C.J. Webster enters the NBA draft

FOX's Jeff Goodman has posted the official list of the 2010 NBA draft entrants, with May 8 the last day to pull out and return to college if you haven't signed with an agent.

The WAC entries are Luke Babbitt, Paul George, Armon Johnson, Jahmar Young and, very surprisingly, C.J. Webster.

Our understanding is that C.J. has decided not to return to school. We wish him and his new family well.

Another new frontcourter for San Jose State

Okay, start polishing up on your French.

San Jose State has reached into the heart of France -- Paris specifically -- to land Brylle (pronounced Brill) Kamen, a frontcourt player with eligibility for the next three seasons. But frustrating for sure to the coaching staff, a lengthy trip abroad wandering through the various arrondissements of the capital city, wasn't necessary.

A 6-foot-7, 230 pounder, Kamen comes from Western Nebraska Community College where he played for Coach Russ Beck. He just turned 22 on April 21.

Here's Beck on his freshman: "Brylle is very intelligent, a very good student and fun to be around. He is a good rebounder with a big, strong body and can shoot off the dribble and with the pullup jumper. He can also pick-and-pop, shooting on the perimeter."

Kamen also sounds animated on the court. "He'll let everyone know when he grabs a rebound," Beck said.

As a frosh, the Parisian played in 28 games, averaging 8.2 points and grabbing 6.8 rebounds a game.

Kamen first attended Jacksonville State in the Ohio Valley Conference but redshirted. He then transferred to Western Nebraska, located in Scottsbluff.

By the way, Scottsbluff National Monument contains landmarks of the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail.

Now, the San Jose State Trail too.

Calvin Douglas is a Spartan

Calvin Douglas knows how to battle. Maybe more importantly, he understands what it takes to triumph. He has regained his health, set his academics in order and the result is a basketball scholarship just down the road at San Jose State.

At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Douglas is soon to finish up at City College of San Francisco (CCSF), which played in the state championship game a few weeks back.

But back at Antioch High in 2008, he was named the Bay Valley Athletic League Co-MVP after putting up these numbers as a senior: 22.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. By the way, Brandon Smith, now a guard at Cal, was the other awardee.

Then it was across the bay to play for Coach Justin Labagh's always successful basketball program. "I was there for two reasons: get an education and get to the next level," Douglas explained. "The competition was good, we worked hard everyday in practice. and it made me a better player. Plus, we had eight hours of study hall every week to focus on academics."

Also, indicative of his leadership ability, Douglas was named a captain for the Ram team this season.

His numbers in the final game of the 2009-2010 CCSF season are also demonstrates his effectiveness. Douglas' squad fell 63-57 to state champion Saddleback College despite his team-leading 16 points on 6-9 overall shooting, 4-7 on three-point attempts. He played 32 minutes, the most of any Ram.

All this despite a potentially fatal illness that nearly derailed his hopes and dreams. "Early in the season, I developed blood clots in my lungs," Douglas offered.

He needed time for recovery and eventually returned to play on January 5.

So what has he learned since his senior season at Antioch High? "I have become more defensive-minded and team-oriented and more interactive with my teammates since coming to CCSF."

And why did Douglas decide on San Jose State? "I took a visit there last week and felt a connection with the coaches. It was the quality of relationship I was looking for and it's always been a school I kept checking on."

Asked what position he will play and about his role, Douglas said, "I'll be trying to replace the two seniors Robert Owens and Mac Peterson. Plus, I'll be providing defense because that is something I take a lot of pride in playing. My defensive intensity and ability to shoot the trey will complement Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham."

Douglas also knows Spartan freshman Chris Jones and Aalim Moor from their mutual earlier playing days so he will have an instant bond with members of the current team.

Douglas concluded by thanking "all the people who have helped me.' He named basketball trainer and skill developer Phil Handy, Justin LaBagh and Adam D'Aquisto (his coaches at CCSF), club basketball team coaches Joe Fuca and Mark McKelvy plus family friends Will Brew and Pastor Jones [Chris Jones' father]. Douglas noted that the latter two called to check in how he was doing during his blood clots episode.

His numbers in the final game of the 2009-2010 CCSF season are also demonstrates his effectiveness. Douglas' squad fell 63-57 to state champion Saddleback College despite his team-leading 16 points on 6-9 overall shooting, 4-7 on three-point attempts. He played 32 minutes, the most of any Ram.

All this despite a potentially fatal illness that nearly derailed his hopes and dreams. "Early in the season, I developed blood clots in my lungs," Douglas offered.

He needed time for recovery and eventually returned to play on January 5.

So what has he learned since his senior season at Antioch High? "I have become more defensive-minded and team-oriented and more interactive with my teammates since coming to CCSF."

And why did Douglas decide on San Jose State? "I took a visit there last week and felt a connection with the coaches. It was the quality of relationship I was looking for and it's always been a school I kept checking on."

Asked what position he will play and about his role, Douglas said, "I'll be trying to replace the two seniors Robert Owens and Mac Peterson. Plus, I'll be providing defense because that is something I take a lot of pride in playing. My defensive intensity and ability to shoot the trey will complement Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham."

Douglas also knows Spartan freshman Chris Jones and Aalim Moor from their mutual earlier playing days so he will have an instant bond with members of the current team.

Douglas concluded by thanking "all the people who have helped me.' He named basketball trainer and skill developer Phil Handy, Justin Labagh and Adam D'Aquisto (his coaches at CCSF), club basketball team coaches Joe Fuca and Mark McKelvy plus family friends Will Brew and Pastor Jones [Chris Jones' father]. Douglas noted that the latter two called to check in how he was doing during his blood clots episode.

It was Fuca, who heads the Lakeshow MVP club basketball organization, who offered this about Douglas: "Calvin Douglas is the total example of hard worker. When he arrived on our team in 2007, he was a young inexperienced player who had great upside. Calvin and I did not hit it off at first. I was very hard on him because he was a part-time defensive player and a streaky offensive player. After a month or two of hard work, he turned into a full-time defensive player and improved his jump shot. Calvin was a true stopper on defense and improved his shot so he could count on his jumper."

Fuca added, "Calvin never turned down a challenge. I remember when he asked to cover the best player on Texas Select and he shut him down that day so we could move on in the bracket play. He is the perfect example of someone who keeps working to get better and pushing himself to become a better player all the time. Calvin also made a true commitment to get better in the classroom and he accomplished that in junior college so he could move on to D-I basketball. Calvin will be a perfect fit for San Jose State because of his passion on defense and his ability to score."

Keith Shamburger, San Jose State signee

Serra High in Gardena must be one special place. Fresh off going 15-0 and winning a state football championship against Marin Catholic in late December, the Cavaliers also nabbed a state basketball championship in March. And yes, that is the first time this has happened in California during the same school year.

Leading the way on the hardwood was guard Keith Shamburger, who recently signed a letter-of-intent with San Jose State University.

He's not the biggest in physical stature at 6-foot-0, 175 but Serra Coach Dwan Hurt sums up the Shamburger effect: "He's meant everything," Hurt said. "As Keith Shamburger goes, so goes Serra High School. He was our most valuable player, no doubt about it."

Hurt added, "Keith is a coach on the floor and simply does what it takes to win."

In an opening playoff game, the senior backcourter scored 25 points versus Ridgeview, including the first 11 points in the game.

On March 13, Serra topped Oceanview 50-45 with Shamburger totaling 12 points.

A week later, Serra beat Compton Centennial 62-48 behind 14 points from their team leader.

Finally, the championship game against Bishop O'Dowd turned into a 63-59 overtime win, with another 14 points from Shamburger.

His senior season numbers: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.3 steals a game leading to a 35-2 overall record.

According to Hurt, Shamburger chose San Jose State because "he felt comfortable for a long time with San Jose State and he wanted to stay near home."

Asked about academics, Hurt said "Keith is a very good student, he's very intelligent with a 3.0+ grade point average."

One recruiting site described the 6-footer as "an athletic combo guard who sees the floor, handles well, is effective in transition and can score it."

Another offered this: "lightning quick with major range on his jumper and a clutch shooter."

After one Nike camp, Shamburger was nicknamed "Little Big Shot" by his fellow campers.

Here is Dwan Hurt after the win over Compton Centennial (Keith Shamburger is to Hurt's left).

Here is a clip of Shamburger causing a defender to slip and fall:

Wil Carter signs with SJSU

Wil Carter.

By the sound of it, this pairing of names could be that of a television/movie star or maybe the confident-sounding moniker of an airline pilot.

In this case, he's a 6-foot-8 basketball player out of Salt Lake City College (SLCC). Coming out of Idaho, Carter played as a freshman for Coach Norm Parrish in 2006-2007 before heading off on his LDS mission. He returned this summer, re-enrolled at SLCC and earned all-Scenic West Conference First Team honors based upon his 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Carter shot 49% overall and 75% on free throws while playing just below 23 minutes a contest.

Now, he is headed to San Jose State of the Western Athletic Conference.

What's interesting is that previous SLCC bigs 6-foot-10 Gary Wilkinson and 6-foot-9 Nate Bendall headed to Logan after their tenure in Salt Lake. But the latter pair are centers whereas Carter, according to Parriish, is a four, a power forward with the possibilities of playing some at the three spot. "But he could put 20 more pounds [Carter currently weighs 210] on his frame and still be effective," Parrish said. The SLCC mentor says a comparison to Troy Ostler -- a 6-foot-10, 200-pounder who played back in the late 1990s for Parrish before heading to Riley Wallace and Hawaii -- is more appropriate.

Continuing on, Parrish offered, "Wil has a really high ceiling. He has the ability to hit the 15-to-18-foot shot. He is also a good rebounder who is fairly long and can run and jump."

There was a mix of colleges in pursuit of Carter, including Hawaii, Boise State, Seton Hall, Wyoming, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge, among others.

Carter is 22 years old.

Mac Peterson honored for his academics

Congrats to Mac Peterson for his repeat performance as a member of the All-WAC Academic team. This is a tremendous accomplishment considering the travel due to away games and also just the amount of time that practice entails.

The eligibility for this honor: a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic year, have at least a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.

A football-related post

Here's a football note:

YOUR chance to help Spartan Football

Many of you express a desire to help Spartan Football, and many more actually do things that benefit the program (like fundraising for the Foundation, etc.).

Here is an opportunity to not just talk about how things should be better, but actually make a direct impact on helping the football program.

There is currently an event being planned for Tuesday April 20th, that is for the purpose of raising $50,000 to help with recruiting, and with summer school for the players (if they can stick around for the summer, they can participate in drills with their teammates.

This event will be a meet&greet event with Head Coach Mike MacIntyre and members of his staff, It's a two hour event, and includes food & beverages. Former Spartan players will be attending as well.

This is a fundraising event, so the minimum donation to attend is $100.

If you're interested in participating, please email me at sjsdude1@yahoo.com, and I will send you a copy of the flyer/registration form.

Serious inquiries only.

For those of you that have talked about helping to improve the program, but have yet to act on it, this is your chance.