camino) 46 (OT)
Gowing & Associates (Rio Hondo) 51, Team 605 (Cerritos) 39
