The WEST COAST is BACK!

Yeah, you read that right...

The West Coast is BACK! No, Dre hasn't dropped the "Detox" yet, and Shaq hasn't rejoined the Lakers... I'm talkin' about the HS/College Hoop Scene...

The Pac-10 was already among the top conferences in the country, and this years FR Class did nothing but make it even stronger with the additions of numerous All Americans to rosters up and down the conference. From OJ Mayo & Davon Jefferson at USC, James Harden at Arizona State, Jerryd Bayless & Jamelle Horne at Arizona, Kevin Love at UCLA, and so on...

What I'm talking about is the Next Class of hoopers looking forward to gracing the courts up and down the Pac-10. Within the class of 2008 there is a group of 7 Guards, all hailing from the West Coast, who are skilled and talented enough to be ranked among the Nations Top 50 Players by many different publications... From Slam Magazine, Dime Magazine, Rise Magazine, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Scout.com, CSTV, Prep Stars, Rivals, Hoop Scoop Online, etc., the following "WestCoasters" are labeled as the Guards of the future.

I asked each of them their thoughts about the strength of the Pac-10, as well as what they think about the group of kids from the 08 class. The answers are below, along with a pic and a video of each player.


Brandon Jennings 6'2" PG, Oak Hill Academy (Compton, CA) *Committed to Arizona



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJpqtynQOAM

"There is a lot of strength in the Pac-10... I think with OJ Mayo and Kevin Love playin' in the Pac-10 helped it a lot. So their the ones that made it strong. Now the 08/09 class is going to be Crazy! You got me at AZ, you got Jrue and Malcolm at UCLA, then you got Zeke at Washington and Demar at USC! If the Pac-10 can't get any ESPN games after this year, than I don't know what else to do. You got 4 guys in the top 25 ranking from ESPN all going to the Pac-10 now... That's HEAT!"
"With the kids from the 08 class coming into the pac 10 next year, It's gonna be crazy... Everybody gonna wanna see me go at Jrue and Zeke and Malcolm, it's just a lot of good match-ups."


Jrue Holiday 6'4" SG, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, CA) *Committed to UCLA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ucbjbx8Ro0

"We tryin' to make the West coast the strongest conference in college basketball... We're also tryin to prove that the West Coast baller is realer and better than the East Coast Baller."
"I think we got the top players comin' into the Pac-10, and almost any Pac-10 team has a chance to get to the championship... But you know UCLA is goin back!"


Isaiah Thomas 5'9" PG, South Kent Academy (Tacoma, WA) *Committed to Washington



http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271552527/bctid192880237

"My thoughts are that the West Coast has always been there, it's just that we're getting better and better players every year. So the competition is coming through the West Coast (Pac-10) which means there's gonna be matchups every game, every night, and you're gonna have to bring that A game or you're gonna get embarrased... The strength of the Pac-10 is gonna be tough night in and night out. You're gonna have someone comin' after your heart, and I think that's good because it's gonna show which players really belong in that type of conference, and which players don't... I'm gonna be one of those players that's comin after everybody, so ya'll better look out for me next season"


Jerime Anderson 6'2" PG, Canyon HS (Anaheim, CA) *Committed to UCLA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybx_dhVBrBg

"I feel like our class in general is helping to bring the West Coast Back! Everyone who's coming in from our class sooo real! Definitely gonna be the best league/conference in the country for a long time..."
"I think that a lot more kids just want to stay closer to home and their families. Especially now with the Pac-10 having the most prestigious programs, there's no point in going across the country."


Demar Derozan 6'6" SG, Compton HS (Compton, CA) *Committed to USC



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I-ywLk3860


Malcolm Lee 6'4" PG, North HS (Riverside, CA) *Committed to UCLA



http://ucla.scout.com/2/646714.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAtIaPr1qc

"I'm really excited. For the past few years the West has been slowly coming back to form. The EastCoast been runnin things for a while and now we gonna be up there with them. The Pac-10 is so strong rigth now, basically it's gonna be wars every night in our conference games, and that's what I'm about. I like to compete. I don't like to take the easy way out. The Pac-10 is to a point where it's like, Only the Strong Survive. The West Coast is back and we takin over... With Interest!"
"The West Coast is guard heavy in the 08 class, and now that the majority of us stayed in the Pac-10 is going to have one of the best Freshman Classes Nationally."


Larry Drew 6'0" PG, Taft HS (Woodland Hills, CA) *Committed to UNC



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbfy3nEcIs



As you can see, all but 1 of them are headed to Pac-10 programs.

Together these young men will help to keep the Pac-10 among the best conferences in the country for the next 3-4 years. Even though most of these guys are close with eachother, all of them are fiery competitors so expect som HEATED battles on the floor next season!

Oh, and here's some names to watch from the West out of the 2009 class... And ALL are considering Pac-10 programs...

Abdul Gaddy 6'3" PG, Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, WA) *Committed to Arizona

Michael Snaer 6'4" SG, Rancho Verde HS (Moreno Valley, CA)

Renardo Sidney 6'10" PF, Fairfax HS (Los Angeles, CA)

Avery Bradley 6'4" SG, Bellarmine Prep HS (Tacoma, WA)

Roberto Nelson 6'3" SG, Santa Barbara HS (Santa Barbara, CA)

Hollis Thompson 6'7" SG, Loyola HS (Los Angeles, CA)

Peyton Siva 6'0" PG, Franklin HS (Seattle, WA)

Jordan Hamilton 6'7" SF, Dominguez HS (Los Angeles, CA)

David Wear 6'10" PF, Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, CA)

Travis Wear 6'10" PF, Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, CA)



Yessir! It looks like the West is most definitely back, and from the looks of things it doesn't plan on going anywhere for awhile...


'Zo