InterTubing: Hotlanta’s best dunker and rites of Spring

We're not out of the dunking/happy bombing woods, yet, but the gradual saturation of baseball and softball homers and the occasional big grab are a sure sign that the seasons are changing. There are plenty of other litmus tests, but watching a lacrosse defenseman finish a marvelous run down the field with a terrific goal is almost as good as the budding of cherry blossoms, isn't it?

• Brian Rouse, R.E.D.A. (Ont.) vs. YAAACE (Ont.): Rouse and his Regional Elite Development Academy teammates needed three shots at the Canadian prep championship to take home the title, but they finally got it done against YAACE, thanks in no small part to Rouse's explosiveness, which he showed off on this dynamic dunk.

• Kenneth Gaines, Whitfield (Ga.) Academy: If Rouse is one of Canada's best young dunkers, Gaines is most definitely the best in Atlanta, an honor recently bestowed upon him by no less than the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which polled its readers to determine which of the area's best athletes has the most impressive dunks. As you can see below, there was ample reason to vote for Gaines.

• Jake Heagen, John Glenn (Oh.) vs. Chillicothe (Oh.): John Glenn High built up a massive 19-point lead in a tournament game against Chillicothe, yet watched nearly the entire lead evaporate in the second half. Luckily, the Muskies had a great escape to lean back on: the athleticism of Jake Heagen, who helped take control of the game back when his team desperately needed him.

• Kayden Calder, Rich (Utah) vs. Monticello (Utah): People can accuse Kayden Calder of any number of things. Not following through on promises isn't one of them. He proved that by delivering on a pledge that the team would win to Rich seniors Parker Stuart and Cody Groll, both of whom fouled out in what could have been their final high school game. Not only did Calder come through, he did so with a buzzer beating three-pointer in double overtime, then immediately reminded both Stuart and Groll exactly what he'd promised. If that isn't a gutsy move, we don't know is.

• Jacob Atchley, Centennial (Texas) vs. Plano (Texas): Great outfield grabs are always impressive, but when a player willfully puts himself in harm's way, that tends to make the resulting outs even more impressive. Case in point: This grab by Atchley, who collided with the fence as he brought in a drive to the fence by a Plano batter.

• Triston Stegall, Charlotte (N.C.) Providence vs. Greensboro (N.C.) Page: What's better than a full-field run from a close defenseman which leads to an amazing long range goal? A full-field run from a close defenseman which leads to a goal made with deft stickwork ... with a long pole. Clearly, this goal by Stegall fits firmly in the latter category.

• Amanda Howard, Chapin (Texas): We're not sure who Chapin scored this goal against, but we know it was impressive for three different reasons: 1) It was an impressive strike in and of itself, 2) It was the only goal in her team's 1-0 victory, and 3) She was just about the last person likely to score, considering the fact that she played as Chapin's goalie in the game. Now that is a surefire player of the game, no?

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Related: boys basketball, Texas, YouTube, highlights, baseball, InterTubing, Ohio, Utah, lacrosse

View the original article here

InterTubing: More great grabs and some nifty slams

How do you know when one sports season is fading into another? The proliferation of slam dunk highlights at the expense of touchdown grabs is one pretty good sign. That's been the case over the past couple of weeks (InterTubing was off in a tryptophan-induced nap last week), with some pretty amazing slams and buzzer beaters popping up. Until they're completely out, however, we have to start with the touchdown grabs which won't stick around for much longer.

• Shaban Shatku, Tottenville (N.Y.) vs. Curtis (N.Y.): We've tripped across plenty of impressive one-handed grabs over the course of the 2010 season, but none may have been more impressive than this grab by Shatku, who helped lift Tottenville to an impressive win on Staten Island with a miraculous, bobbling one-handed grab. It's a wonder he wasn't using stick'em on those gloves ...

• Dominic Camacho, San Pedro (Calif.) vs. Narbonne (Calif.) and Carson (Calif.): Two is better than one, right? With that in mind, enjoy these two amazing grabs from San Pedro wide receiver Dominic Camacho, who somehow stayed in bounds on the first to eke out a game-winning touchdown against Narbonne in his team's season-finale. That game followed an earlier matchup in which he sold out for an astounding diving catch on a fourth-quarter, fourth down play against Carson.

• Rodney Purvis, Upper Room Christian Academy (N.C.): How good is Upper Room Christian Academy's Rodney Purvis? Just check out this clip from the team's home-opening win, in which the blue chip recruit threw down a filthy slam, then hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired. Suddenly, Rick Pitino's salivating make a bit more sense.

• Christian Jones, Arlington Bowie (Texas): During the DFW Thansgiving Hoopfest, tournament organizers decided to add in a dunkfest. That turned out to be a typically terrific idea, featuring a host of amazing dunks, but none more impressive than this effort from Christian Jones: a reverse 360 with an under-the-legs revolution.

• Austin Rivers, Winter Park (Fla.) vs. Evans (Fla.): Austin Rivers is the top hoops prospect in the country for a reason. Or, more accurately, for a number of reasons. One of them is his athleticism, which was on full display on this fastbreak, where he threw down a dunk off a backboard alley-oop in the middle of a game. Somewhere, Coach K is smiling already.

• Ryan Skurdal, Rocky Mountain (Idaho): At the end of games, Rocky Mountain High School has already developed a standard protocol: Get the ball to junior guard Ryan Skurdal and get the heck out of the way. Amazingly, that worked brilliantly twice in the past week, with Skurdal connecting on two buzzer-beaters for wins against Idaho rivals.

• Trevor Peterson, Leigh (Calif.) vs. Milpitas (Calif.): Leigh and Milpitas found themselves incredibly evenly matched in the two teams' season openers, but the Longhorns had one last ace up their sleeves: A 35-foot three-pointer from junior guard Trevor Peterson, which lifted Leigh to a dramatic come-from-behind win. The guard also nailed a three with less than 20 seconds left to pull Leigh within a point, setting the stage for his bigger heroics.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

View the original article here