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Christian PoPoola Jr., among the game's best dunkers, commits to BYU

August 5, 2016, 5:23 am
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Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) guard Christian PoPoola Jr., regarded as one of the top dunkers in the high school game, announced his commitment to Brigham Young on Twitter.

PoPoola returns to Utah, where he played for Lone Peak (Highland) as a sophomore before transferring to Gorman and helping the Gaels to a Nevada state title.

PoPoola dropped jaws with his performance in winning the dunk contest last season at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in California and the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Missouri.

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Zion Williamson takes over top spot in 247Sports' 2018 basketball player rankings

August 5, 2016, 10:15 am
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(Photo: Zion Williamson)

(Photo: Zion Williamson)

Zion Williamson, a junior-to-be at Spartanburg (S.C.) Day School, has risen to the top of 247Sports.com’s recruit rankings, overtaking Marvin Bagley.

RELATED: Versatile Zion Williamson getting plenty of notice at NBA Players Top 100 camp

Williamson has made a splash this summer, drawing attention from various powerhouse programs. According to 247Sports, Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Clemson, and North Carolina are favorites to land the 6-7 combo forward.

VIDEO: Zion Williamson dunks, gym goes crazy

It’s easy to see why. His versatility certainly stands out, as Williamson hit a growth spurt during his freshman year, allowing for him to develop and maintain guard skills while possessing a power forward’s body.

“I love it when coaches don’t talk about which position they see me at,” Williamson told Jason Jordan last month. “When they just refer to me as a basketball player and talk about all of the different positions they can see me playing in, I definitely listen more.”

That’s some helpful advice for college coaches, and below is evidence of Williamson’s raw power and athleticism.

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Receiver Osiris St. Brown picks Stanford instead of following brother to Notre Dame

August 5, 2016, 12:37 pm
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Osiris St. Brown (Photo: 247Sports)

Osiris St. Brown (Photo: 247Sports)

Osiris St. Brown, a four-star wide receiver recruit from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), committed to Stanford on Friday.

St. Brown had narrowed his choices to Stanford and Notre Dame, where his brother, Equanimeous, plays wide receiver.

“My brother understands I wanted to make my own decision,” Osiris told Bleacher Report. “He respected that. He told me to go to the school that best fit me. I guess you could say I’m creating my own path.”

The third St. Brown brother to play wide receiver, Class of 2018’s Amonra, is considering Notre Dame.

The brothers were named for Egyptian gods. Their father, John, was named Mr. Universe in 1981 and ’82, and is a three-time Mr. World champion in 1981, ’83 and ’84.

As a junior, St. Brown caught 43 passes for 884 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is ranked as the No. 20 receiver recruit in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

 

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USC adds pair of four-star recruits: Hunter Echols, Alija Vera-Tucker

August 6, 2016, 7:55 am
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USC has not been gathering commitments from too many recruits in the Class of 2017 and entered Friday with one five-star and one four-star among its 11 commitments.

That changed with the addition of four-star defensive end Hunter Echols (Cathedral, Los Angeles) and offensive tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland). Both are ranked in the top 100.

Echols is ranked as the No. 7 weakside defensive end in the class by the 247Sports Composite and No. 14 in California. Vera-Tucker is ranked as the No. 15 offensive tackle and No. 12 player in the state.

Each announced the commitment on Twitter.

Echols’ commitment was met with a unique reaction from Keyshawn Johnson Jr., a Nebraska commit. Echols has a visit scheduled to Nebraska on Sept. 3. It is unclear whether he intends to keep those plans.

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Five-star guard Troy Brown Jr. sets his official visits

August 7, 2016, 5:02 am
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Troy Brown (Photo: USA Basketball)

Troy Brown (Photo: USA Basketball)

Five-star guard Troy Brown Jr. from Centennial (Las Vegas) announced the schedule for his five official visits on Twitter.

Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Kansas and Georgetown will host him this fall.

Brown is ranked as the No. 4 small forward in the Class of 2017 and No. 14 player overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

He recently had narrowed his list to eight. Arizona, California and UNLV are the three schools among the eight that he won’t visit officially, but he has taken unofficial visits to all three.

Brown has not indicated when he plans to make a decision. In his most recent blog for USA TODAY High School Sports, Brown said, “I’m definitely not in a rush for anything,” but acknowledged he was moving closer by cutting his list.

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Four-star defensive end Jordan Williams commits to Clemson

August 7, 2016, 6:19 am
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Four-star defensive end Jordan Williams committed to Clemson in front of more than 100 family members and friends.

Williams from Cox High in Virginia Beach, Va., is ranked as the No. 11 weakside defensive end in the Class of 2017 by the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Williams had more than 30 scholarship offers but his final four was Clemson, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Ohio State also was among the five schools he announced in June.

He had taken an unofficial visit to Clemson two weeks ago.

“This was about a relationship I had built with the coaches,” Williams said, according to the Virginian Pilot. “They stayed in touch with me and they were always straight up with me. I never felt like they were recruiting me. It felt more like they were coaching me already, like they were already developing me into a great young man.”

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Huntington Prep basketball loading up with five new players

August 7, 2016, 6:40 am
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After a season in which it finished outside the Super 25 and did not make the DICK’S Nationals field, Huntington Pre (W.Va.) is loading up on a talent.

Five-star 2018 guard Keldon Johnson announced his transfer to Huntington Prep a few days ago, and now the school has announced a flurry of additions on Twitter.

As the tweets below show, that group includes 2017 shooting guard Gilles Dekoninck from Diest, Belgium; 2017 shooting guard Nigel Warden from Edmonton; 2017 guard Toby Ainger from Devon, England; and 2018 small forward Keyshawn Bryant from Winter Haven, Fla.

 

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WATCH: Pa.'s Talek Williams goes 360 between the legs to win Big Strick dunk contest

August 7, 2016, 6:56 am
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Talek Williams, a 6-2 guard from William Allen High in Pennsylvania, took home the dunk contest Saturday night at the annual Big Strick Classic at the famed Gauchos Gym in New York.

There’s not much more we can say about this 360 between the legs dunk, so just watch:

Here are more of the dunks that Williams showed in the contest:

And he was putting on a show before the Big Strick scrimmage the night before, too:

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ESPN's Paul Biancardi: Recruiting is 'a business of relationships'

August 7, 2016, 7:18 am
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We always love to share good recruiting advice here at USA TODAY High School Sports. See our weekly recruiting tip every Monday and column every Wednesday from our friends at Playced.com. We also have interviews with college coaches at all levels every Friday.

We were struck by these tweets from former college basketball coach and current ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi about the process. Good analysis worth sharing.

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Top 5 2018 QB Cameron Rising commits to Oklahoma

August 7, 2016, 10:56 am
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Cameron Rising, a four-star prospect ranked among the top 5 pro-style quarterbacks in the Class of 2018, committed to Oklahoma on Sunday.

Rising, from Newbury Park, Calif., visited Norman about two weeks ago during a tour of some of his top schools.

“I’ve always loved Oklahoma,” Rising told 247Sports.com. “When I went there it blew me away. I loved everything about it. The coaches are great. It’s one of the best programs in the country.”

Rising, who already had 19 offers, threw for more than 3,200 yards as a junior with 40 touchdowns and only one interception.

He is the third commit for the Sooners in the Class of 2018.

 

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Meet the past Super 25 football champions

August 7, 2016, 2:00 pm
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Bishop Gorman plays at Reed on Saturday in a state semifinal football game.

Bishop Gorman will be attempting a Super 25 three-peat this year (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

USA TODAY Sports will name its 35th annual Super 25 football champion this season.

The initial Super 25 football rankings debuted in USA TODAY shortly after the newspaper’s inception in 1982.

Over the years, hundreds of teams have appeared in the rankings, but here are the 34 that can say they were the best in the nation with another to be added to the list in December.

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) is attempting to become the first school to three-peat since De La Salle’s amazing run of four in a row and five in six years from 1998 to 2003.

1982: Moeller, Cincinnati  (13-0)

1983: Berwick, Pa. (13-0)

1984: Valdosta, Ga.,  (15-0)

1985: East St. Louis (Ill.) Senior (14-0)

1986: Valdosta, Ga. (15-0)

1987:  North Hills,Pittsburgh  (13-0)

1988: Pine Forest, Pensacola, Fla.

1989: Cleveland St. Ignatius (13-0)

1990: Lawton (Okla) Eisenhower (14-0)

1991: LaGrange, Ga. (15-0)

1992: Berwick, Pa. (15-0)

1993: St. Ignatius, Cleveland (14-0)

1994: Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (14-0)

1995: Berwick, Pa. (15-0)

1996: Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (14-0)

1997: McKinley, Canton, Ohio (14-0)

1998: De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (12-0)

1999: Lee, Midland, Texas (15-0)

2000: De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (13-0)

2001: De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (12-0)

2002: De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (13-0)

2003: De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (13-0)

2004: Southlake (Texas) Carroll (16-0)

2005: Lakeland, Fla. (15-0)

2006: Southlake (Texas) Carroll (16-0)

2007: Northwestern, Miami, Fla. (15-0)

2008: St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (15-0)

2009: Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (12-0)

2010: South Panola, Batesville, Miss. (15-0)

2011: Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (11-0)

2012: John Curtis, River Ridge, La. (14-0)

2013: Booker T. Washington, Miami (14-0)

2014: Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (15-0)

2015: Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (15-0)

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Luke Blanock, Western Pa. athlete who inspired with his courage, dies at age 19

August 8, 2016, 5:05 am
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Luke Blanock, a Pennsylvania high school athlete who inspired his Western Pennsylvania community and beyond with his courageous fight against cancer, died Sunday. He was 19.

Blanock, a basketball and baseball player from Canon-McMilllan High in Canonsburg, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in December 2013. His diagnosis led to an outpouring of support and the hashtag #LukeStrong.

A year later, Blanock was back on the basketball court, remaining strong and undaunted.

In March 2015, doctors discovered a tumor in his left leg, but he went back to the mound during a baseball tournament in South Carolina and pitched and appeared in four games.

By November, doctors feared the worst. Blanock proposed to his girlfriend, Natalie Britvich, and the two were married in a ceremony in February through donations from the community. There was not a dry eye in the house.

They honeymooned, with their parents, in Florida and met members of the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training.

Blanock walked in graduation ceremonies and received his diploma.

“He was the absolute best, a warrior from the onset,” Canon-McMillian baseball coach Frank Zebrasky told the News-Observer. “He looked at things right in the eye and attacked them. That’s what he’s done. He took this as another battle.”

 

An outpouring of support on social media followed his death.

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USA Baseball wins silver medal at 12U Pan Am 'A' Championships

August 8, 2016, 5:38 am
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Host Mexico scored seven runs in the fifth innings to down USA Baseball’s 12U National Team 10-3 as the Americans took home the silver medal in the COPABE Pan Am “A” Championships in Puebla.

Only four of Mexico’s runs were earned Sunday as it beat Team USA for the second consecutive day.

Mexico won 11-3 on Saturday. Mexico finished the tournament with a 9-0 record; Team USA was 7-2.

Team USA took a 3-0 lead, but Mexico tied the game in the third on one hit and an error. After that, the Mexicans relief pitchers held the Americans to just three hits the rest of the way.

The defense turned four double plays, but the U.S. couldn’t overcome seven walks in the game.

Karson Bowen went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

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Plant (Fla.) receiver 'Whop' Phiylor might have the best nickname in high school football

August 8, 2016, 7:15 am
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The high school sports season always lends itself to some great nicknames.

One of the best might be “Whop” Phiylor, a three-star wide receiver at Plant in Tampa.

Phiylor’s given first name is Mister, but he’s been “Whop” since he was a little kid.

Here’s why as he told BigCountryPreps.com: When I was little, my dad and I would always go to Burger King. And at first, I asked him, ‘what’s the name of number one?’ He told me that it was a Whopper, and from there, I would always get a Whopper every time we went to BK. One day, he just decided to nickname me ‘Whop,’ and I’ve had it ever since.”

As for his last name, “I’m black and Cuban, so maybe it’s the Cuban side of me. I do know that I’m the last boy in my family to have the last name, so it’s pretty cool.”

Phiylor had 49 receptions for 697 yards and five touchdowns last season for Plant, which reached the postseason for the 11th consecutive year.

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Top 5 pro-style passer Jack Sears commits to Duke

August 8, 2016, 8:01 am
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Jack Sears. (Photo: 247Sports.com)

Jack Sears. (Photo: 247Sports.com)

Another top quarterback in the Class of 2017 is off the board.

Jack Sears from San Clemente, Calif., has committed to Duke, as announced on his high school team’s Twitter feed.

Sears is ranked as the No. 5 pro style passer in the class by the 247Sports Composite rankings and had 26 reported offers, including much of the Pac-12.

“He’s a very smart quarterback, always poised and a natural leader,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins said. “He throws with very good touch and accuracy and he’s only scratching the surface of how good he can be. There is a ton of upside with Sears and we think he’s going to be a tremendous player at the next level.”

With Sears’ commitment, all but one of the top 34-ranked pro style passers has committed. Judd Erickson from Mountain Vista in Colorado is the lone holdout.

 

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Meet the 2016 Super 25 Preseason Football teams

August 8, 2016, 8:05 am
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USA TODAY High School Sports is announcing its Super 25 preseason football rankings beginning Monday at 10 a.m. ET with one team being revealed each half-hour for Nos. 25 to 16. We will begin with No. 15 at 10 am ET on Tuesday through No. 6 and then the Top 5 and “on the bubble” teams will be revealed beginning at 10 ET on Wednesday.

Each post contains analysis and key players from USA TODAY Sports’ Jim Halley, schedule and more.

The Super 25 has been a staple of USA TODAY for more than 30 years and highlights the best teams around the nation.

MORE: Who are the past 34 Super 25 football champions?

POLL: Which season opener are you most looking forward to?

LOOKBACK: Final 2015 Super 25 rankings

Click on a team below for more information.

Rank Team 2015 Final Ranking 2015 record

25

 Fort Dorchester (North Charleston, S.C.) Unranked 15-0

24

  Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)  Unranked  9-3

23

  Chandler (Ariz.)  Unranked  11-2

22

  Petal (Miss.)  Unranked  10-5

21

  Warren Central (Indianapolis)  Unranked  8-4

20

  St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)  11  13-1

19

  Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)  Unranked  11-2

18

  Allen (Texas)  20  14-1

17

  Central Catholic (Pittsburgh)  Unranked  15-1

16

  John Curtis (River Ridge, La.)  Unranked  7-2

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

 

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Norristown (Pa.) football team looking clean, gets free haircuts before practice starts

August 9, 2016, 5:39 am
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Regardless of how it practices, the Norristown (Pa.) Area High School football team will look clean doing it.

A local barbershop, Celebrity Styles, is giving the players free haircuts.

“We love Norristown High. I was in Norristown High football, and we know how it is once football starts. You really can’t get a part time job and pay $20 or $25 for a haircut because you’ve got schoolwork and practice,” shop owner Paul Owens said, according to the Norristown Times Herald.

“When we see somebody that’s trying, kids getting good grades, we’re for all that. We give them free haircuts, we give out books to young kids. We’re about the community. We’re about making change around here. It’s about the kids, It’s about the youth.”

The gesture was clearly appreciated.

“It means a lot,” senior Tyler Tate said. “It means that the town is looking out for us and we know that they have our back.”

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Jerry Jones' grandson battling for QB spot at Highland Park in Texas

August 9, 2016, 6:00 am
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen take in #txhsfb to watch John Stephen Jones at Highland Park.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen watch John Stephen Jones at Highland Park last season (Photo: WFAA)

Highland Park (University Park, Texas) has a quarterback battle on its hands this summer, and one of the players involved has a last name that resonates in Dallas and beyond.

John Stephen Jones, a junior , is the grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son of Stephen Jones, the Cowboys’ CEO and player personnel director.

MORE: Debut of HS football at Cowboys’ $1.5B practice facility is sold out

John Stephen is battling with seniors Michael Clarke and Jack Fain. Clarke attempted 11 passes last season, according to the Dallas Morning News, making him the most experienced QB on the roster.

“They were so even coming out of spring training that we’re going to give it some more time,” coach Randy Allen said. “We’ll see how it plays out.”

Highland Park moves from being one of the smallest schools in 6A to one of the largest in 5A under the state’s new classification system.

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VIDEO: Watch the 'Running of the Vaqueros' as community shows love for HS program

August 9, 2016, 6:55 am
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The El Capitan football team in Lakeside, Calif., continued a really cool annual tradition for the start of practice.

The members of the football program jog through the streets for the annual “Running of the Vaqueros,” now in its 11th year, according to KUSI in San Diego, which captured the event as it happened in the video below. The school’s athletic programs are named Vaqueros.

The streets are lined with fans and community members who cheer on and high-five the players and cheerleaders as they go by. Lakeside in San Diego County has a population of about 20,000.

El Capitan has not had much success on the field, but the love from the community is another example of what makes high school sports great.

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How good was Tim Tebow as a high school baseball player?

August 9, 2016, 9:13 am
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Nease (Fla.) High quarterback Tim Tebow throws a pass during Saturday’s game at Hoover High School. Tebow was home-schooled. The bill, which would allow home-schooled students to participate in sports at their zoned public school, passed the state’s House of Representatives last month. The Senate is considering it and is expected to pass it

Nease (Fla.) High quarterback Tim Tebow who went on to win the Heisman and play in the NFL (Photo: Contributed)

“Six-tool player.”

Those are the words that former Nease High (Ponte Vedre, Fla.) baseball coach Greg “Boo” Mullins used to describe Tim Tebow on the diamond. Mullins coached Tebow for two seasons, including his junior year in 2005, the last time Tebow played baseball full time.

“Everybody should know this: He wasn’t just a great football player, he was a great baseball player, too,” Mullins told The Sporting News in 2013. “I believe he could have played in the big leagues.”

Now, Tebow is willing to give it a shot, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. All 30 major leagues teams will be invited to a tryout that he has been working toward for more than a year.

TEBOW & BASEBALL: Could it happen?

As a junior, Tebow hit .494 with four home runs, 30 RBI and 10 doubles on a team that reached the state Final Four before losing to Winter Haven. A left-handed hitter with power — and a good arm, of course — he was named all-state that year.

“Everybody should know this: He wasn’t just a great football player, he was a great baseball player, too,” Mullins said. “I believe he could have played in the big leagues.”

Mullins projected Tebow could have been drafted in Rounds 7 to 12 out of high school and could have pushed up to a second-rounder if he also played baseball at Florida.

A number of MLB teams considered drafting him out of high school, but also were wary of wasting a draft pick on a player who clearly intended to focus on football.

Tebow was home-schooled but played football, baseball and basketball at Nease.

 

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