Charles Rich
College basketball coaches kept their eyes peeled and clipboards
handy while they sat in the bleachers.
Perhaps some of them caught a glimpse of local boys' basketball
players Jimmy Goffredo and Billy Hofman, who competed in the eighth
annual Adidas Las Vegas Big-Time Tournament.
Goffredo performed well for the Los Angeles Rockfish, his travel
team. The Rockfish finished 5-1 in the tournament, which consisted of
344 teams and about 4,500 players.
Goffredo, a senior guard on the Crescenta Valley High squad, led
the Rockfish in scoring twice and tied for the team lead in two other
games.
"It's a good experience playing at that level of competition,"
said Goffredo, who competed in the event for a third consecutive
year. "The teams are diverse. Some just play a defensive zone and
others apply a full-court press. It's athletic-type basketball."
Goffredo, a first-team All-Pacific League selection in 2002,
flashed his athleticism during three pool-play and single-elimination
games.
In the first game of Pool B competition, Goffredo scored a
team-high 25 points Monday to power the Rockfish to an 81-74 win
against the Atlanta Celtics. He then registered 13 points in an 86-57
victory against the BWBA Team Alaska in another pool-play game
Tuesday.
In the Rockfish's final pool-play contest, Goffredo finished with
a game-high 18 points in a 63-57 win against No Excuses of Indiana on
Tuesday.
"Playing in front of the college coaches was great," Goffredo
said. "You get to see what areas of the game you are good at and need
to practice. If you aren't a good dribbler, then it shows. In high
school, you can get away with some things that you can't in this
tournament."
Goffredo scored a team-high 17 points Wednesday in a Bracket Three
single-elimination game against the Inner City Players of Portland,
Oregon, and then registered 13 in a 69-66 loss to Gary Payton's Nike
Select team on Thursday.
Hofman, a senior guard at La Canada, played guard for the Los
Angeles Rockfish Marlins.
The Rockfish Marlins lost their three Pool 00 tournament games to
the Minnesota Select Maroon, '04 Stars and Michigan Mustangs II. They
then dropped a 72-62 single-elimination game to the Pennsylvania
Renegades in a Bracket C contest Wednesday. The Renegades won the
bracket championship Thursday.
