Bishop O’Dowd’s Ivan Rabb plays in two elite showcases — on two different coasts within 24 hours. It was also big weekend for two of the nation’s top point guard as they commit to college.
Ivan Rabb of Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), one of the nation’s top five rated prospects in the Class of 2015, had a whirlwind weekend of basketball. Rabb has played in big games before, leading Bishop O’Dowd to a 26-4 mark as a sophomore and helping the Oakland Soldiers capture the 2012 Nike EYBL title.
The 6-foot-9 power forward, however, has never quite experienced a weekend like the one that just passed.
Rabb participated in the Under Armour Elite 24 at the at the Tobacco Warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening after arriving in New York on Wednesday. One of five underclassmen to participate, Rabb made 4-of-7 field goals for eight points and grabbed four rebounds to help Team Coney Island defeat Team Bed Stuy, 114-109.
On Sunday morning, Rabb caught a 10am ET flight back to the San Francisco Bay Area, gained three hours because of the time change, and landed at approximately 2:30 pm PT. After a quick stop at home, Rabb arrived at El Cerrito High School’s gym at 3:27 p.m. for the 3:30 tip-off of the Fifth Annual NorCal Clash
pitting the region’s top 2014 prospects against the top 2015s.
A close 90-89 loss by the 2015s didn’t diminish from Rabb’s exciting, but tiring, weekend.
“It was fun,” Rabb said. “I just wish I had gotten the ball a little more and done more scoring, but I still had fun in New York.
“I really wanted to win (the NorCal Clash), and we had our chances, but couldn’t close it.”
Despite his team losing, Rabb was named co-MVP of the event along with 2014s Trevor Dunbar from St. Ignatius (San Francisco, Calif.). Rabb, who played 32 of 40 minutes, finished with game-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds and five dunks. Visibly fatigued, Rabb missed a couple of chippies he would normally made, shooting 13-of-23 from the field.
Dunbar, a left-handed point guard who is fielding offers from Cal Poly SLO, CSU Fullerton, Fairfield, Florida A&M and Montana State, netted 14 points with five assists and two steals.
Weekend Commitments
Before the NorCal Clash, 2014 shooting guard Gabe Vincent from St. Mary’s (Stockton, Calif.), a teammate of Rabb on the Oakland Soldiers, announced he would attend UC-Santa Barbara in the fall of 2014. Vincent was one of the event’s top performers, finishing with 13 points.
In addition to the commitment of Emmanuel Mudiay (Prime Prep, Arlington, Texas) to SMU during the ESPNU telecast of the Elite 24, there was another top-notch point guard who announced his college intentions on Saturday. Josh Perkins, the No. 31 ranked prospect in the Class of 2014 according to the Hoop Scoop
(Mudiay is No. 2), committed to Gonzaga over UCLA and Minnesota.
Perkins, a standout at the 2013 Pangos All-American Camp, was a Student Sports Junior All-American last season at Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.). He’ll spend his senior season at Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.).
UCLA highly coveted Perkins, so now the Bruins will turn their attention to landing either Quentin Snider from Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) or Jordan McLaughlin from Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.).
Snider, ranked No. 20 by the Hoop Scoop, earlier this summer reneged on a commitment to Louisville. McLaughlin, ranked No. 41, has long listed San Diego State, USC and the Bruins on his board.
The only thing for sure is McLaughlin won’t be attending a college that is bringing in another point guard.
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