Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Mimnaugh at Mission Prep

Cal Poly women's basketball coach Faith Mimnaugh was spotted at Tuesday night's Mission Prep girls basketball playoff game — a 41-13 win over Escondido Adventist in the CIF Division V Southern California Regional playoffs.

The rumor was Mimnaugh was there scouting the Royals senior forward Leigh Yetter, one of the front-runners for The Tribune's Jay Cowitz Award for County Player of the Year.

Yetter, the county's leading scorer at 15 points per game, shoots 47 percent from the field and averages close to seven rebounds a game.

Yetter didn't have her best game in front of Mimnaugh though, scoring just six points in a 41-13 Royals rout that didn't really require any of Mission Prep's starters to play well.

In terms of her college options, Yetter was soft-spoken in a recent interview.

Asked about her plans for next season after the Royals' won their 16th straight section divisional title this past Friday, Yetter said she hadn't gotten a lot of attention from college recruiters. She said she may decide a collegiate basketball career is not in the cards.

But she left the topic open-ended.

Mission Prep is favored to make it to the state title game. If the Royals do, it would be the first time since 2004 and the sixth time in program history.

And with Yetter and the six other Mission Prep seniors thinking this might be their final basetball hurrah, winning the team's first-ever state title would be the best way to go out.

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

shes a great player... but id guarantee she doesn't play basketball at CP, this girl has gone non-stop in basketball since 5th grade, sometimes the desire isn't there anymore

she would be the 1st slo county player to go to CP since Paige Billingsley (Esparza) - Assistant Tennis coach (also an MP grad)

Anonymous said...

whoever posted that comment obviously does not know Leigh very well. She is shy, but definately interested is playing college ball. I would suggest you know what you are talking about before making a comment like that!

Anonymous said...

Cal Poly would be lucky to have her. She is the definition of a student-athlete: 4.0 gpa to go along with her hoops stats and awards. You don't achieve these results without desire and passion.

Anonymous said...

I saw a news segment where Kevin Bromley was at a boys Mission game...but I doubt anyone on MP is getting recruited by Cal Poly.

Not to take anything away from Yetter, but maybe she was just taking in some local prep basketball.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the coverage the Mission Prep girls are getting in the "playoffs."

They are playing some very weak competition, teams that would lose to some local JV girls teams (by a lot), and you would think they were the 2nd coming of the 72 Lakers.

They're great kids and work hard, but let's see some more track/baseball/softball coverage rather than mediocre basketball overload.

Anonymous said...

mission prep beat every area team besides st joes... with a 25 and 5 record i believe they deserve all the credit they are getting. many of the schools such as templeton paso and san luis would have a tough time beating these so called jv teams there playing right now and mission prep is winning games by 30 points and almost holding teams scoreless with there trapping half court defense

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, Mission is a pretty good club, but honestly their competition is weak. They receive more coverage than anyone in the area, when there are other teams beating far more intense competition and getting nothing. It's not all about the ink, but it would be nice to read about another team in San Luis County other than those in San Luis. As for Yetter, she's a good athlete, but a better, more informed choice could surely be found. Does anyone who is not "royalty" even have a shot? Is there even anyone else in the running....

Anonymous said...

if any other local team won 16 straight CIF titles i'm sure they would get press too. mission deserves everything they get.

Anonymous said...

Thats a joke. When they have some legitimate competition, then that would be something to brag about. The large margins of victory have little to do with the 'amazing' talent of that team and more to do with the lack of talent that they face.

Anonymous said...

Maxpreps is the leading authority in ranking teams in the state and nation. The ranking is based on team record and STRENGTH of SCHEDULE. Mission Prep is ranked 166 in the state. The only county teams ranked ahead of them is St Joe's and A.G. Ask any coach in the county, no one plays a more competative schedule than Mission. They won the Atascadero tournament, went 3-1 in the SLO/Morro Bay tourney and went 3-1 in a San Diego tourney with all the wins against DI teams. Give credit where credit is due.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with the second one up "that's a joke...." if mission was in the pac 7 or the los padres league they would find themselves only within the top 5 of each... if they were lucky...

Anonymous said...

what league is mission in....?

Anonymous said...

they are freelance.. lets look at their pac 7 and los padres results for their last five games.
W vs Morro Bay (48-45)
W vs Paso Robles (50-22)
W vs. Templeton (62-20)
L vs. AG (41-48)
W vs. Atascadero (48-35)

oh and they beat a 27-4 Division I school from San Diego- Poway by 9 points. Also a division I school (West Hills) that finished the season 23-7

Have any other schools accomplished all those?

Anonymous said...

is there any other teams still playing that are deserving of the attention mission prep is getting?


thats what i thought.

Anonymous said...

Check out calhisports rankings, the girls are ranked 2 in the state for the division. Following only Branson who they will probably meet in Sacramento.

Why can't the county ever just rally behind the good teams?

Anonymous said...

MP deserves all the attention they are getting. It doesn't matter who they are playing, they have a legitimate shot at the State Championship. If any other local team were in the same position, they would get a lot of attention too!

Anonymous said...

What a joke. That's like saying that winning the state championship in T-ball is akin to winning the World Series, because, Hey--it's a "Championship."

Some previous "anonymous" said, well, they beat EVERY LOCAL TEAM besides Arroyo Grande and St. Joe's...Wow! Paso! Coast Union!
Templeton! News for ya...everybody else beat them too.

They forgot to mention that against St. Joe's, AG, and Morro Bay, this amazing team went 1-3 (yes, Morro Bay beat them 45-23 in the first game of the year, as noted on MAX PREPS itself.

Mission would be a 2nd or 3rd place team in the PAC 7 or LPAL. Righetti would have probably beat them as well, maybe Nipomo.

Yes, they are bigger schools, but they don't have the luxury of recruiting (see Tom Mott)or "outreach" with the cream of the crop of local talent.

When you're up 25-1 in a "Regional Playoff) game, it's not because of your "trapping, half-court defense," it's because the team you are playing SUCKS, and would not beat most local JV teams. Nuff said.

Anonymous said...

If you've won 16 straight CIF titles, it's team to move up a divison (or two) and play against the big girls.

Anonymous said...

where were you guys tonight for their game? im pretty sure the starting center for the other team was 6'3 200LBS. thats a big girl for you. Oh by the way...they won! off to state semi finals.. With a huge enrollment of 280 its not bad that these girls beat some DI schools with over 2000 kids.

Anonymous said...

I find it so unbelievable that there is so much hatred in this small town. Why can't we be proud of the people in our town who succeed and achieve great things. It blows my mind how some people on this blog have been to unbelievable rude. The Mission Girls Basketball program is successful because of the dedication and hard work of some really amazing young athletes. We should be celebrating them, not diminishing their many accomplishments with tasteless and unfounded rumors and accusations.

I wish more people would live by the rule that if you don't have anything nice to say DON'T say anything at all. This girls team will rise above your nasty attacks. The people who have attacked them on this website are cowards. No one cares what you have to say. These girls have excelled and will continue to excel because they are better people than you, thanks in no small part to the excellent school they attend.

Anonymous said...

Oh joy. Can't wait for the full page spread tomorrow. Isn't there something more interesting-- Olympic Curling, Biathlon, Underwater Basket Weaving, Midget Ladies Wrestling or something else coming up?

Can't wait for the final.

Go Mission. Go, Go, Go.

Anonymous said...

I would bet on the Mission Prep girls against any of the teams in this county. They are a great squad, and Leigh is an exceptional leader for them.

Anyone who thinks otherwise should take a long, hard look in the mirror because envy is not a pretty color on you.

Anonymous said...

the fact of the matter is that the only reason people are leaving rude comments is that they have never gotten a taste of victory themselves. dont blame the program and the schedule...its the players that win the games...we have raw talent and not to mention nice players and if you cant accept that than you shouldnt be talking...how did your school do in playoffs this year?

oh wait...

Anonymous said...

please mission does not have raw talent, mission recruits. dont try to act like mission just breeds good players, and the fact is they do play a weak schedule. now i congratulate the girls on what they've done and hope they do well. but the fact remains mission recruits and plays in a weaker league.

Anonymous said...

hey mission is the best team in the county!

OH WAIT they lost to AG

Anonymous said...

fyi.... all those girls are local and most have gone to mission since elementary school, guess youre going to say now that they recruit on the elementary circuit too.
also mission is freelance and usually take on anyone that will play them. yeah there are lollipop teams here and there but thats how it is on everyone's schedule, especially around here.
and in all likely hood, this is the last year that any of mission's basketball teams will be any good.

so who ever posts those ridiculous statements enjoy the rest of high school or junior college and grow up. must not have much homework or tired of your video games and are too focused on mission sports, frankly is pretty sad..but enjoy yourself and dont work too hard at taco bell

Anonymous said...

haha i think its funny that mission people or supporters think they can post anything they want, and then when someone posts something contradicting what they think they call them children. dont get mad because we dont all think exactly like you and arent in love with mission. and no obviously not ever kid is recruited that goes to mission but they do recruit some and thats enough. thats why the boys team used to be the best in the county every year hands down, and now their not. and yes obviously every team plays cupcake teams from one time to another but the fact is mission plays more of those teams then most other schools around.

Anonymous said...

their division is garbage

Anonymous said...

none of u guys have any idea how the division system or how the central section works.

They had the option years back to go to the southern section, but it wasnt good at the time for them.

The division is based on enrollment, they cant change that. It's not like the southern section where its based on how well the team played in the past

Anonymous said...

This whole thing is sad because the people from Mission really just don't get the big picture. And that's not supposed to be an insult- it's just a fact. It's not all about who gets the front page shot, but as a player in this county, when you played your ass off the night before for 32 min and beat an amazing team in an incredibly close and intense game....and then wake up to see "Mission blows out (who ever) by 50 points!!!!" It just kind of puts things in perspective, and feels like whatever accomplishment your team acheives- it's never going to be recognized because a Mission Prep headline is the only thing that's gonna sell papers right!? one of you guys said above 'give credit where credit is due' or something like that.... don't we all wish that was the case.

Anonymous said...

The Cal Poly Women's basketball team wins an intense game against Cal State Northridge on Senior Night. Story? Below the fold. The Arroyo Grande Boys Volleyball team takes 3rd in a highly competitive volleyball tournament, the final game in which they beat a team (St. Margaret's) coached by known other than former Olympian and beach legend Karch Kiraly. Headline? TIGERS tamed in their own tournament!!

Mission Prep beats a team that has THREE points on the scoreboard with two minutes to go until halftime? Headlines. Pictures. More pictures.

Sports Department. Do your homework. Diversify your coverage.

It's getting old.

Anonymous said...

the person who wrote that above me is more correct then anyone here. Slo sports get way to much credit

Anonymous said...

Amen. The parents of those 280 kids might want to see thier kids glorified on the front page every day, but no one else in this county does.

Anonymous said...

this is all true, but you can't blame that on mission. The girls do deserve credit, it doesnt have to be the main story (although a state semi victory is pretty important). But too many people just think they dont deserve any respect because they're a small school, thats not fair

Anonymous said...

Give these girls a break! They are just playing their hearts out and whatever coverage the newspaper gives them is justified. Don't read it if you don't like the team or the school. There are many people rooting for this team after all they have been through. The loss of Jay Cowitz was quite a blow to Mission, even before these girls started high school. Then remember a few years back, their coach was suddenly fired in the middle of the season. This particular group of senior girls has played together for a long time and they have all dreamed of just making it to Arco.

The five high school sports divisions are CIF regulated based on school enrollment. As other posters have said, Mission loves to play better and more capable teams from larger schools and their record is really pretty decent in this regard.

No girls have ever been recruited to Mission. These girls just love the game, pure and simple, and they love each other and that is essential for a good team to have.

It's only one more week and the State Finals will be over. How many local teams have actually made it all the way to Arco? I'm not sure but in recent memory, it has only been the Mission girls. I know the girls are proud to represent San Luis Obispo and they will do their best to make you all proud!

Anonymous said...

I am still not impressed with their team... ITS THE WEAKEST DIVISION

Anonymous said...

What do you want Mission to do about being in the weakest division? They aren't going to suddenly gain 1,000 kids and become a D4 or D3 school overnight. In reality, they probably will never cross the 350 student mark.

The fact of the matter is that within their division, they are one of the best teams in California State history.

If you think about it, a school of 280 kids being that good in basketball for that long is truely an accomplishment.

It doesn't matter if you like Mission or not, you have to give credit where credit is due. There are only 20 teams still alive in the STATE, and 1 of them is from SLO.

Good job Royals!

Anonymous said...

I think the point is being lost here.

Yes, they are a great group of girls. Yes they are good basketball players.

What gets (non-Mission) parents, players and fans ire up is the amount of coverage they get in comparison to the degree of their accomplishment.

They've really only had one competitive game in their march through the playoffs.

It's not the girls fault their opponents have been sub-par. It's not the school's fault either.

I'm sure the girls would rather play tough competition if it were available.

It's just frustrating to be a parent/fan/player in a tough league like the PAC-7 or Los Padres, because you can be a really good team and struggle to get into the playoffs, or once you do, not get very far because every game is competitive, and gets more competitive as you advance deeper.

In Mission's division, it seems hit and miss (mostly miss) when it comes to finding true playoff caliber competition.

Having said all that, hey--a state championship is a geat accomplishment, and congratulations Mission Girls. Good luck in the state title game.

As far as county player of the year, it should to either Wagner of AG, or DeWitt of Nipomo. DeWitt led a tough league in scoring AND rebounding.

Wagner led the PAC 7 league champs in scoring, and her team beat Yetter's team in their only head-to-head meeting. AG made it to the CIF quarter-finals against tough competion.

Anonymous said...

That would be great- hey guys! let's all go into the 'free lance' division so we can win a state championship! come on it will be fun....

Anonymous said...

DeWitt and Wagner both seem like good player, but Yetter is the clear choice for player of the year. She has twice as many points per game than Wagner and has more rbounds per game. Yetter had more points and rebounds than Wagner in their one head to head match up, which Mission lost by only 7 points. And Nipomo had a horrible season. DeWitt is a good player but it is easy to be a star on a not so god team.

Yetter has lead her team and this county in scoring. She leads her team in rebounds, blocks and steals. And she has lead her team to the State Championships. She is the clear choice for player of the year.

Anonymous said...

A lot of negative comments from a lot of negative people about a high school with a history of winning in athletics and school that puts even more emphasis on the academics and prepping the young kids for the real world.

You see Mr & Mrs Anonymous it's not called recruiting it's called wanting your children to attend the best schools and Mission Prep happens to be one of these schools.

So, Mr & Mrs Anonymous why don't you stop bashing the girls and tell us who you are so we can have a couple of the teachers, coaches and maybe even a couple of the girls from Mission Prep send you some info on what they are doing right so you can correct what you are doing wrong.

Share this info with your friend anonymous, cousin anonymous, etc. and maybe, just maybe your anonymous schools might win a few games. Don't be haters Mr & Mrs Anonymous be tailgaters and become winners. Oh, I almost forgot I will even gaurantee your Anonymous schools will even get a little more ink in the local papers.

Good luck,
Jan Bigelow

Anonymous said...

oh please dont give me that its all about going to a good school, if its only about that then why arent morro bay and coast union flooding over with students and parents wanting great educations? both those schools were recognized last year as top 500 (coast union) and top 1000 (morro bay) schools in the nation. i didn't see mission up their so why would people go there? you can go look at the banner on the wall at either of those schools if you dont believe me but dont give me that its all about school. mission has recruited for many years your crazy to think that all these players from africa europe and puerto rico just randomly heard about mission and decided to go their in years past because of its great academics.

to whoever posted saying that mission had the chance to go to southern section but it wasn't good for them. of course it wasn't good for them, then they'd have to play some real competition with schools like price, they would rather have the easy road out.

and division is not only by size of school anymore, they do it by league. thats why at first pac 7 and lpal schools used to be split up once they hit playoffs, but now they all go into the same division they just changed it like a year ago. so you cant just say that mission cant play tougher competition because of their size, if they joined one of those two leagues they would move up to d3 and d2.

look no ones bashing the girls personally i dont know why people keep thinking that, people are just pointing out the obvious mission plays a weak schedule and they tend to recruit thats why they breeze through playoffs every year. if you put them in a tougher division they would win 15 cif championships in a row.

Anonymous said...

You're right they would win 15 in a row. And the girls team has never recruited and they are the ones that have done so well. And the southern section teams in D5 are even worse than the teams in the central section, that is why they stayed in the central section.

Anonymous said...

yeah i'm sure Price would put up a tough test when Price's girls team went 3-14.. hmmmmmmm


How can you even compare mission to other schools in the pac-7 and LPL when they have 5 times more students there. Mission would not be in D 3 or whatever you say for STATE. Maybe CIF playoffs because the southern section Does actually go by leagues, but they would still get an at large bid (such as Renaissance Academy boys team did this year in the CIF playoffs) to go to the state playoffs....and they would be exactly where they are now- which is heading to the state finals... see all of you haters at arco! oh wait no other local teams have ever been on that floor.

Anonymous said...

for the poster about the southern section... read up they're realigning again, there will be 6 divisions all based on enrollment. as the years go teams will move up or down based on previous years accomplishment.

when mission had the opportunity to move to southern section is was when the contract was up with the coast sierra league. this league as mr. templetucky should know.... required long trips to avenal and bakersfield and coast union for league games. logistically that is very expensive for any school and as many know, going to avenal was a 2hour drive to play in a very very lopsided game.
at the time, the LPL and Pac-5 were in their contracts and were not looking to add another team or teams. 16 league games is pretty insane if you ask me, leaving no chance to play outside competition.
and if they did keep it at enrollment, mission would have been in the same division as North County Christian and Valley Christian Academy, teams that MP would blow out on a regular basis.

lastly, no girls have ever been recruited to MP, hell 2 girls transfered out of MP to SLOHS.. that didnt do much now did it?
as for the boys, it is all local talent and if you look at their schedule how can you say they played weak competition? no other team in the county would come to their tournament, St. Joes is the only team year after year that has the guts to come out and play with the big boys, and it tends to help them in the long run, won league and did decent in their CIF run.

if you hate mission so be it, there are always rivals, but everyone seems to hate on mission and very few will ever settle it on the court or field. if u want to talk the talk, try walking the walk and settle it there, for now FTH

Anonymous said...

Any over unders on the Branson game? Finally an opponent that seems to have some legitimate ballers.

If Mission can beat them, they are the real deal, and all these anonymous bloggers/haters owe them an apology.

If not?

As far as the Mission boys go, I respect them. Great coach who is classy, underspoken, knowledgable.

They put on a great tournament, take on some perennial powerhouses each year, and bring it. No more recruiting going on it seems, post Mott. They can play with anybody in the county.

Anonymous said...

Mission is very lucky to have been able to keep that tournament alive after Mott left. The tournament is in its own class in our area and in the state, but its a shame that more local teams aren't in it.

As for Branson vs. Mission, here's the preliminary line --

Branson -16.5
Mission +16.5

Any takers?

Anonymous said...

id like to know how people know who has and hasn't recruited, just because no one's been caught doesn't mean it hasn't happened, and vice a versa. but the fact is most perennial powerhouse teams do recruit. whether you say they do or dont doesn't make it true.

Anonymous said...

maxpreps has the line at 13 points with branson being the favorite. but that is done solely through stats and teams played. we will see how much the "home court advantage" that branson has up in sacramento will come into play.

Anonymous said...

I'm not from mission, but i'd go up to cheer them on....does anyone know if there's a rooters buss...?

Anonymous said...

Yes there is a rooter bus with seats still open. Contact Mission Prep to reserve a seat.

Anonymous said...

Nice, thanks....and anyone can go on it?

Anonymous said...

Everyone is welcome. Any Support is great. There is a few though.

Anonymous said...

For all the players and teams that are frustrated with not getting as much coverage as mission when you played a great game, I apologize. I understand how that could make you really upset. But when it comes down to it, the Mission basketball program has nothing to do with deciding what goes in the newspaper. That's all up to the Tribune and they are the ones who should be confronted about the issue. If you want more coverage and think you deserve it then talk to the paper and I'm sure they would love to hear your argument. It is not right to put down the girl's efforts and accomplishments because you are bitter that they stole your media.


As for the girls, play hard at Arco and show this county what the Mission girls basketball program is all about.

Anonymous said...

Well said...if you scroll back up, and go to the 5th blog entry in this thread, that is pretty much what started the whole thing...

It was about coverage, not about Mission bashing...

Leigh Yetter had 18 points against a tough tandem, the Bilney twins...even though Mission lost, it WAS a great season...next year appears to be wide open...who is going to step up?