If anyone can tolerate a little HS basketball talk ... my son's high school has a pretty interesting story.
The #1 HS basketball prospect in the country, Kevin Love, goes to our school. I've been watching him since he was a little kid - he's 6-10 and 265 pounds now, and has dominated everywhere he has played.
Last night the team travelled to L.A. to play Mater Dei, the #2 ranked team in the country, and beat them by nine points. All Kevin Love did was score 36 points and pull down 15 boards, holding Mater Dei's Duke-bound all star center to 2 points in the second half.
Here's what ESPN has to say about Love:
"We have graded Love as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2007 because we believe he is the most fundamental high school basketball player in the last 25 years. He is the poster child for what is right with basketball today. The movement in our country is toward skill development and skills academies. Love has been in a skill development program from a young age with his dad, former NBA player Stan Love. Young players should study Love and use him as a role model to learn how to improve their own games.
Through hard work, discipline and dedication, Love has changed his body in the past three years. He has become a conditioned athlete with much better stamina. Love has dominating size and has perfected his post repertoire so that he is deadly when he catches the ball down low. He can shoot with range, rebound and is the best-passing big man we have ever seen at his age. In fact, Kevin's middle name is Wesley, named after NBA great Wes Unseld, who had the best outlet pass in the pro game. Love understands shot selection, commands double teams in the post and knows how and when to deliver the ball to his open teammates.
Beyond that, Love is a warrior in the paint. He thrives on physical contact and is fearless around the hoop, where he can power the ball to the rim, take a hit and finish with a three-point play."
The kid is incredible, and he was quite a little league baseball player, too! My son had one at bat against him six years ago, a little 10 year old trying to bravely stand in as a 6 foot 2 185 pound 12 year old man-child threw 74 MPH BB's at him from 46 feet. Three inside fastballs, twice moving his feet, then three strikes down the middle for a K!
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