NEWS AND NOTES:

Burney has a hunch that Jeremy Denha of Berkley might be the next head coach of the West Bloomfield Lakers…….SHHHHHHHHHH nobody is supposed to know yet!

It looks like former Clarkston hoop hound Thomas Staton has left D1 Gardner-Webb in NC and will play next season in Kansas at Independence CC, with plans on resurfacing at the D1 level in 2012.

Southfield's Carlton "Captain Amazing" Brundidge was, well, AMAZING AS ALWAYS in a recent AAU game where he dropped a whopping 53 points, to go along with 8 rebounds and five assists. WOW!!! What's funny about this is that I personally told CB himself last football season that he was going to go for 50+ before the year was out. Now, I meant he was going to put a 50 spot up in the 2010 regular season, but I'll take a summer season sizzler of FIVE THRIZZLE in an AAU game in return 'cause Captain Amazing is my BOY!

Brundidge's AAU squad, The Family, which includes the other two components of the Blue Jays BIG THREE in Patrick "The Money Man" Onwenu and Desmond "Pee Wee" Barnes, went out to CALI 10 days ago and qualified for Nationals down in Georgia in July. Way to go, fellas, you're all doing Burney and the entire OC proud!

Another local AAU squad that qualified for Nationals next month is the OAA Select squad coached by Phil Fugate, top assistant to Lance Baylis in the winter at Holly. THA SELECT is an awesome example of a successful "Grassroots Summer Program", a team that doesn't have big time corporate sponsorship from Nike or Adidas and isn't stacked with high-level D1 talent, but outworks and outsmarts opponents to get the job done on the court anyway. This year's select team is led by OC HOOPAHOLICS in Holly's Josh Fugate and Nick Stoll, Clarkston's Nick Tatu and Max Collins and Novi's Zac Dotinga and Chris Milon. Last year's squad sent three OC'ers to the next level in Thomas Lovachis (Concordia), Kyle Sherwin (Dominican) and Justin Fowler (Lake Forest College)

Okay, so Josh Fugate is BLOWING UP LIKE A STICK OF DYNAMITE this offseason with his play. I've always really liked Josh's game and thought once he got a chance to shine, it was LIGHTS OUT. As a sophomore, he backed up his big bro, Mike (SVSU). Last year, he had to share playing time and shots with a cadre of hot popping Holly guards. This season, it's all JOSH. He knows it and is getting ready by torching the comp in the offseason AAU barnstorming circuit. The ace downtown marksman is shooting over 50 percent from 3-point range this summer so far and has significantly upped his playmaking skills and ability to take it to the rack. People are taking notice and Fugate's stock is on the rise in the recruiting game.

The Legends AAU squad featuring Samier "The Big Sham Wow" Ozier (Novi), Allen "Al B Sure" Robinson (OLSM) and Shaun Covington (OLSM) didn't qualify for Nationals but has made it to at least the final four or elite eights of every tournament it has played since April.

Joe "The Show" Baker, one of the county's top two guards coming into the 2011 season, is currently getting looks from CMU, WMU, and Grand Valley State.

3 More Local Net-Tickling Talents Raising Their Stock This Summer Season

1 Spencer Parker (West Bloomfield) – "The Big Easy" is set for a monster year in 2011. I love this kid's game: he's big, athletic, long, smooth, hungry, aggressive…need I say more?

2 Damon Bozeman (MH Madison) – Start worrying opposing teams in the Macomb Athletic Conference, you got two whole more years of Bozeman attacking rims, hitting tough turn arounds and mid-range J's and playing "get up in your face 'D' for the Madison Eagles. This kid is the REAL DEAL HOLYFIELD and for all intents and purposes a walking, talking double-double. BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!!!

3 James Young (Troy) – most talented freshman in the state last year before his season was derailed due to some grade issues. NO worries, "The Chosen One" has got his books in check and is ready to do damage as s soph. Expect no sophomore slump either, since Young is wrecking havoc on the AAU scene these last two months, showing everybody he's the one of the best wing players in his grade in the Midwest.