BOYS' BASKETBALL: PALMDALE IS WAITING FOR REINFORCEMENTS.Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer In theory, Palmdale High's boys' basketball team would be in for a rocky season. Coach Garry Phelps was almost wiped out by graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. , leaving the Falcons with just one starter off a Golden League runner-up team a year ago. The Falcons are relying on four key players to heal quickly from the rigors of football season, with one potential basketball starter not even cleared to practice after coming off a serious injury suffered on the gridiron. But Palmdale's recent success - six straight seasons finishing either first or second in the Golden League - hints that Phelps will have his team in the hunt. ``We've been successful in the past,'' said Phelps, in his 19th season at Palmdale. ``We're kind of inexperienced in·ex·pe·ri·ence n. 1. Lack of experience. 2. Lack of the knowledge gained from experience. in but we have some good athletes coming in and our coaches do an excellent job at the lower levels.'' JV coach Lynn McClurg's teams have won the last four Golden League titles, and many of his players were juniors who will give Phelps senior maturity at the varsity level. Among the JV newcomers are aforementioned a·fore·men·tioned adj. Mentioned previously. n. The one or ones mentioned previously. aforementioned Adjective mentioned before Adj. 1. football players Shane Johnson This article is about the actor. For the author go to Shane Johnson (author) Shane Johnson is an American actor. He was born in 1976. He Graduated from Ephrata High School (WA) in 1994 and later graduated from Whitman College in 1998. , Travis Morse and Johnathan Thompson Thompson, city, Canada Thompson, city (1991 pop. 14,977), central Man., Canada, on the Burntwood River. A mining town, it developed after large nickel deposits were discovered in the area in 1956. . Johnson, a 6-foot-2 forward, led the Falcons in rebounds, Morse, a 5-foot-11 guard, was the team's defensive stopper and 6-foot guard Thompson was the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. . Thomson was also one of the Golden League's most dangerous two-way threats as a quarterback. But a broken collarbone col·lar·bone n. See clavicle. ended his football season and has kept him out of basketball. ``John was told he'd be out four weeks, and this Friday will be exactly four weeks,'' Phelps said. ``So John is hoping to be cleared this week and he'll help us.'' All of the football players - leading rusher Marquis Murray Murray, river, Australia Murray, principal river of Australia, 1,609 mi (2,589 km) long, rising in the Australian Alps, SE New South Wales, and flowing westward to form the New South Wales–Victoria boundary. (6-foot-2 forward) is also on board - are expected to play critical roles in the transition between football and basketball. ``It's a little different going from football to basketball,'' said Phelps, who officiates high school football games. ``You have to use your motor skills more for shooting. All of the football guys are going to play.'' The Falcons, if Thompson can come back strong, should be strongest in the backcourt back·court n. 1. Sports a. The part of a court between the service line and the base line in tennis and other net games. b. . Versatile 6-foot junior Erick Brown is the lone returning varsity starter. Brown averaged 10 points and three rebounds last season and can play both guard positions. Dan Cobian, a cross country standout who was on the Falcons' varsity but missed most of last season with a thumb injury, could be the starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the guard. ``He played very well on the freshmen team two years ago,'' Phelps said of Cobian. ``I probably should have kept him at the JV level last year, but he plays the point very well.'' Two senior transfers, 6-foot-3 DeShon Jones from Compton and 6-foot-4 Donnie Davis Donnie Davis (born on December 16, 1972 in Burlington, NC) was the starting quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1993 and 1995. He would eventually graduate from Georgia Tech and become a star quarterback in Arena Football playing for the Arizona Rattlers, Milwaukee from Littlerock, give the Falcons height and a total of nine seniors, though most have no varsity experience. ``I've always liked to go with seniors and have the older kids,'' Phelps said. ``I like the seniors to have some good leadership experience.'' Palmdale scored just 38 points in a season-opening loss to Burroughs in Ridgecrest on Monday. When Thompson is cleared, the Falcons' scoring and shooting woes will improve. ``We didn't shoot the ball well. Burroughs saw that and played some zone on us. We'll have to start shooting the ball better,'' Phelps said. ``Once John is healthy and we get some playing time under us hopefully we'll be in the middle of things.'' History is one of Palmdale's allies. FALCONS AT A GLANCE Coach: Garry Phelps Last year: 16-10 overall, 7-3 in Golden League (second). Players to watch: Junior G Erick Brown, senior G Dan Cobian, junior G Travis Morse, senior G Johnathan Thompson, senior F Marquis Murray, senior F Shane Johnson. Did you know: Both the Falcons boys' and girls' teams will travel to Edmonton, Alberta, next week for holiday tournaments. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: FALCONS GLANCE (See text) |
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