Girls Basketball: University gets some size with a Gardena transfer
University’s girls basketball team was expected to see a drop off after the Wildcats qualified for the Division 1 state playoffs in March.
That may change as they picked up some size when Gardena transfer Jada Gambrah enrolled at the school last week.
The 6-3 sophomore center played in only two games for the Panthers according to stats on Maxpreps.com, but head coach Ronald Cass likes the potential of his newest player especially against other Western League teams..
“I have been wishing and praying for a post player to come here,” said Cass, in his second season at University. “We are going to work on her conditioning and development in the paint, but with her size she can be a force in league.”
According to Cass, Gambrah’s family was looking for a better academic setting and live only a couple of blocks away from the school.
The addition in the front court should take some pressure off of All-City forward Precious Nwaba. The junior had a strong outing two weeks ago at Watts Summer Games including scoring 41 points a game.
Football: Hamilton’s schedule filled with easy non-conference games
Most schools schedule to how well they expected to be in the upcoming season.
For Hamilton, it seems the coaching staff might not have much faith in the squad, at least early on.
After going 3-7 last season and their recent downgrade by the LA City Section to Division 2, the Yankees non-league schedule has become significantly easier.
Among the teams that they will face is a school (South Gate Legacy) that will being playing a first year of football, a local squad (Windward) in its only second season of 11-man football.
Also added was a winless West Adams team that fared so poorly they forfeit their final game against Crenshaw in 2012 due to fear of injuring an already depleted roster.
Other early games include Banning from the Marine League and Division 3 View Park.
The Yankees could very well start the season 4-1, but the recent transfer of their main offensive weapon in starting running back Kwame Duggins, they may struggle in league play and end up having trouble finishing the season with a winning record.
Only time will tell.
Hamilton’s 2013 football schedule is below:
Boys Basketball: Westchester’s Matthew Grant choses Detroit Mercy
Westchester guard and LA City Section Player of the Year Matthew Grant has committed to Detroit Mercy and is expected to sign later today.
The senior guard helped lead the Comets to the LA City Division 1 title over El Camino Real and an Open Division Regional Semifinals.
Westchester was 29-7 last season.
Baseball: Venice’s Wolfie Tash and Windward alum Jesse Weiss picked in the late rounds of the MLB draft
Santa Monica’s Conner Greene was the talk of the area during last week’s MLB draft, but two more westside players Venice’s Wolfie Tash and Windward alum Jesse Weiss were also selected in the late rounds.
Tash, the Chicago White Sox’s pick in the 39th round, batted .500 with three homeruns and 29 RBI this season for the Gondoliers this year and led them to a second-place finish in the Western League.
He had missed three weeks of the season after tearing his meniscus against Franklin in April, but return to form three weeks later including going 3-for-4 with two RBI’s in Venice’s 8-7 win versus Carson in the LA City Division 1 play-in game.
Weiss, who graduated Windward in 2009, was selected in the 36th round by the Milwakee Brewers.
The senior was three-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference honoree at Kenyon College, a Division 3 school in central Ohio.
His 47 career double ranks second in school history and ranked in the top five all-time in career hits, runs, RBI, and batting average where he hit .357 during his four seasons.
Football: Venice QB Alexander Diamont has committed to Indiana
Venice quarterback Alexander Diamont (left) has committed to Indiana University earlier today. / Michael Yanow
Diamont, who will enter his third year as the starter for the Gondoliers, had a strong beginning to his high school career. He replaced Dean Sarbia during the first game of his sophomore season against Harvard-Westlake and threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 passes to rally Venice to a last minute 34-27 victory.
He threw for 1305 yards for 12 touchdowns and five interceptions during his sophomore season in 2011.
Venice advanced to the LA City semifinals last season after Diamont led the Gondoliers to a game-winning touchdown drive in the final seconds of a 27-24 victory over San Pedro.
Diamont was named to the All-City team in 2012.
The Gondoliers are one of the favorites to win the LA City Division 1 title this year.
His junior season highlights are below:
Football: Hamilton RB Kwame Duggins has transferred to Santa Monica
Hamilton starting running back Kwame Duggins has transferred and is expected to play at Santa Monica in the upcoming 2013 season.
The senior was the one of the bright spots for the Yankees last season and had two 200-yard games rushing last season, including 209 against Sun Valley Poly.
Santa Monica was 8-4 in 2012 and has won two consecutive Ocean League titles.
Hamilton had a 3-7 record last season.
Taking a quick break for summer vacation
Want to thank our readers for another wonderful season of covering westside high school and junior college sports.
Like all of the student-athletics, we at that LA Sports Journal are going to enjoy our summer vacation. By that, we mean taking a week long break (probably less) to rest and recover.
Don’t worry, we will be back with more player profiles and action from the summer leagues when we return.
See you all soon.
-Ed Gonzalez
