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Poly Impresses In Summer League Championship Win by Ryan ZumMallen | Sports Book | 07.07.10 |
+  Photos by Andrew VeisThe Long Beach Poly boys basketball team showed why experts are saying they could be the best team in the state of California next season, with a 55-48 victory over Taft High and their star 6-foot-9 center Kevin Johnson in the Nike Summer Classic at Fairfax High over the weekend. Sure, it's just summer ball and there's a long way to go before the season even begins, but the Jackrabbits and their roster stacked with D-1 talent controlled the game from start to finish. Senior-to-be point guard Alexis Moore and sophomore forward Roschon Prince formed a powerful duo, but it was 6-foot-7 forward Ryan Anderson (pictured right) who controlled Taft's highly-coveted Johnson and won the game for Poly. "A lot of talent on the floor today," said Poly head coach Sharrief Metoyer. "It's nice to be champions in July but we want to be champions in March." I wrote in more detail about the Anderson/Johnson matchup for SLAM magazine in this article. Even though Anderson is a more versatile forward with better shooting range, he and the truly massive Johnson matched up against each other often. The two are friends who play on the same AAU team but each wanted the tournament win on Saturday. Poly has now secured the state's top spot in the minds of many, and will be the odds-on favorites to bring a few more banners back to their home gym this season. 
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Laner tell me why ryan anderson looks like Drake? 411 the guy in the front with the yellow undershirt is a transfer from lakewood varsity. JR Salazar Not bad. Well done. wolff Ryan ZumMallen...ok Do you have any idea of Poly tradition in basketball? Say, starting from 1963'4?? If Poly is better this year than last I'll be really surprised. If the kids are reading this....I'm sorry. Go to class, get good grades and root for the the football team. Way to early for BB!!! Here we go again Good job in reporting on the jackrabbits summer league basketball success. @wolff. If you don't know then do not make a comment on this post. Poly is returning almost all it's starters and key players from last year from a team that was undefeated in moore league, and was 1 game away from going to the state finals last year. They lost to mighty Westchester who won the state championship. They also beat a few top 20 teams in the country at tournaments during preseason. They will be the top team in the state next year hands down! Ryan ZumMallen wolff, this is just my opinion, but I think you're going to be really surprised. PolyDad With a little more maturity, last year's Poly BBall Team might have just won the State Title. So where should that put them this coming season if you know what I mean? So let's see, Freshman Prince adds a year of strength, conditioning & court awareness at varsity level, Alexis Moore becomes a better defender & starts "seeing" the game as a point guard (probably the most difficult position to really understand at a high school level), Ryan Anderson just starts concentrating on polishing off those little things to an already impressive arsenal of basketball skills, and I'm sure there are a couple other boys that will step up and play strong. Summer is tournament time so it's nice to get these type of reports - thanks. Personally, I can handle more than one sport at a time. Nice to see Poly BBall playing at such a high level. A Poly Mom of One Great job Long Beach Poly Boys B-Ball!!!!! wolff I thought they were a great team last year. I saw them lose to Federal Way, which was one of the best teams in Washington...for a time. Poly looks super on paper....if you guys want to hype them up, go ahead. I know who is returning and all that. What they did last year means nothing. Go ahead and rank them number one in country. I'm just saying, do not crown them in July!!! Boys, you have done nothing yet...as a team!!!! PolyDad Wolff: Ryan ZumMallen writes a short piece on a very good high school team, Poly, that just beat Taft, another exceptional team, in a summer tourny. If you love high school sports, poly, and basketball, it's all good info. This wasn't a 5 page SI article calling Poly the best team in the country, but a 5 paragraph update on a local high school team doing well in the summer and a team to watch to start and finish strong during the coming season. And since when don't we look at the previous year to evaluate a high school team in any sport. It's not "on paper" when the previous year you played at a high level, your winning summer tournaments against quality opponents, your top player(s) are playing AAU ball around the country ,and you're building on a proven track record with 3 returning starters, and 2 who are DI prospects for 2011. Does Poly need to stay focused and bring it during season, sure. Are they one of the top teams in the State, absolutely. I agree with Ryan Z, this team is going to be a good one and those that don't think so will be surprised and blogging next Spring, "dang, didn't think Poly was gonna be THAT good". But that's just my opinion and what the H*ll do I know? Whoa Good stuff Poly Dad Here we go again Great post PolyDad. Also wolff These tournaments that Poly are winning have alot of talented teams (Fairfax,Taft,Crenshaw)which are all known to be strong basketball schools(most of the games were blow outs). Not to mention beating Mater Dei by 20 points last month at there own tournament without Ryan Anderson. wolff OK...big misunderstanding, due to my lack of writing skills. Re-read my posts and try to see what I am saying. Let me put it this way....can Poly pull off a Serra this year?? Another way...Poly in any sport needs no hype. Or, is the boys BB team feeling like they are left behind by boys/girls track, football and girls basketball. If they surpass last years great team I will be really surprised. I sure hope they act like they've been there done that. I've seen a LBPoly BB team go 12-14 with 6 D-1 kids. The coach in me says STFU and let kids get good grades and enjoy football season. A Man With A Vision Long Beach Poly Boys Basketball Team will be Verry Good for the next several years. PolyDad Okay Wolff, you got me. Besides saying "If Poly is better this year than last I'll be really surprised", or "If they surpass last years great team I will be really surprised", would you mind actually letting the rest of us know with some more details, actually any details at all, on how you came to your "surprised" conclusions? Is this just a "gut feeling" or do you have some good analysis the rest of us are missing. Really I'm open to learning more about the team, seriously. I like sports and especially those LB Poly so I'd be interested to know. Just curious, so fill us in. Ryan ZumMallen wolff, I see your line of reasoning but I have to believe that with so many returners and seniors as three of their four best players that Poly will not only be better than last year but will be the favorite to win State this year. Not trying to crown them or put added pressure on them but after what I've seen in the past year, this is the team to beat. wolff I'm just saying, "slow down a bit". Yes, on paper they will be everyone's 'favorite'. It's July..too many things can happen. One or two could transfer out(maybe more with a team this deep). 2 or 3 could get injured. 2 or 3 could not go to class. This team does not need any hype!! PolyDad Wolff: Okay, I get it now. That is what you are saying. But it's a blog, this is what we do. We watch, read, talk, & say stupid stuff more often than not, sometimes even have decent opinions but usually not, and since we aren't journalists (except for Ryan Z) this is our chance to connect with others about the sports we follow. If we didn't, it's wouldn't be a Blog, it would be an Article in a newspaper. Sports teams always have to adjust to adversity: injuries, grades, personal & family off-court issues, bad refs in games, team chemistry etc...not just Poly but all teams. It's part of being an athlete. And it gets tougher the further one advances in their chosen sport. Don't worry about the negatives so much. I'm trusting that these boys will stay focused on the basketball court and Poly will provide the academic assistance needed to make sure they're keeping up in class. fAtb0ysliMm Ryan Anderson is a beast..thats my boy,,And Alexis Moore the best point guard in the state...And Roschon Prince idk wat to say bout him..The next best high school player to go pro in the NBA wolff PolyDad: Saying stupid stuff..that's me. Thanks for being gentle. Do the players read this blog? POLY FAN wolff, if you don't like all the hype, don't read it. That'll solve you're problem :) keepin it Real Nawww, They don't read this blog. They are either working out at the crack of dawn I heard or on Facebook LOL... Poly has a group of well respected youngmen, that will work hard to stay on top. However, it will be hard because everyone wants to bring the top dawgs down lol... i'm just Keepin it Real
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Ryan ZumMallen comments on the diverse sports culture in Long Beach, from the prep scene and collegiate athletics to the Grand Prix, mixing local flavor with broader issues in the sports world of today.
Ryan ZumMallen served as the managing editor of the Long Beach Post from 2007-11. He graduated from CSULB with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008 and is a member of the 2009 class of Leadership Long Beach. Today, he is a freelance writer for SLAM Magazine and Road & Track, and is continuing work as a 2010 fellow at the USC Annenburg School of Journalism.
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