Columnist Spencer Patterson: Gaines, Hunter OK with SAT

Spencer Patterson's prep sports column appears Thursday. Reach him at 259-4085 or [email protected]

When local prep basketball stars Kevin Gaines and Demetrius Hunter take the court for Sunday's Dada All-Star Classic in California, the duo will be able to do so with a carefree attitude for the first time in a while.

That's because both players recently came up with an NCAA qualifying score on the SAT, according to their respective coaches.

Since Clark's Gaines (Michigan) and Cheyenne's Hunter (Georgetown) signed their letters of intent last fall, the standardized test had loomed as a potential obstacle for freshman qualification. Now, the two can simply do what they do best -- put on a show on the basketball court.

As has been the case so often during their stellar prep careers, Gaines and Hunter will once again find themselves on opposite ends of the court this weekend. Gaines will play for the West squad, while Hunter will suit up for the U.S. team since a majority of guards selected to play in the game are from western states.

Along with Gaines, some of the more familiar names on the West squad will include El Cerrito (Calif.) forward Andrew Gooden, a Kansas signee, Corona Del Sol (Ariz.) forward Donnell Knight, who's headed to Arizona State, and Compton (Calif.) guard Tito Maddux, who is undecided about his college choice.

Joining Hunter on the U.S. squad will be Oak Hill (Va.) center Travis Watson, who helped his team to the Holiday Prep Classic title last winter, and King High (Ill.) center Leon Smith, who is reportedly considering jumping straight to the NBA.

The game will be played Sunday at 5 p.m. at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

* AROUND THE DIAMOND: There's still a lot up for grabs as local prep baseball teams enter the season's second half. If form holds, the Sunrise and Sunset Divisions should have some tight races, both for division titles and playoff berths come late April.

Silverado holds a two-game lead on the rest of the Sunrise pack, courtesy of a perfect 7-0 league mark. Chaparral and Green Valley should make return trips to the postseason, although the final spot could come down to a wild battle between Basic, Las Vegas and Eldorado. Predicted order of finish: 1. Silverado, 2. Green Valley, 3. Chaparral, 4. Las Vegas.

On the Sunset side, Cimarron's back-to-back wins over Durango and Gorman have the Spartans back in the driver's seat, although it's still anyone's division to take at this point. Cheyenne looked like a shoo-in for the fourth spot early on, but upstart Palo Verde could give the Shields a run for their money. Predicted order of finish: 1. Gorman, 2. Cimarron, 3. Durango, 4. Cheyenne.

* HONOR ROLL: Eldorado senior Billy Joe Murray finished second in the 227-pound weight class among juniors and seniors at last weekend's National High School Power Lifting Championships in Dallas. Murray, who was a first-team all-state selection in football, set a new American high school record with a 573-pound deadlift. ... Durango sophomore Chey Christie averaged 29 points over four games at the Pump and Run Easter Tournament at Cal-State Dominguez last weekend. Christie helped the Las Vegas Stars AAU Team to a 2-2 record in the event. ... Silverado junior Jeremy West leads all local prep baseball players with a .647 batting average. Other category leaders include: Durango's Chris Kelly (33 RBI), Chaparral's Johnny Caruso (six home runs), Gorman's Pat McBride (0.70 ERA), Gorman's Nate Fouts, Ben Fox and McBride (five victories apiece) and Eldorado's Chr is Hansen (51 strikeouts). ... Former Green Valley standout Mitch Kallick slammed down a tournament-high 41 kills to lead New York University's men's volleyball team to a second-place finish in the Eastern Intercollegiate Division III tournament.

archive