#20 Chris Reyes steadies his body and readies his free throw attempt during conference win over USC.
Note From The Editor:During “March Madness,” East L.A. Sports Scene stops and takes this special time via our special feature, “Names in The Games” to highlight, salute, and acknowledge our student-athletes, coaches, assistant coaches, and team managers of Latino Heritage who are participating in this year’s NCAAMen’s “Journey To The Tourney.”
This is a two-part posting for your enjoyment. Part 1features our listing of Team Support Staff and Players. After a close, and extensive review of ESPN’s internet“Choosing A Winner” analysis, we came to the factual conclusion that out of all 68 teams that qualified to play in this year’s tournament, a total of 15players were found to be of Hispanic/Latino heritage. In a further breakdown of the 15, we learned that four are foreign nationals representing their home countries of Spain, Columbia, Venezuela, and Jamaica.
We’ve also included several support staff members such as Assistant Coaches and Team Managers as part of our research and found only one of each. This aspect of our search was not all-inclusive of the 68 teams, so in the event that you are aware of other Latinos who may fall into these two categories, please let us know and we’ll gladly add them to our list.
Part 2 is a Photo Gallery of our coverage of UCLA and Utah vs. USC from this past season. The gallery will show two of our locally listed individuals, Jose Fuentes, UCLA Bruins Student Team Manager, and Chris Reyes, Damien High School and Univ. of Utah starting Forward. Both schools are set to compete in the second week of the“Road To The Final Four,” as they vie for a victory in the“Sweet 16.”
The “Sweet Sixteen” bracket match-ups in the South Regional (Houston, TX) on Friday, March 27th, feature the #11 seeded UCLA “Bruins” taking on the #2 seeded Gonzaga “Bulldogs” and the #5 seeded Univ. of Utah “Utes” battling the #1 seeded Duke “Blue Devils” for berths in the Elite Eight. As you can plainly see from this bracket, there is a probability that two PAC-12 schools could face off in one of the Elite Eight games—UCLA vs. Utah. If you made that pick in your bracket, A Huge Congrats! The two winners then square off on Sunday, March 29thfor the right to a Final Four appearance. The Final Four is set forSaturday,April 4th, with the National Championship Game tipping off on Monday, April 6th in Indianapolis, IN.
We conclude our posting by wishing all of our viewers and your favorite teams“The Best of Luck.” And to those of our viewers who love the excitement of picking your brackets, placing that bet, winning lots of money, and cheering on your eventual national champion, “Good Luck” toyou as well! Rico Cabrera, Sr./Editor, EastLASportsScene.Com
11. Sebastian Saiz, 6-9/F/233/SO/Madrid, Spain/Ole Miss “Rebels”/SEC
12. Anthony Perez, 6-9/F/213/JR/Cumana, Venezuela/Ole Miss “Rebels/SEC”
13. Hanner Mosquera-Perea, 6-9/F/225/JR/Istmina, Colombia/Indiana/”Hoosiers”/Big 10
14. Adonis De La Rosa, 7-1/C/322/FR/Bronx, NY/St. John’s “Red Storm”/Big East
15. Joey De La Rosa, 6-11/C/240/SR/Bronx, NY/St. John’s “Red Storm”/Big East
16. Niksha Federico, 6-6/F/185/ SO/San Diego, CA/San Diego St. “Aztecs”/Mountain West
17. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, 6-3/G/214/JR/ Indianapolis, IN/Georgetown “Hoyas”/Big East
Part 2: Photo Gallery. Hover over each photo and click once for an enhanced image.
Jose Fuentes is all smiles as he looks into the crowd at Galen Center during a team time-out.
Bruin bench looking intently on at the court action.
On 4/4, Final Four Day in Indianpolis, “March Madness” comes to a near-peak as Wisconsin faces #1 Kentucky & Duke squares off with Michigan St. Both games are on TBS. The Final tips off on Mon. 4/6 at 6 pm and is on CBS.
#20 Chris Reyes steadies his body and readies his free throw attempt during conference win over USC.
Reyes is set to inbound the ball under his basket.
Good follow-through and smooth release add up to made free throw for Reyes.
#55 Delon Wright soars in for one of his patented dunks. Wright is an L.A. native and led Leuzinger HS to a State Title.
Chris Reyes takes a moment to relax during a break in the game action. The sophomore forward has earned a starting position for the Utes.
The Reyes Family turned out nicely to watch Chris perform against USC.
The Runnin’ Utes are a very stingy quintet and use their size & speed to shut down opponents’ offenses.
#55 Delon Wright elevates easily into his glide path on way to yet another big dunk. Wright is ounger brother of Dorell Wright, Portland Trailblazers.
#11 Brandon Taylor readies into defensive position on dribbler. Taylor played for Pacific Hill HS and is an L.A. native.
Rebounding and boxing out are trademarks of the Utes defensive mind-set.
Chris Reyes set to go up for a shot after he comes out of his triple-threat stance.
Reyes can score inside on close shots from the lane as well as from the perimeter.
One of the Utes deadliest offensive weapons is the 3-point shot. Here, it was taken by #35 Kyle Kuzma, 6-9 Forward
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