Bishop McNamara vs. Gonzaga WCAC Boys Semifinal

Gonzaga advanced to the final game beating McNamara 80-63. McNamara guard Marcus Thornton (24), equipped with the purest of jump shots scored 35 points including eight three-pointers. But the real story was the ankle injury to super sophomore Kris Jenkins (2) of Gonzaga. As a result, he couldn't play during the championship game that Gonzaga eventually lost.

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Dunks and DeMatha

Last night the DeMatha Stags beat the Bishop McNamara Mustangs in front of a packed house at the new Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium on DeMatha's campus. It was a match-up of two pretty good teams in the area but the game was never really close with DeMatha earning a 64-53 victory. There are plenty of places to shoot in the Stags' new gym but I spent a little over a quarter of the game laying on my stomach trying to replicate the floor remotes used at NBA and college games. I didn't quite hit the jackpot but I was able to make a pretty cool gif animation of Jerami Grant dunking on a defensive minded Mustang. Shout out to two-handed jams...I miss those days.

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I-95 Kickoff Classic at Towson University

The inaugural I-95 Kickoff Classic included 4 football games that pitted Baltimore teams against Washington DC area teams. It was a long day in which I shot 3 of the 4 games, none of which were exceptionally exciting. In fact, I vividly remember only two things (which is a little disturbing as I'm still a young man).

1) The light during the 2nd half of the DeMatha vs. Loyola Blakefield game was BEAUTIFUL!

2) Darius Jennings OMG Darius Jennings

Not only does he make people miss in the smallest of spaces, but he is the fastest player I've seen live since Caleb Porzel.

Shout out to Gilman. They look tough.

Now What?

I had a plan. I had a brilliant plan that would make this 2009-2010 high school basketball season photographically interesting. Back in November, I picked two teams (one private school and one public school) to follow throughout the season. These two teams, Gonzaga and Coolidge, were going to meet in the city title game at the Verizon Center then I was going to play powerball and win $300 million. Well it didn't quite work out that way. Coolidge lost last Thursday night to Eastern High School in the public school semifinals. Gonzaga moved on to the semifinals after beating Bishop McNamara. At least one team is still on track to keep half of my clairvoyance in tact. Shout out to Coolidge basketball. Losing is always tough, especially in the playoffs.


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Gonzaga DC Classic: Day 3

Another Saturday, another 8 hours shooting high school basketball. This time it was another tournament/showcase with the word "classic" in it's title. The Gonzaga DC Classic. Mater Dei (CA), Jesuit College Prep (TX), Calvert Hall (Baltimore) and Iona (NY) were the visiting teams and Chantilly, Sidwell Friends, Bishop McNamara and Gonzaga played the locals. The games progressed in interestingness as the night went on and Gonzaga and Mater Dei didn't disappoint in the championship game. Gonzaga took the crown in their own tournament with a 62-59 victory. The players celebrated the mid-season tournament victory like it was a real championship so I'm guessing it was a pretty big win for the Purple Eagles. Shout out to Bender Arena...so many places to shoot from. Especially when it is mostly empty.

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DeMatha @ Bishop McNamara Football

With this game being the last of the regular season and both teams already in the playoffs, what was there to play for? You would think it would be a battle of the futures with both coaches sending in their clean-uniformed youngsters a la Manning and Brady in weeks 16 and 17. But that wasn't the case. DeMatha had a perfect season on the line and Bishop McNamara was trying to take down the perennial juggernaut. In a tough game, DeMatha left the field with a 0 in the loss column with a 10-7 victory. You can read about here. Oh...and I took some pictures.


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Some Semi-Final Action

Four more games, another day of shooting high school basketball. But this time, I mixed in a couple of girls bball games...why not. For more info...DCSportsFan. Shout out to the Sunday night/Monday morning snow that postponed Monday night's championship games.


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Hoop Fest!

Last weekend, I spent two days photographing 16 teams and eight games of basketball at a really nice, pretty well lit (relatively speaking) high school gym in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The National High School Hoops Festival featured teams from Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Mississippi which happened to showcase some of the top talent in the country. A few people of note in attendance..Roy Williams, Bruce Pearl, Tom Crean and Michael Starghill. Funny thing about these high school "showcases": about 20% of the people are parents, friends and family. The other half (Yogi Berra) are scouts, coaches, media, hangers on, sponsors, fans and folks who's hands will be out if/when some of these kids make it to the Association. Just my two cents. Shout out to Nike who had the Lebron VI's on sale for only $140. No checks, no credit cards. Straight cash, homey.

More Gonzaga Soccer

Hey, as long as they keep winning...I'll keep shooting. Their latest victim was the Bishop McNamara Mustangs in the quarterfinals of the playoffs 4-1. As long as I show up, they don't lose. Well maybe because they haven't lost all season...stay tuned. Cold and windy = not fun outdoor shooting conditions, but this Texan braved it like a chump...champ.


Whole lot of jersey and arm grabbing going on.