McDonald picked interesting way to rep his city

I wasn't aware Edison High's T.J. McDonald (aka Tim McDonald Jr.), the son of former 49er/Cardinal Tim McDonald, was interested in representing his city. But according to this quote in The Fresno Bee about the annual City-County football game, he is:

"It's a big deal to me. You play for four years, you have to represent your
city," said T.J. McDonald, also a defensive back. "Now it's my turn and I didn't
want to miss it."

But McDonald chose a strange way to represent Fresno -- by signing on the dotted line to represent Los Angeles.

McDonald signed a national letter of intent to follow in his father's footsteps and play at USC. And then news broke that his younger brother Tevin McDonald is headed to UCLA. For those keeping score at home, that makes three very gift McDonalds, none of which truly represented their hometown in college.

Fresno isn't some small town with no one who's ever made it to big-time sports fame -- it's loaded with well-known athletes. And Fresno State's not some football program no one's heard of -- it's nationally known and is 1-1 all-time with USC (including the '05 cardiac arrest loss at the LA Coliseum when the Trojans were thought to be the greatest team ever assembled). If you're a high school star, you don't have to leave the Valley to "represent" your city. You do it by actually giving back to the place you came from.

When are more Valley kids going to be like Clovis West's Travis Brown, Bakersfield Christian's Derek Carr, Edison's Nat Harrison, Buchanan's Lars Bramer and Sanger's Nikko Motta? The latest Bulldogs recruiting class showed more local kids dream of becoming Bulldogs, but what about the elite talents still drifting away like the McDonalds, Edison's Cliff Harris and Clovis West's Nate Fellner? Be the hometown hero. Give back. Or go to some college outside the area if you'd like -- just don't claim to be "representing" your city if you're not.

Hello Mr. Smith!

Huge news out of the men's b-ball program, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The No. 4 ranked center in the nation according to scout.com, Greg Smith, has reportedly chosen Fresno State and reneged on a verbal to Arizona.

The 6-foot-8 or 6-9 Smith (depending on who you listen to) is the most high-profile recruit since Melvin Ely. And hey, Ely, as a two-time WAC Player of the Year and best player in school history, turned out quite all right.

Moods had turned sour with fans after hearing prized point guard signee Reggie Moore wanted out of his letter of intent. The Seattle native waited 'til the last second to throw a wrench into the 'Dogs plans of handing the reigns over to him in '08-'09. Real nice of you Reggie...

But lo and behold, Smith, a three-year Edison player who has since transferred to the Bay Area for family/academic reasons, is just the anecdote. If he sticks to his committment and signs with Fresno State he will single-handedly stir up passion and excitement that's been missing from Fresno State basketball since Tark "retired."

And that deserves a lot of admiration. Red Wavers should thank Mr. Smith for having the desire to give back to his hometown and be a student-athlete at Fresno State. It takes a true hometown hero to pass up offers from a plethora of traditonal b-ball powerhouses to stay home and make a difference in the community that raised him. Not everyone realizes what a difference he can make, what trends he can set the standard for and what a huge piece of program history he can become by staying home and taking the 'Dogs to new heights.

All signs point to Greg Smith being the type of character individual who is mature enough to be the catalyst. And here's to hoping everything in his family life and in the classroom is on the upswing. Mr. Smith, count me in as one of your newest, and biggest, fans.