The tournament showcased top talent from across the country and gave players a chance to show off their skills in highly competitive games in front of top college coaches, scouts, as well as media. Check out the highlight video below from the action at Lynwood High School.

The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, announced on Friday that Corey Hawkins of Estrella Foothills High School is its 2009-10 Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Hawkins as Arizona’s best high school boys basketball player.

Hawkins is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior guard led the Wolves (31-1) to their third straight Class 3A state title this past season, averaging 36 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 3.7 assists per game.

The returning Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year finished his career as the state’s all-time career scoring leader with 3,154 points and also set the single-season scoring record with 1,152 points this winter.

The 2010 Arizona Republic Small Schools Player of the Year, Hawkins scored a season-high 65 points in a win over Chino Valley High on Feb. 2.

Hawkins has maintained a 3.14 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally as a youth basketball camp counselor and participated in a humanitarian effort to collect and send shoes to earthquake victims in Haiti.

“Corey Hawkins has a work ethic unlike any player I’ve ever coached and he’s made himself one of the most complete basketball players in the state,” said Estrella Foothills High Head Coach Ty Amundsen. “He has made such an enormous impact on our team and on our program as a whole.”

Hawkins joins recent Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Players of the Year Taylor Rohde (2007-08, Pinnacle) and Jerryd Bayless (2006-07, St. Mary’s) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Hawkins has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Arizona State University this fall.

Typically the Lincoln Hornets are known for their second half play, but on Friday night they came out of the gate ready to play and built a 9-0 lead before St. Francis was able to score. By the end of the first eight minutes of play, both Victor Dean and Norman Powell had 9 points each.

The Lancers struggled to keep the deficit below double digits while the Lincoln Hornets continued their streak of explosive third quarter play rode a 22-9 run to their 24^th straight win and a state title. Even with a commitment to shoot lights out from beyond the arc the St. Francis Lancers could not overcome a 23 point fourth quarter deficit that was largely credited to the combination of Dean and Powell. Dean and Powell scored 24 points apiece and combined for 15 rebounds.

Overcome with emotion Coach Jason Bryant expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance. “This is special, for San Diego and for Lincoln High,” said the third-year coach. “I knew at the beginning of the year the pieces of the puzzle were there.”

After 30 years a team from the CIF San Diego Section finally won a boys state title in Division I or Division II. It was only appropriate that the team that won the trophy was one of San Diego areas most historically significant programs. Victor Dean is heading to Fresno State as a football recruit and costar Norman Powell looks to be a legitimate future D-I prospect.

The Lincoln Hornets started out the season with the goal of taking the Division II state title and they are just steps away from it. A balanced team, with strong performances coming from many members, this week senior forward Victor Dean took the chance to step up against Compton. A captain for Lincoln, Dean scored a game high 19 points, the majority of which came after the half as Lincoln picked up momentum to take the lead after being down in the first half. Lincoln defeated Compton 60-52 and secured the Southern California Section D-II Title. Dean was also named to the first team for the All San Diego Section Basketball Team. Dean and the Lincoln Hornets will face off against Mountainview St. Francis in Bakersfield this weekend in search of the state title.

To view Victor’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/vdean

Highlight Video and Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

–Story and video courtesy 619Sports.net

The Eastlake Boys Basketball team is currently in first place in the Mesa League with help from senior guard, Dillon Doria. The Eastlake Titans beat out Hilltop High School last week while Doria led his team with 20 points in the win. “We showed that we’re the dominant team in the South Bay,” Doria told the San Diego Reader. Doria also scored an impressive 23 points and had 10 rebounds in a win over Mater Dei Catholic. In the Coaches vs. Cancer event, Doria contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds to help his team over take Horizon High School.  Eastlake now leads the league by two games.

To view Dillon’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/ddoria

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Frankie Bamford is an extremely talented sophomore forward at La Jolla Country Day. Consistently putting up double digits, Bamford is fast becoming the go to player for his team. In a tough loss to the Francis Parker, Bamford had a double- double leading his team with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Bamford followed up one double-double game with another. In a win over Santa Fe Christian, Bamford finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots while he helped his team to another win by finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds to beat out Clairemont. Bamford also led his team with 17 points in a loss to the Bishop’s School.

To view Frankie’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/fbamford

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

It’s still early in the season and Katie Kuklok is already a repeat Athlete of the Week.  Kuklok became the all-time leading scorer for Poway Girls Basketball this past week. The 5’9” forward is only a junior and broke the record while having an 18 point game in a win over Vista. Kuklok hit the record early in her career compared to those that came before her and still has plenty of time to rack up points beyond it.  Kuklok’s coach, Jay Trousdale, told the San Diego Union-Tribune: “‘We’ve had a lot of capable scorers in this program, but Katie is the pure gym rat,’ Trousdale said. ‘She’s gotten the record the right way while there’s been a lot of success as a team.’”

To view Katie’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/kkuklok

Scouting report and highlight video courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Escondido upset the No. 1 ranked Torrey Pines this past week with senior guard Joe Hudson leading his team with a career high of 40 points in the game. The final score was 69-64 with Hudson contributing more than half of Escondido’s points. He also made 9 of 10 free throws in the game. Hudson has been averaging 25.4 points per game and has nailed 72 three pointers on the season. Hudson is considered one of the best shooters on the West Coast, according to ESPNU, and can score from any spot on the floor. He has good burst speed and agility to separate himself from defenders. The 6′1″ captain is committed to Wyoming.

To view Joe’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/jhudson

Scouting report and highlight video courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

TEAM Northumbria star Cameron Gypsyn jets back into Tyneside this week – still on course to become a dual international for his adopted country.

The California-born forward holds a UK passport and has already represented Team GB in volleyball.

But Gypsyn tried out for Tim Lewis’s Team GB under-20 basketball squad last month.

And it is understood the TN rookie impressed at a talent identification camp showcasing the best of the country’s emerging hoops stars.

“Cameron has settled in well to the EBL second division and his numbers have made a few people sit up and take notice,” said skipper Chris Pearce.

“He was invited down to the talent camp after Team GB got in touch with our coach Greg Modzelewski.

“And now we’re just waiting to hear how he got on.”

Gypsyn is due to fly into Newcastle tomorrow after spending the festive period back home in the USA.

And TN’s versatile 6ft 7in close-season capture will be thrown straight back into the EBL action as Modzelewski’s men prepare for a gruelling double-header on the road.

“We’re away at Kent and Brixton this weekend, so it’ll be quite a shock after the Christmas break,” added Pearce.

“The bad weather hasn’t affected our practice schedule too much, though, and we’re in pretty confident mood.

“We’re traditionally strong heading into the second half of the season, but we have plenty of work to do if we’re going to climb the table.”

—Full Article at Chronicle Live

—See Cameron’s Full SportsForce profile here