CEDAR RAPIDS — Max Martino will guard the big guys. Or the little guys.
He’ll use his size. Or his speed.
“I’ll be whatever they need me to be,” Martino said Tuesday, after it was announced that the senior from Cedar Rapids Kennedy has signed to play men’s basketball at the University of Northern Iowa as an invited walk-on.
A two-year varsity starter at guard, Martino averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season.
Martino (6-5, 195) is Kennedy’s 2010 Male Athlete of the Year and has been a standout on the track and football …

Carissa Berger, who helped lead Waukon to the girls’ state basketball tournament each of the last two years, has signed to play at William Penn University.
Waukon was the Class 3A state runner-up this year.

Sigourney High School’s Carolyn Holm will sign a national letter of intent with the Kirkwood Community College women’s basketball program Thursday.
Holm averaged 17.1 points,10.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks for the Savages last season, earning her third-team all-state by the Iowa Newspaper Association. She was a three-time first-team all-South Iowa Cedar League pick. Holm leaves Sigourney as the school’s all-time leading scorer (1,206) and leading rebounder (805).

Tonight’s 1A regional opener between the Central City Wildcats and the Springville Orioles probably wasn’t even a blip on anyone’s radar outside those two districts, but it was exactly what a great basketball game should be.
Two long time rival teams stepped out onto the floor for the chance to play another day. It didn’t matter that neither team was at the top of the Tri Rivers Conference.  It didn’t even matter that neither team has a winning regular season.  All that mattered was this game, on this night…and the two …

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Josh Oglesby Junior CR Washington
Josh had a great week scoring 43 points in a pair of Warrior wins including seven three-pointers as part of a 25-point effort in the win over Jefferson. The junior perimeter player is now tied for 3rd in the MVC in scoring at 16.7 ppg. He also averages 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tia Dawson Junior CR Washington
This 6′2″ junior dropped in 20 points to pace the Warriors to their 4th straight win in a 69-47 conquest of Jefferson. Tia is 7th in …

IOWA CITY — Virginia Johnson’s voice quivered, but her choice never wavered.
An all-state junior forward at Iowa City High, Johnson orally committed to play women’s basketball at the University of Iowa Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“I was really nervous telling Coach (Lisa) Bluder,” Johnson said moments after being mobbed by her future teammates. “My voice was shaking.
“I was raised here. I have a picture of me (wearing) a Hawkeye shirt when I was 2 years old.”
Johnson, who stands 6-foot-1, is averaging 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for City …

Gazette sportswriters Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson and KJ Pilcher will talk high school basketball in a live chat today from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m.
Join in for a little enlightenment!
High school basketball chat

Springville Orioles will host a Coaches vs. Cancer event to “Purple Out Cancer” tonight, (1/15/2010) in partnership with Edgewood Colesburg. 
Boys/Girls Basketball Double Header
6:15 PM – January 15, 2009 at Springville High School
Purple Coaches vs Cancer t-shirts will be on sale for only $8.00. 
Contact Joe Martin for orders: jmartin@springville.k12.ia.us.
Purple HOPE wristbands will be on sale for $1.00 each
EVERYONE WEAR PURPLE!!
All proceeds from this night will go to the school’s Relay for Life totals for their respective Linn County and Delaware County events held in June.  These funds go to the American Cancer Society …

The Gazette’s Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson get together to discuss the current prep sports landscape, focusing on a big girls’ basketball tournament in Cedar Rapids this weekend and a look at the top teams in Eastern Iowa.

MARION — Game nights are late nights at 4215 Willowbrook Drive.
Perhaps Marcus Paige played at Waterloo. Or maybe his sister Morgan traveled to Epworth.
Even so, there’s more on the agenda than a shower, hitting the books and hitting the sack.
There’s game tape to watch. Two of them.
“We might not watch the whole games, but we’ll definitely watch some of both games,” Morgan said. “My dad doesn’t like to miss games.”
Most nights, Ellis Paige doesn’t have a choice.
Here’s the choice: Does he watch Marcus, a sophomore at Linn-Mar? Or does he …