Oak Hill’s Most Prolific Scorer Jennings Top 10 Pick in NBA Draft
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal Report: At the ripe young age of 19, guard Brandon Jennings has already been around the block a few times. Has he ever. The trail-blazing Jennings toured Europe playing professional basketball last season, eventually found his way to the Madison Square Garden stage Thursday for the National Basketball Association’s college draft, and now has Milwaukee, and possibly Green Bay, written in as the next stops on his itinerary. Jennings, a 6-foot-1 guard from Compton, Calif., and a former national high school player of the year, was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th overall pick in the draft and immediately becomes one of the major building blocks on which coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Hammond hope to construct a team that will win in the NBA on a consistent basis. Read the Full Story Online.
Warriors Set for National Championship Showdown
ESPN — For the second straight day ESPN RISE FAB 50 No. 1 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) played a sluggish opening half. And for the second time the Warriors delivered again in the last 16 minutes, toppling No. 4 St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.), 74-66, Saturday in the semifinals of the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational at Georgetown Prep’s Hanley Center. Lamont “MoMo” Jones scored a game-high 22 points and Keith “Tiny” Gallon added a double-double, with 13 points and 14 rebounds as OHA (40-0) extended its win streak to 46 games, bridging two seasons. The Warriors will battle second-ranked Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) on Sunday at 3PM (ET) on ESPN in the title game after Findlay overtook Montrose Christian 60-43. Montrose’s only previous two losses came at the hands of the Warriors. Click Here to Read More, View Photos & Watch Video
Warriors Win Opener of Nike Invitational 83-64
ESPN — What started as a first-half standoff turned into a second half blowout for top-ranked Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in the opening round of the inaugural ESPN RISE National High School Invitational. Doron Lamb scored 26 points and Lamont “MoMo” Jones netted 10 his 20 points in the decisive third quarter as the Warriors crushed Pinewood Prep (Summerville, S.C.), 83-64, Friday afternoon at Georgetown Prep’s Hanley Center. Pinewood’s Milton Jennings recorded a double-double, with 24 points and 12 rebounds. The Warriors play again Saturday at 11 a.m. ET (ESPN2), against St. Benedict’s (NJ). Pinewood, the four-time South Carolina Independent Schools AAA champion, finished 29-6.
‘Tiny’ Gallon Named Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball POY
In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership w/ESPN RISE, today announced that Keith “Tiny” Gallon of OHA as its 2008-2009 Gatorade VA Boys B-ball Player of the Year. Gallon is the 7th Gatorade VA Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from OHA.
Gallon is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys basketball player of the Year award to be announced in late March. Gallon has signed a letter of intent with the Univ. of Oklahoma. Gallon joins other past OHA Gatorade VA Boys B-Ball POY winners Brandon Jennings (07-08), Nolan Smith (06-07), Tywon Lawson (05-06).
Coach Steve Smith Named Naismith High School Coach of the Year
Warriors’ Coach Steve Smith was named this week as the Naismith Boys’ High School Coach of the Year, the first time the award has been bestowed on the veteran Oak Hill coach. Smith has led Oak Hill to a 38-0 record in what many believed would be a rebuilding year for the Warriors, especially after losing to graduation Brandon Jennings, the reigning Naismith National Boy’s High School Player of the Year. Along the way Oak Hill has defeated 10 nationally-ranked opponents, all on the road. In 24 seasons, Smith has amassed a 756-44 record, and his teams have claimed seven mythical national championships.
