I'm firmly convinced that one of the biggest drawbacks of this "modern era" of high school basketball has been the erection of these mini palaces such as San Antonio's Littleton Coliseum and the Austin Delco Center. Sure, they look nice and they are roomier, with more amenities than the average high school gym. BUT...there is almost a total loss of home court advantage and the community spirit which is shown on an individual campus just isn't quite the same.
Anyway, that's my rant for the evening. Tonight was a treat because I made a rare trip to San Antonio Madison to see them take on upstart Smithson Valley. It actually smelled like a gym, and there WAS a home team advantage. Madison boasts two D-1 signees; PG Jamaal Johnson (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) and P Tyler Wood (UT-San Antonio), and a winning history, with a veteran coach in Head Man John Valenzuela. It seems like a recipe for a Madison win, perhaps even a blow out. But as Lee Corso says, "Not so fast my friend".Apparently, SV didn't get the memo as they came out shooting the ball lights out. In fact, they shot the ball extremely well for almost 32 minutes. Senior G Aaron Rios dropped four triples and a total of 14 points while his team mate WG Ty Etheridge tallied 18 and chipped in 5 assists and 5 rebounds. The lanky SV guard was the best unsigned player on the court as he diced and shot his way past the Madison D time and again.
One of the really fun things about what I do is being able to see young guns make their mark early in their careers. Tonight Madison pulled one out of their hat in 2013 P 6'3" Vincent Taylor. I remarked to Coach Val that he had a young Larry Wilkins, referring to the Madison All Stater from a couple of years ago. The frosh, Young Vincent runs the floor nicely, competes with a vengeance, showed nice hops, is solid as a rock and has a motor that just won't quit. Yes, he's a pup but he's definitely one to watch and will immediately be added to my list of prsopects in this area.
Madison was led in the game by Jamaal Johnson with 15 and 6 assists while Wood boarded well (especially in the first half) as he notched 12 points and 15 rebounds. Madison hung on for a 69-68 win, although SV had a chance to win it at the end. By doing so they keep at least a share of first place in the District. If this holds up Madison could be headed for a 1st round play off mathup with Austin Akins. They defeated Akins last year in a hard fought 1st round game. This year the Mavs are not as deep so that potential rematch could be a real doozy.
San Antonio Madison 17-17-21-14-69
Smithson Valley 23-9-24-12-68
