Congratulations to Doron, Marco, Juwan, Baye, Pe’Shon, Rosoce and Martins!  Best of luck in the future!

Senior Doron Lamb Commits to UK

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Doron Lamb, pictured with assistant coaches Bryan Meagher and Wilbur Allen, signs National Letter of Intent to play basketball next season at the University of Kentucky.

Rajon Rondo put on a passing clinic in Cleveland, tying a Celtics playoff record with 19 assists. / Gregory Shamus

by Charley Rosen, NBA Analyst

foxsports.com [excerpt]

May 4, 2010 — Forget about Boston’s Big Three. Rajon Rondo was the driving force that propelled the Celtics’ thoroughly convincing 104-86 win in the Cavaliers’ corner of the world, and evened their series at one-all…

Still, there’s no question that the Celtics’ leading man and best player is Rondo — 5 for 10, 19 assists, 13 points. For sure, Rondo can sometimes play too fast and try to force the issue, hence his six turnovers. Plus, his jumper continues to be unreliable. But his speed and quickness are explosive, he’s extremely creative when he’s challenged after zipping into the lane, and his court awareness seems to expand game by game.

If he’s not exactly a lock-down defender, his lightning reflexes and uncanny anticipation make him a constant pest. As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics…

Click here to read the full article at foxsports.com.

What: ESPN Rise National High School Invitational

When: Thursday, April 1st – Saturday, April 3rd

Where: Coppin St. University, Baltimore, MD

Oak Hill takes on Mountain State Academy 6pm EST on ESPNU Thursday, April 1st.  The winner will play Friday, April 2nd at 2pm EST on ESPN2.

The Finals of the NHSI will be televised on ESPN Saturday, April 3rd at 1:30pm.

Update:
Oak Hill finishes the season 29-4 after falling to Mountain State Academy 53-59.

For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit the National High School Invitational website.

Congratulations to Nolan and Danny as well as the other Oak Hill alum who participated in this year’s NCAA Tournament:  Julian Vaughn – Georgetown, Landon Milborne – Maryland, Dion Dacons (asst coach) – Temple, Rod Strickland (asst coach) – Kentucky.

IT’S BACK!

What:  ESPN Rise National High School Invitational

When:  Thursday, April 1st – Saturday, April 3rd

Where:  Coppin St. University, Baltimore, MD

For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit the National High School Invitational website.

Throughout the 2009-2010 season, OakHillHoops.com will feature personal stories from our players.

Finishing Strong

March 5, 2010 — I’m back! I haven’t written in a while. Sorry for the absence, but now the regular season is over. We ended strong by beating Benedictine HS in Richmond, VA. Roscoe, Juwan & I were all in double figures.

We bused back after the game & got to campus really late and then had Senior night. We beat Oak Ridge Military. The whole team played really well & we are now 29-3.

This also marked Coach Smith’s 25th season as the head coach of Oak Hill, so we got to celebrate that after the game. Also, I would like to thank all the fans that came out to Meet the Team. We enjoyed it.
The team/school goes on spring break tomorrow but the season isn’t over. We have the ESPN Rise Tournament April 1-3, so we still have to stay focused. I’m glad we’ll have about a week or so to practice. After we come back from break we’ll be in our last quarter of school. I know we’ll finish strong both on and off the court. So until then…hope everyone is safe and that we get some warmer weather! Had enough snow!

Pe`Shon

The News & Observer

February 24, 2010 — The text message delivered to Nolan Smith’s cell phone two weeks ago didn’t say much, but it was exactly what the Blue Devils’ junior guard needed to hear after Duke’s win at North Carolina.

Duke's Nolan Smith drives on Virginia Tech's Erick Green during first-half action. / Photo credit Chuck Liddy, The News & Observer

“Get in the gym,” the late-night text read.

It came from Michael Beasley, Smith’s childhood friend and Miami Heat forward who was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Short, direct messages such as Beasley’s have helped spur Smith to overcome the struggles of his sophomore season to become the ACC’s fourth-leading scorer at 17.9 points a game.

Quick-witted with an eager smile, Smith remains close with his childhood teammates from Upper Marlboro, Md., and from his high school days at Oak Hill Academy.

Duke guard Jon Scheyer is constantly amazed by the number of friends Smith has. When Duke was at Miami last week, former Hurricanes guard Jack McClinton was there to have his jersey retired.

Just before the start of the second half, McClinton yelled at Smith, telling him to look for his shot. After the game, McClinton texted Smith to say he has a sweet shot and needs to be confident with it.

“He’ll know somebody on the other team, no matter what team we’re playing,” Scheyer said. “He really knows everybody, either from playing AAU or, ‘Yeah, at this camp I met him.’ We always joke about it.”

Beasley and Smith have been close friends since childhood and were teammates on the D.C. Assault club team. Smith also corresponds with former Oak Hill teammates Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“They really help me because they give me the confidence that I need,” Smith said. “They let me know to keep working, keep staying in the gym.”

Smith usually heeds their advice.

Click here to read the full article at newsobserver.com.

by Steve Aschburner

NBA.com

January 26, 2010 — Three or four players and a few civilians were left in the Milwaukee Bucks’ locker room late Saturday night when the relative quiet was pierced by the sound of someone going all “American Idol” in the shower. Turns out, it was Jerry Stackhouse’s baritone echoing off the tile and down the hall, singing a tune no one instantly recognized but making known his presence that began with Milwaukee just five days earlier.

Bucks guard Jerry Stackhouse is still shaking off the rust after his long NBA layoff. Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images

Eager to fill the void created by shooting guard Michael Redd’s latest season-ending knee injury, seeking to replace some of the scoring and experience that Redd provided, the Bucks reached out to Stackhouse. Never mind that the long-ago North Carolina star had played in just 10 NBA games since the end of 2007-08 and none at all this season in what was looking more like a forced and endless furlough than any official retirement. The Bucks knew Stackhouse — general manager John Hammond had been with him in Detroit, coach Scott Skiles actually played with him for a season in Philadelphia — and felt he had something left in his tank.

So if that had been a rookie crooning away in the shower, the grinning folks in the locker room might have thought: Knuckleheaded new guy. But since it was a warhorse drafted nearly 15 years ago, taken No. 3 overall in 1995 ahead of fellow All-Stars Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett and Michael Finley, Stackhouse’s little audience could nod knowingly at his not-quite dulcet tones and think: Savvy veteran influence, keeping things loose.

I talked with Stackhouse Saturday before and after he blew out the carbon of nearly 1 1/2 seasons of inactivity in his new team’s 127-94 cruise past Minnesota. In 28 minutes, playing in his third game in four nights, Stackhouse scored 14 points with three rebounds, five assists, two steals and four turnovers. Next stop: Dallas, where he spent five of his best NBA seasons but was dumped in a trade last summer to Memphis, a team that waived him almost immediately.

Click here to read the full article and interview with Stack at NBA.com.

Keith Hornsby is playing for Oak Hill Academy, the most prestigious prep basketball school in the country. (Diane Cebula, Daily Press / August 26, 2009)

by Norm Wood, Inside Recruiting

hrvarsity.com

January 24, 2010 — For a guy who thought he’d only be spending about five to eight minutes per game on the floor while wearing the uniform of the nation’s most elite prep boys basketball team, this season has been an eye-opening experience for Keith Hornsby.

As it turns out, he has evolved into much more than just a garbage-time player for Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, a town in southwest Virginia. He’s a legitimate sixth man as a junior. Though he’s still waiting for the bigwigs from programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East and Southeastern Conference to take notice, he knows he’s at least on the radar map — by osmosis, if nothing else.

“There are such great players on this team, so I just naturally get so much better, and my confidence rises, too,” said Hornsby, who is a former Hampton Roads Academy student and the son of Grammy Award-winning musician and Williamsburg native Bruce Hornsby. “My shots, my driving (to the basket), my ballhandling have all gotten better, but especially my defense. With having to guard these guys, that’s the main thing that’s improved.”

During an open-gym scrimmage in the fall, Oak Hill played host to a room full of college basketball coaches — a common occurrence at Oak Hill. Kansas coach Bill Self took a few seconds to introduce himself to Hornsby. It wasn’t quite the same as getting a scholarship offer from Self, but it was still a moment Hornsby won’t soon forget.

Click here to read the full article at HRVarsity.com.