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POLL: Who should be ALL-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year?

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The American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year is scheduled to be announced this week.

We want your input into who should win our top honor, which will be determined by the USA TODAY High School Sports staff.

Cast your vote below from these finalists:


VIDEO: Capital Classic gets a taste of 'Jelly' and more highlights

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The nation’s longest running high school All-America game added another chapter over the weekend at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. all-stars beat the Capital all-stars 113-101 in the 44th Capital Classic.

The U.S. team was made up of some of the top players across the nation, and the Capital team featured the best of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Like most all-star games, this was up and down the court with a lot of highlight plays.

Villanova signee Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 18 points on 9-for-9 from the field for the U.S. team and Luke Garza, an Iowa signee, had 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. They were named the Grant Hill MVP for their respective teams.

Amid the game, Minnesota signee Isaiah “Jelly” Washington added to his legend with some scoop-shot layups and crossover moves. Even the D.C. crowd was chanting, “We want Jelly.”

“I had to give the crowd a little taste of New York,” Washington told The Washington Post. “That’s what we do. You have fun and try to embarrass your defender.”

The U.S. team used a 16-2 run to start the second half to open up a close game.

Brandon Randolph, an Arizona signee, lead the national team with 22 points.

Providence commit Nate Watson added 14 for the Capital team.

Rosters announced for Jordan Brand Global Showcase

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The Jordan Brand Global Showcase will be held Friday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of four games featuring top high school age talent from around the nation and the world.

Many of the players are potential future international NBA Draft prospects with some already playing in the United States.

Eyes will be on N’Faly Dante, a 7-footer from Mali who plays for Sunrise Christian in Kansas. Bernardo Da Silva from Brazil is young but continues to develop at Wasatch Academy in Utah. Guard Cashius McNeilly from Thornlea is the top-ranked Class of 2020 prospect in Canada.

BLUE TEAM
#  Name Pos Ht. Wt. Team Country
4 Posh Alexander G 5-10 167 Our Saviour Lutheran USA
10 Kay Bruhnke W 6-5 193 Regnitzal Basket Germany
14 Bernardo Da Silva P 6-8 195 Wasatch Academy Brazil
18 N’Faly Dante P 7-0 220 Sunrise Christian School Mali
6 Tom Digbeu G 6-3 159 FC Barcelona France
15 Elijah Hutchins-Everett P 6-10 224 DePaul HS USA
5 Jermaine Miranda G 6-2 180 Colegio Bautista Caguas Puerto Rico
7  Addison Patterson W 6-6 190 Athlete Institute Canada
11 Jamie Pradilla Gayan P 6-6 232 Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D Spain
8  Karem Queeley G 6-3 186 Real Madrid United Kingdom
12 Nicolas Rogkavopoulos W 6-5 182 Doukas Greece

 

RED TEAM
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Team Country
13 Tomas Chapero P 6-8 187 Bahia Basket Argentina
6  Gregor Glas G 6-4 173 KK Primorska Slovenia
9 Kilian Hayes G 6-4 204 Cholet France
15 Joshua Hemmings W 6-8 210 Oak Hill Academy Canada
7 Theo Maledon G 6-3 170 Insep France
12 Karlo Matkovic P 6-6 201 Cedevita Zagreb Croatia
8 Cashius McNeilly G 6-4 177 Thornlea H.S. Canada
11 Francisco Paulino Mota W 6-5 225 Pope John H.S. Dominican Republic
16 Isaiah Stewart P 6-8 240 McQuaid Jesuit H.S. USA
17 Allen Udemadu P 6-10 120 Pro Vision H.S. Nigeria
14 Lance Ware W 6-8 195 Life Center Academy USA

 

2017 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Boys Track and Field Team

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The 2017 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Boys Track and Field Team was selected by Fred Baer, the founder of Track and Field Writers of America, and Jack Shepard, the high school editor for Track & Field News.

The honorees are divided based on event. Follow the links below for each group; athletes are listed alphabetically.

Athletes marked with asterisks denote they were selected last year as well. Races are in meters unless noted. Field events are listed in feet and inches. (i) indicates an indoor performance.

Sprints

Long and middle distance

Throws

Jumps

Hurdles

RELATED: ALL-USA Preseason Girls Track and Field Team

LOOKBACK: 2016 ALL-USA Boys Track and Field Team

Prominent AAU coach: Recruiting players is 'like courting a woman'

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Keith Stevens is among the most prominent AAU coaches in the Washington, D.C., area and a key cog for college coaches who want to attract the region’s top players.

Stevens, coach of Team Takeover, was among those who attended Patrick Ewing’s introductory news conference last week at Georgetown and he shared his thoughts on recruiting with the New York Times.

Perhaps most interesting was this comparison on letting players know they are important:

“It’s just like if I was courting a woman. I’d buy her some flowers, take her to the best restaurants. You have to make them a priority.”

On how recruiting has changed over time: 

“To be successful these days, it’s all about recruiting, and recruiting isn’t what it used to be, 10, 20, 30 years ago. Used to be that college coaches could go right to a player’s parents or high school coaches. Now there are many more people a coach has to go through to get a player. Trainers, guys in the neighborhood. Coaches. Just a lot more layers.”

On the importance of Ewing making connections and quickly with locally based talent:

“The first 72 hours is important. The community is watching. How do you connect with the community? How do you connect with the guys who have a relationship with these local players? It won’t be easy, but I think he can do it. …

“He has to find creative ways to bring an attraction there. Find something different. I don’t know what that is. But he needs to find a way to get these kids to stay home and play here. He has to work hard at being the closer. He has to get the guys to believe in him and what Georgetown brings to the table.”

Dwyane Wade posts picture of #YoungMe from high school

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It’s not Thursday so #TBT does not apply, but Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade posted a photo of himself on Twitter from 2000.

At the time, Wade was a star player at Richards High in Oak Lawn, Ill. He set school records for points and steals in a season as a senior and led Richards to a 24-5 mark. He averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds as a senior before heading to Marquette.

 

POLL: Who should be ALL-USA Boys Hockey Player of the Year?

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The American Family Insurance ALL-USA Boys Hockey Player of the Year is scheduled to be announced this week.

We want your input into who should win our top honor, which will be determined by the USA TODAY High School Sports staff.

Cast your vote below from these finalists:

POLL: Who will be named MVP of this year's Jordan Brand Classic boys game?

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The Jordan Brand Classic is Friday in Brooklyn. Who will be named the game’s Most Valuable Player?


Norco (Calif.) solidifies spot atop Super 25 softball rankings

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Seven more wins solidified Norco (Calif.) as the top team in the USA TODAY Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Super 25.

The Highlanders (21-0) edged No. 5 Los Alamitos, 1-0, in the semifinals of the Michelle Carew Classic, then Taylor Dockins threw a six-hitter to blank previously ranked Orange Lutheran, 4-0, in the championship game.

RELATED: Full Super 25 softball rankings

“To shut out those two teams on the same day is an impressive achievement,” Norco coach Rick Robinson told the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise. ”We’re playing at the top of our game, but I still think there is room for improvement.”

The top three remain unchanged as Pinnacle (Phoenix) and Cape Fear (N.C.) each won twice.

MORE SOFTBALL: 82 runs! Yes, 82

Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) went 4-0 and moved up to No. 4 from No. 6. Los Alamitos remains No. 5 despite the loss to Norco on the heels of a 5-1 week.

Coral Springs (Fla.) Charter (19-1) and Texas’ Johnson (22-1) improved their standing three places, while New Mexico’s La Cueva (17-0), California’s Stockdale (17-0) and Washington’s Woodinville (9-0) all moved in to the Top 10.

No. 11 Bentonville (Ark), with a 20-1 mark, and No. 14 Deer Park (Texas), now 25-4 were the other two schools with four victories during the week.

Four newcomers entered the Super 25 at spots 19 to 22: Lexington (Tenn.), Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), Ballard (Louisville) and Carroll (Southlake, Texas). The teams have a combined 97-2-1 record.

Fort Myers (Fla.), Lakewood Ranch (Fla.), Enka (N.C.) and Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) dropped out this week.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the Super 25.

Jordan Brand Classic Diary: Mikayla Coombs reunited with coach one last time

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In the days leading up to the Jordan Brand Classic on Friday, USA TODAY High School Sports will be catching up with various players to talk about their experiences. In this entry, we talk to Mikayla Coombs, a 5-10 guard from the Wesleyan School (Peachtree Corners, Ga.). She is ranked as the No. 14 player overall and No. 2 at her position in the espnW HoopGurlz rankings. Coombs is a UConn signee.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Jordan Brand Classic

For the McDonald’s All America Game, I was on the East team so I played with those girls. This time, I’m on the West team, partly because my high school coach, Jan Azar, is coaching the West team. This gives me a chance to have one last game with her so that’s pretty cool. My relationship with her is really strong so to have one last go-round for her is special for me. I want to really take this in and realize this is the last time she will ever coach me.

We won the McDonald’s game so hopefully I can come over to the West to win this game, just for pride reasons, we. It means something to me to win the game, but mainly the relationships and the experience are the most important part.

RELATED: Sidney Cooks Diary from Jordan Classic

I don’t think it’s hit me yet that this is my last high school game. As the year progresses, I’m starting to realize that it’s almost done. UConn wants me there May 29. The days are going by and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m about to be a college student.’ I graduate May 20 and we leave May 29.

My knee injury made that year made my sophomore year go slow because I was so eager to get back. Other than that, though, my high school career went by fast. My senior season, especially, it was crazy how quickly that went by.

Sometimes I forget that knee injury even happened, to be honest. It was a rough time for me, but I just took it as a time to sit down and reflect on things and work on my shot. In a way, it was a blessing. My work ethic was so important during the rehab process and that’s why I was thankfully able to come back and still the look the same.  If you’re lazy, the comeback will be completely different process.

I’ll be at UConn soon and I basically want to find my place on the team and figure out how I can help in any way possible to start building a new streak.

And, I’m not going to lie. I was very upset after we lost that game — very upset. I don’t get mad, which shows you something. After I sat back, though, I realized the three other commits with me and the players coming back, it’s our time to build a new streak.

ALL-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year: Grace Zumwinkle, Breck School (Golden Valley, Minn.)

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The 2016-17 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Hockey Teams were selected by USA TODAY High School Sports based on performance, level of competition and strength of schedule.

COACH OF THE YEAR:  Sami Reber, Edina (Minn.)

MORE: FIRST TEAM | SECOND TEAM | THIRD TEAM

Armed with the heaviest shot in all of Minnesota, Grace Zumwinkle put that ability to good use this season for the Breck School. The 5-foot-9 senior overpowered defenses and goalies, scoring 42 goals (to go with 16 assists) for the Mustangs, who reached the Section 5A championship game, losing to eventual state champion (Hopkins, Minn.) Blake School.

“Grace had a very strong season this year and really elevated her game to the next level,” Breck head coach Ronda Englehardt said. “She is a strong player with an even harder shot, making her a dangerous offensive threat.”

But Zumwinkle’s biggest goal of the winter didn’t come on a booming slapshot. It didn’t even happen in Minnesota. It came in the middle of January in a rink in the Czech Republic as Zumwinkle knocked home a rebound with 2:32 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 tie against archrival Canada in the gold-medal game of the International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championships. After assisting on an empty-netter with 5 seconds left, Zumwinkle and the United States were world champions.

Zumwinkle was named MVP of the game, her second such honor in two games. In the semifinals against Russia, Zumwinkle had a hat trick in Team USA’s 6-0 victory. The future Minnesota Golden Gopher finished the tournament with four goals, two assists and a plus-six rating. She was the tournament leader in goals and plus-minus and tied for the lead in points.

Zumwinkle missed five games to skate for the national team but she returned to the ice for Breck and got right back to doing what she does best—scoring goals.

“After winning with the U18 team, Grace returned like she didn’t miss a beat,” Englehardt said. “She came back motivated to be a leader for our team and do her part in helping our team be successful.”

Zumwinkle, whose hardest shot has been clocked at 80 mph—scored at least one goal in seven consecutive games upon her return, including the game-winner in the Mustangs’ 2-1 win against Princeton (Minn.) in the sectional semifinals.

For the season, Minnesota’s Ms. Hockey winner scored at least one goal in 19 of 23 games and recorded nine hat tricks. She finished her prep career with 156 goals and 85 assists in 130 games.

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Girls Hockey Teams

Tom Herman gets first QB commit at Texas in four-star Casey Thompson

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Tom Herman has his first quarterback recruit at Texas, and it’s the son of a former Oklahoma player.

Casey Thompson, a four-star recruit from Southmoore (Oklahoma City), announced his commitment at high school Thursday. He is ranked as the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2018 and No. 4 player overall in Oklahoma, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Thompson’s father, Charles, played for Oklahoma. Brother Kendal also played for the Sooners before transferring to Utah.

Casey, who is 6-1 and 184, was offered a scholarship in mid-January and took part in junior day and then return to campus to watch a spring practice session.

“I think I’m going to fit in perfect in the offense,” Thompson told 247Sports. “I think they like what I bring to the table. I enjoyed my time there when I went out there and watched practice. I felt like I could fit in great.”

In the interest of adding some suspense, Thomas first put on a Miami hat before discarding it. Then he put on a North Carolina hat after pulling it from under the table. He discarded that and went under the table again before putting on a Texas hat and giving the traditional “Hook Em.”

Calif. softball pitcher throws perfect game and hits for cycle

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Chloe Romero had herself a game to remember Thursday for ACE Charter (Helendale, Calif.).

She threw a perfect game in the circle and hit for the cycle at the plate, according to the Victorville Daily Press.

Romero struck out 14 of the 15 outs recorded in a 12-0 victory against Academy for Academic Excellence (Victorville) in a game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. The other out was a pop fly to her.

On the way to hitting for the cycle, she drove in five runs and scored three times.

RELATED: Calif. softball pitchers strikes out 21 in seven-inning game

 

 

Ashwin Chona's no-hit streak ends at 3 in Calif., but teammate has thrown two in a row

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One no-hitter streak at Sage Hill (Newport Coast, Calif.) has ended, while another is still going.

Sophomore Ashwin Chona’s attempt at a fourth consecutive no-hitter ended with two outs in the first inning Thursday. The sophomore allowed two hits overall — both to Eric Alexander — in a 10-0 victory against Brethern Christian that was shortened by the mercy rule. He had 10 strikeouts and no walks.

Meanwhile, senior teammate Brett Super has thrown back-to-back no-hitters, including a victory against Brethren Christian on Tuesday.

A fourth consecutive no-hitter would have tied the CIF state record.

“He was disappointed,” Sage Hill coach Dominic Campeau told The Los Angeles Times of Chona. “You can’t start a game thinking that if you don’t throw a no-hitter it’s a failure.

“He pitched really well. He had good stuff today. His fastball was explosive, especially at the end, the last couple of innings.”

According to the Orange County Register, Chona is 5-0 with a 0.52 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 39 innings. He has allowed only 11 hits in 112 batters faced.

Sage Hill is 17-1-2 overall.

Evina Westbrook, Michael Porter Jr. receive ALL-USA Player of the Year trophies

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BROOKLYN — Michael Porter Jr. and Evina Westbrook received their American Family Insurance ALL-USA Basketball Player of the Year trophies during a presentation Friday at the Jordan Brand Classic.

Porter, a Missouri signee from Nathan Hale (Seattle), led the Patriots to a 3A state title and 29-0 record. He averaged 36.4 points and 13.5 rebounds a game.

MORE: ALL-USA Boys Basketball Teams

MORE: ALL-USA Girls Basketball Teams

Westbrook, a Tennessee signee from South Salem (Salem, Ore.), averaged 24.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 5.1 steals and 1.4 blocks, leading her team to a third-place finish in the 6A state tournament.

The halfcourt presentation during the second half of the girls game was made by Jim Halley of USA TODAY High School Sports and Lizzette Villanueva, sponsorship and events specialist for American Family Insurance.


Elite cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles commits to Nebraska in touching video

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Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles, the No. 5 cornerback in the Class of 2018, announced his commitment to Nebraska on Friday night in a touching video posted on Twitter.

Radley-Hiles, ranked No. 36 overall, is playing his senior season at IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) after transferring from Calabasas (Calif.). He played his sophomore year at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).

Radley-Hiles was expected to commit on July 31, the birthday of his late brother Branden Webb, who died four years before Bookie was born. He wears No. 44 because his brother wore No. 44.

In the video, he visits Webb’s gravesite, places a chain with 44 on grave and then makes his announcement.

Given that timeline, the announcement was a surprise. He arrived in Lincoln on Thursday to watch practice, spent the day with players Friday and is expected to attend the spring game Saturday.

Radley-Hiles scored 11 touchdowns (10 receiving) along with his responsibilities on defense for Calabasas (14-1) last season. He already has accepted an invitation to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

 

VIDEO: Isaiah Washington gives Jordan Classic some extra 'Jelly'

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A week after wowing the crowd at the Capital Classic, Minnesota signee Isaiah Washington was at it again at the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game on Friday.

Washington, co-founder of the “Jelly Fam movement,” finished with 20 points and 15 assists in 23 minutes in the 170-162 affair. He also shot 9-for-16 from the floor and added a couple of steals.

And of course, New York’s Mr. Basketball out of St. Raymond’s also showed off some of his trademark finger rolls.

No. 10 Woodinville (Wash.) softball pitcher strikes out 19 in no-hitter

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Woodinville (Wash.) moved into the Top 10 in the USA TODAY Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Super 25 on Thursday.

In the team’s first game since, pitcher Taylor Rhinehart recorded a no-hitter and recorded 19 of the game’s 21 outs by strikeout.

The result was a 7-0 victory for Woodinville against Richland to improve to 10-0.

RELATED: Calif. pitcher throws perfect game and hits for cycle

ALL-USA Watch: Vernon Turner breaks NFHS high jump record

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A member of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Boys Track and Field team has added another record to his collection.

In Oklahoma, high jumper Vernon Turner, of Curtis High, cleared 7 feet, 6 inches to set the National Federation of High Schools record. The previous mark of 7-5 3/4 was set in 2009 by James White of Grandview (Kansas City).

White is still in pursuit of the national record by a high schooler. The distinction is that Andra Manson’s mark of 7-7 while he was a high schooler at Brenham (Texas) was set at a 2002 meet in Jamaica.

 

Nebraska, Ohio State have big football recruiting weekends

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Spring games provide an opportunity to get recruits on campus and give them some sense of what it might be like on games days with big crowds.

That often lends itself to commitments. Ohio State and Nebraska had their spring games Saturday and added players to the Class of 2018, among the schools that had success.

Ohio State landed commitments from four-star safety Josh Proctor and four-star offensive tackle Max Wray. Proctor is ranked as the No. 7 safety in the Class of 2018 by the 247Sports Composite and is 6-2, 190. A product of Owasso (Okla.), he chose the Buckeyes over Oklahoma, Texas and others in the Big 12. Wray is nearly 6-7 and weighs 289 and hail from Franklin (Tenn.). He is ranked as the No. 4 OT in the class and the No. 3 player in Tennessee.

Nebraska picked up commitments Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That began with Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles, the No. 5 cornerback in the class from IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). He is ranked as the No. 36 player overall by the 247Sports Composite. Radley-Hiles played last season at Calabasas, and continues the pipeline from SoCal to Lincoln, as does Manuel Allen, a 6-2 four-star wide receiver who committed Saturday. From Centennial (Corona, Calif.), Allen is ranked as the No. 31 receiver in the class. On Sunday, Nebraska landed Tate Wildeman, a three-star defensive end from Legend (Parkland, Colo.). He is 6-6, 245 and ranked as the No. 3 player in the state.

Minnesota landed a pair of three-star commits: athlete Jornell Manns from Mansfield (Ohio) committed Thursday night and offensive tackle Oyenmwen “Junior” Uzebu (Alpharetta, Ga.) committed after Saturday’s spring game. The speedy Manns was the Gophers’ top wide receiver target and he committed to Minnesota after a visit earlier in the week at Wisconsin. Uzebu is the highest-ranked of Minnesota’s 10 commits so far.

A number of other three-star recruits also committed:

  • Quarterback El Julian Jordan from Central (Detroit) to Western Michigan.
  • Guard Bryce Bay from Bixby (Okla.) to Oklahoma State.
  • Guard Titus Jones from Edna Karr (New Orleans) to Memphis.
  • Wide receiver Tevaillance Hunt from Texas (Texarkana, Texas) to Kansas.
  • Wide receiver Chris Carter from South Dade (Homestead, Fla.) to South Florida.

 

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