Salt Lake Metro Hooptalk

By Coach Dave Hammer

Salt Lake Metro Club Basketball Pool Party


Saturday August 28 we will be having our Salt Lake Metro Club Basketball Pool Party.  We have rented out the Kearns Oquirrh Park Outdoor Dive Pool from 8pm to 11pm.


Kearns Oquirrh Park is located at 5624 South 4800 West in Kearns, UT.

We will be having swimming, diving and food.  Please let Coach Hammer know if you will be attending.  Parents interested in helping with the party/food should contact Coach Hammer.

We look forward to seeing everyone it will be a nice way to finish off the highly successful 2010 club season.  We will be honoring the members of the Salt Lake Metro Black team that won the Las Vegas Fab 48 tournament at the party.
 
 

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Posted by david hammer at 8/22/2010 6:23 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Sammie Jensen commits to Utah Valley State

Kamille Lisonbee has signed with High Point and will play for the Panthers in the 2010-2011 season.




Congratulations to Kamille on her scholarship.   Kamille is the sixth player in 2010 to commit to a d-1 school.  Her commitment brings the total number of 2010 Girls Metro players moving on to play college basketball to 24.


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Posted by david hammer at 8/22/2010 6:18 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Dee Crandall signs with Northwest College

Dee Crandall  has signed with the Northwest College Trappers in Powell, WY and will play for them this season.  

Congratulations to Dee on your scholarship. Congratulations to Scott. His commitment brings the total number of 2010 Boys Metro players moving on to play college basketball to 15.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/22/2010 5:50 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Brant to become a Wolverine

Brant Mecham has verbally comitted to Utah Valley University . Brant will sign a letter of intent with the Wolverines in November.  Brant will join former Metro players Eric Dearden, Aaron England and Jason Holm as Wolverines at Utah Valley.


Utah Valley State Wolverines

Congratulations to Brant on your scholarship.  He is the first player in the class of 2011 to commit to a d-1 school.  His commitment brings the total number of 2011 Boys Metro players that have received scholarships to 1.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/13/2010 3:16 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Xan Ricketts to Simon Fraser

Xan Ricketts has signed a letter of intent to Simon Fraser and will play for them next season. 




Congratulations to Xan. His commitment brings the total number of 2010 Boys Metro players moving on to play college basketball to 15.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/13/2010 3:03 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
THE SPECTRUM: Rachel Morris commits to University of Utah

Below is an article reprinted from the 

thespectrum.com 

Rachel Morris commits to
University of Utah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel Morris plays summer hoops with the Salt Lake Metro AAU basketball team. The 6-4 senior-to-be at Virgin Valley High School must really like the Salt Lake City area.

Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, Morris will play in the city for the next four years.

 

 

Morris ended all speculation about her future basketball plans by verbally committing to play for the University of Utah on Sunday evening.

“I called Coach (Anthony) Levrets after church,” Morris said. “He asked me if I had some good news for him and I said yes, I’m coming to Utah. He was really excited.”

NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from talking about incoming recruits until they receive a signed national letter of intent. Morris will sign her letter during the official signing period in November.

“I talked to (Utah assistant coach) Lana (Sitterud) Sunday night and all I can say is they’re really excited,” Virgin Valley head coach Chimane Creer said. “With this decision out of the way, she can get on with her senior year and have a good time.”

UNLV, Portland and Pepperdine were also interested in Morris, especially the Lady Rebels.

“I called UNLV last week and told them I wasn’t coming to Las Vegas,” Morris said. “It was hard to tell them no. I’m just relieved this is over. Now, I can start working on my schooling.”

Being in a familiar place was a big factor in Morris’ decision to choose Utah.

“I’ve played in Salt Lake the last two years,” Morris said. “I felt like playing at Utah is where I need to be. I just feel more comfortable at Utah.”

Another factor is beginning in 2011, the Lady Utes will leave the Mountain West Conference in which they won seven of the past 11 league championships. They will move to the prestigious PAC-12 Conference where, instead of playing UNLV, BYU, Colorado State and Air Force, Morris and the Lady Utes will go up against powerhouse programs like Stanford, Oregon, USC, UCLA and California.

“It’ll will be way cool to play in the PAC-12 for four years,” Morris said. “It will be a big challenge.”

Creer is looking forward to watching Morris at the next level.

“I think this will be good for Rachel to play at Utah and play in the PAC-12,” Creer said. “She’s had a good summer and played well in tournaments in Oregon, Indiana and San Diego. She’s starting to feel more comfortable on the floor.”

Morris averaged 11.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 5.2 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a junior last season in leading Virgin Valley to the Southern 3-A Conference championship and a berth in the state 3-A semifinals. Morris has also obliterated the Nevada prep record for blocked shots in a season and career with her senior year still to come.

By committing to Utah, Morris becomes the third Lady Bulldog player to play for a Division I program joining Lori Brotherson (UNLV) and Mindy Stuart (Southern Utah).

“With Rachel committing to Utah, the younger kids can look to that and see what is available to them,” Creer said. “It also shows you don’t need to be at a big school to get a chance to play at the next level.”

Morris will be the second player from a small school in southern Nevada to play at Utah in the last five years.

Kalee Whipple, who played four years for the Lady Utes and was named to the All-Mountain West Conference team for three years, played at Pahranagat Valley High School in Alamo a class 1-A school.

Virgin Valley’s Rachel Morris, right, scores over a Davis High School defender during a recent team camp at VVHS. The 6-4 center verbally committed to play Division I basketball at the University of Utah of the PAC-12 Conference beginning with the 2011-12 school year.
Virgin Valley’s Rachel Morris, right, scores over a Davis High School defender during a recent team camp at VVHS. The 6-4 center verbally committed to play Division I basketball at the University of Utah of the PAC-12 Conference beginning with the 2011-12 school year. (Desert Valley Times Archives)

 

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Posted by david hammer at 8/11/2010 7:18 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
BYUCOUGARS.COM: Emery Named to NABC Honors Court

Below is an article reprinted from BYUCOUGARS.com

Emery Named to NABC Honors Court
by Kyle Chilton, BYU Athletic Communications 




       (BYU Photo/Mark Philbrick)
PROVO, Utah (Aug. 5, 2010) – BYU guard Jackson Emery has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court for 2009-10, the organization has announced. Emery is one of seven players from the Mountain West Conference to earn honors.

The NABC Honors Court recognizes collegiate basketball student-athletes who excel in academics during the season. It also acknowledges the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.

Emery enjoyed a standout junior season in which he was named second-team All-MWC, the MWC All-Defensive Team and All-District by the NABC and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Emery also earned Academic All-MWC honors and was named a High-Major All-America Honorable Mention by CollegeHoops.net. Emery averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 boards and 2.7 assists while setting a BYU record with 91 steals.

In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria, which includes: being a junior or senior academically and a varsity player, having a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2009-10 academic year, having matriculated at least one year at their current institution and also being a member of a NCAA Division I, II, III or NAIA institution.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/11/2010 6:59 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
NEVADAPREPS.COM: RECRUITING: Virgin Valley's Morris commits to Utah

The following is an excerpt from an article at NEVADAPREPS.COM

 
  nevadapreps.com 

 
RECRUITING: Virgin Valley's Morris commits to Utah

POSTED: Thursday, August 5, 2010

Virgin Valley girls basketball player Rachel Morris has committed to Utah.

Morris, who will be a senior center next season, chose the Utes over scholarship offers from UNLV and Utah State, said her mother, Bernice Morris.

“She’s familiar with the area. She’s excited about being in the Pac-12,” Bernice Morris said.

The 6-foot-4-inch Rachel Morris averaged 11.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game as a junior, earning Class 3A all-state honors and helping the Bulldogs win the 3A Southern League title.

Rachel Morris, who has starred on the summer circuit with Salt Lake Metro, also received interest from North Carolina State, Pepperdine and Portland.

With a total of 474 blocked shots in her first three seasons, Rachel Morris is believed to already hold the state record, according to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record book. The previous mark of 426 from 1997 to 2000 belonged to Mineral County’s Ashlee Omdorff.

 

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Posted by david hammer at 8/10/2010 6:10 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Prep Basketball: Utah club team captures national tourney crown

Below is an article reprinted from the Salt Lake Tribune 


Prep Basketball: Utah club team captures national tourney crown


By Jay Drew
Updated: 7/27/2010


Las Vegas • For the first time since 1997, a Utah-based club basketball team has won a major national high school-age tournament.

The Salt Lake Metro Black club team, directed by Dave Hammer, won the championship of 64-team Las Vegas Fab 48 tournament here Sunday night (17-and-under open division) with a 68-48 victory over a the Dallas-based Southwest Elite.

“It’s a pretty big accomplishment for these kids,” Hammer said.

The team, which was not part of the more prestigious Invitational Division, went 8-0 in its division, and Nick Emery, a sophomore-to-be at Lone Peak High School, earned all-tournament honors. Emery already has scholarship offers from BYU, Utah and others, and coaches from both those schools watched almost every game Metro Black played in the tournament.

In the quarterfinals, Emery scored 43 points to key a 76-73 win over the Las Vegas Desert Storm.

In the second round of bracket play, Bountiful High’s McKay LaSalle made eight three-pointers en route to 34 points in an 86-80 win over the San Diego Warriors.

The Salt Lake team also beat Franchize Red of Texas and the Arizona Stars in bracket play. In pool play, they downed all-star teams from Arizona, Washington and California.

Team members included Timpview’s Ryan Sagers, East’s Parker Van Dyke (the only other sophomore on the team, besides Emery), Layton Christian’s Hardy Weissohn, Juab’s Dallin Kay, Morgan’s Casey Evans, East’s Jack Larson and LaSalle.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/10/2010 6:02 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
9th Annual Barton Basketball Academy Summer Basketball Camp


One of our former Metro players and current Metro Coach Brad Barton will be hosting his annual Barton Basketball Academy Camp.  Brad was recently named the men's interim head coach at College of Eastern Utah.

The 9th Annual Barton Basketball Academy Summer Basketball Camp will be held at Davis High School August 10-13 (Tuesday - Friday)

 

1st Session – Entering 3rd through 8th grade: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

2nd Session – Entering 9th through 12th grade: 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Cost $75 per person

Advanced registration is very much appreciated! You may register first day of camp if space is available.

Tear off the form below and send it with payment to Bret Barton at: 67 East 400 North Farmington,

2010 Barton Basketball Academy Camp Flyer

Contact Chris Romney 801-390-5338 with any questions.

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Posted by david hammer at 8/7/2010 12:00 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)