With all the controversy following last week's column, I'm going to chill this week. I spoke with people at Champion Speedway last Saturday and I wanted to apologize for any negative light was shed on them. Champion Speedway has always been a big help to the Nevada Appeal and has been an important part of the community. We hope that continues.
Since the Sierra League basketball season began Friday night, I thought some random hoops notes, along with some other random prep items, from around the country would be appropriate.
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For the second time in a less than a month, high school phenom LeBron James will be playing on national TV. James' top ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary's team will play No. 6 Mater Dei tonight at 6 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. It's where the UCLA Bruins play their homes, meaning the game should be the best basketball played in the gym this season. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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Cheyenne High School of Las Vegas is on the verge of being nationally ranked. The Desert Shields (13-1) were one of several teams receiving votes in ihigh.com's most recent top 25 poll. Cheyenne took powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, which started the season as the nation's top-ranked team, down to the wire at the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic last week. The Desert Shields held an eight-point lead in the final two minutes of the game before losing 74-66.
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Carson coach Bruce Barnes and his players might be interested in this one. Foothill High of Las Vegas was dealt a major blow when its star player, 6-foot-4 junior Harvey Perry, broke his wrist at the San Diego Nike Classic earlier this week, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Perry scored 15 points in the Falcons' 70-64 overtime win over Carson two weeks ago at Morse Burley Gymnasium. Perry should be out 6-8 weeks and is hopeful to return by the Sunrise Regional Championships.
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Already with plenty of preseason accolades, Reno High center and Kansas signee David Padgett received another lofty honor after the Huskies' appearance at the Slam Dunk to the Beach tournament in Delaware. Padgett was voted the tournament's best all-around player. The award comes after going up against some of the nation's best players. The best passer in the tournament was Sebastian Telfair of Lincoln High in New York. Telfair, a junior, is a cousin of the Phoenix Suns' Stephon Marbury. Padgett was listed as a fourth team All-American by ihigh.com
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One of Padgett's future teammates at Kansas has pleaded not guilty to four felony theft charges, according to ihigh.com. J.R. Giddens of John Marshall High in Oklahoma is being charged, among three other charges, with conspiracy to commit grand larceny. Giddens and two others allegedly attempted to pass $3,854.63 worth of electronics from a Wal Mart store in Oklahoma City through an employee checkout stand but paid for only $40 worth of merchandise.
Giddens, a 6-foot-5 forward, was listed as the No. 17 best overall prospect in the country by ESPN.com. Padgett, who was ranked as high as No. 5 this summer by ESPN.com, is now at No. 15.
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Centennial High boys soccer player Tyler Canada was named the NSCAA/Adidas High School State Player of the Year for Nevada. Canada, a senior midfielder, led the Bulldogs to the 4A state championship game where they lost to Bishop Gorman. It was a bittersweet victory for the Gaels, however. Several days after winning the state championship, one of their best players, Mike Zaher, found out his older brother, Joe, was killed in a car crash during the Thanksgiving Holiday in Las Vegas. Joe Zaher led Gorman to the state championship game last season and was named the Pac-10's Freshman of the Year following a solid first year at Oregon State. He was 19.
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Chuck Hildebrand of Nevadaprep.com did a masterful job of uncovering McQueen coach Ken Dalton's career record. Long been a mystery, Chuck says, he found out that Dalton has 226 career wins, four less than the legendary Joe 'Mac' Sellers, who has 230. Dalton won 59 games at North Tahoe High before taking over the Lancers. He won his fifth state title at McQueen earlier this month with a win over Desert Pines.
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Speaking of Desert Pines, you should check out its star running back, Cornell Johnson, on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Johnson will join 77 other of the top high school players in the nation at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. Johnson was one of only seven players on the West team that isn't from either California or Texas. Johnson has narrowed his college choices to UCLA, Miami and Oklahoma. The Las Vegas Sun reported that he is leaning toward signing with the Bruins.
Jeremy Evans is Nevada Appeal sportswriter.
