Pappageorge Owns Summer Slam

Kevin McCarthy
 

The old Yankee Stadium was known as the House That Ruth Built. On Friday, Cañada’s Peter Pappageorge turned the Foothill College gymnasium into the House That Pappageorge Owned as he was the top talent on display at the Third Annual Foothill Juco Summer Slam.

At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, the sophomore Pappageorge doesn't physically dominate opponents. But combine his skills, smarts and quickness and let's just say both American River College (ARC) and Yuba College felt the Pappageorge effect in falling to the Colts. The former Burlingame High Panther features a quick set and release and also is the primary point on the Cañada squad, with a keen sense for penetrating and finding the open teammate. He blistered ARC for 20+ points and also performed very well against the much tougher 49ers -- this in back-to-back games.

Other players standing out:

• Julian Green, sophomore, 6-foot-2, 180, Modesto Junior College, (Natomas High): he hit floaters, jumpshots coming off screens, layups off steals and displayed pinpoint passing on his dribble-drives into the paint -- Green is D-1 strong and besides, he has a 3.2 grade point average and is a qualifier
• Julius Brazzel, sophomore, 6-foot-7, 230, Modesto Junior College, (Modesto High): an aggressive offensive rebounder, Brazzel can also nail the faceup jumper including to three-point range
• Jordan Sergent, 6-foot-5, 205, Modesto Junior College (Sonora High): he's never been a big scorer in either high school or community college ball but this guy is athletic -- he jumps the opening tip -- and is strong. We can see him playing D-2 somewhere.
• Eric Heslin, freshman, 6-foot-7, 190, DeAnza College, (Cupertino High): he apparently sat out last season at DeAnza and appears rusty -- he now needs to demonstrate if he is a back-to-the-basket player or one better at facing up, or both, as the jury remains sequestered
• Markese Fields, sophomore, 6-foot-6, 180, DeAnza College, (Mid-Peninsula High): Fields played for Foothill during last year's Foothill Juco Summer Slam (he's also been at a Kansas community college and at Antelope Valley College down south) but now resides on DeAnza's roster -- still long and lean, he had his moments but his play on Friday indicated a D-2 destination is in his future
• Kyle Luckett, sophomore, 7-foot-0, 220, Chabot College: An early entrant into the NBA draft coming out of high school in Wisconsin, Luckett has no D-1 eligibility and is looking to play for pay somewhere next season. Added strength would facilitate this jump as he runs the floor very well, is a shotblocker but more bulk will upgrade his rebounding and power moves inside.
• Jourdan Demuynck, sophomore, 6-foot-6, 200, Chabot College (Castro Valley High): a solid jumpshooter who is prototype wing size, Demuynck nailed shots from all over the court in both Gladiator games
• Kevin Aronis, freshman, 6-foot-2, 165, Santa Rosa Junior College (Analy High): Santa Rosa has a pair of medium-sized but athletic bigs and looks to featuring primarily a penetrate-and-kick offense -- Aronis went off from three-point range against Modesto with at least five catch-and-shoot treys
• Andre Robinson, freshman, 6-foot-2, 170, Cañada College (San Mateo High): Robinson garnered some tough rebounds, blocked a few shots and nailed at least one try in a nice all-around display of talent. He still needs skill development but the athletic ability is top notch.
• Steve Sanders, sophomore, 6-foot-4, 180, Cañada College (Lynbrook High): He's a pogo stick who was the best leaper we saw today -- Sanders plays fundamentally sound but his lack of ball skills and shooting range make him a D-2 prospect.
• Spencer Butterfield, freshman, 6-foot-3, 190, Yuba College (Del Oro High): This guy is just ripped across his upper torso and it's easy to see why he was also so successful as a footballer -- he showed enough on his dribble-drives and also banged down a couple of outside shots so the Bay Valley League (BVL) opponents had better get ready for him playing major minutes come conference time
• Mike McChristian, sophomore, 6-foot-3, 200, Yuba College, (Will C. Wood High): The reigning most valuable player of the BVL due to his well-round game, he played about half the game as Coach Doug Cornelius spread playing time fairly evenly -- the talk is of converting him to a point and he showed unselfishness today but needs to demonstrate range on his shot to keep defenders honest
• Caleb Johnson, freshman, 6-foot-9, 205, Yuba College (El Camino High): Not yet strong enough to bang with full efficiency, Johnson moves well and handles the ball like someone much smaller and displayed his promise with a nifty dribble-drive dunk in limited space

Connecting former prep stars to their new college teams:

• Rich Azure, freshman, 5-foot-5, Cañada College (Lincoln High, San Jose)
• Khufu Nagee, freshman, 6-foot-3, Diablo Valley College, (Berkeley High)
• Freddie Eberhardt, freshman, 6-foot-4, Foothill College (Bellarmine College Preparatory)
• Tyler Fry, freshman, 6-foot-2, Yuba College (Yuba City High)