Hoops hysteria galore at Mater Dei

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SANTA ANA, CA – One of the most tantalizing boys’ hoops events annually – the Nike Extravaganza, hosted by Mater Dei High – is on tap with some of the best teams and players in the West and beyond this weekend.

Tipping things off is a Friday night (7:30 PT) clash between a couple of Trinity League opponents – the host Mater Dei Monarchs and the Bellflower St. John Bosco Braves.

The Monarchs of Coach Gary McKnight are the top-ranked club in California and will take 20-2 (overall) and 7-0 (Trinity League) records into the game against the Braves of Coach Derrick Taylor (17-5 and 6-1). It’s a rematch of a game played seven evenings earlier, when the Monarchs – via five 3-pointers in the first quarter by UNLV-bound Katin Reinhardt – cruised to an 86-71 victory in Bellflower.

Six-foot-four junior Isaac Hamilton kept the Braves within relative striking distance while scoring 32 points.

There will be no opportunity for a third match between the teams, though. Once the California Interscholastic Southern Section playoffs get underway in two weeks, they’ll be competing for championships in different divisions – the Monarchs in the IAA (where they are top ranked) and the Braves in the 3A (where they are No. 2 behind Mission Hills Alemany).

Saturday’s games:

   (Morning session) 9 a.m., Upland (16-7) vs. Los Alamitos (13-10): This is a game between solid high school “teams”, although neither – unlike most of the squads in this event – features a high-profile, future major college player

Upland is led by a couple of seniors in 6-7 Marcus Schneider and 5-11 Myles Pearson.

10:20, Ontario Colony (17-7) vs. San Juan Capistrano JSerra (15-7): Colony doesn’t have a player taller than 6-4 but is extremely aggressive, defensively, and plays at a quick offensive tempo.

JSerra – like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, a Trinity League member – has a lot of quality players and could contend for a deep run in the talented CIF SS 4A playoff field.

  11:40, Huntington Beach Ocean View (20-3) vs. Mission Viejo (20-2): This all-Orange County clash could be one of the more compelling matchups of the event.

Ocean View has a 6-9 senior (Connor Clifford) who is being evaluated by a lot of college programs, as well as two of the more productive freshmen in Southern California in 5-11 point guard Kendall Small and 6-5 wing Tyler Burch.

Mission Viejo has one of the better juniors in Orange County in 6-4 Evan Zeller, along with two other starters who could be college football standouts – 6-foot, 230-pound senior running Jahleel Pinner and 6-1, 190-pound safety/wide receiver Max Redfield.

Pinner signed a national letter of intent with the University of Southern California on Wednesday while Redfield is one of the most heavily recruited players in the national class of 2013.

  (Afternoon/evening session) 1:30 p.m., L.A. Fairfax (16-9) vs. Rialto Eisenhower (15-6): Eisenhower – alma mater to Ronnie Lott, one of the all-time great gridders – is led by one of Southern California’s most underrated seniors in 6-4 Marvelle Harris.

The Lions of Coach Harvey Kitani are among a handful of teams that will try to dethrone Taft in the L.A. City playoffs. Six-seven Taj Adams, a Loyola-Marymount signee, leads a balanced group of contributors that also includes 6-5 junior Reggie Theus Jr.

  3, L.A. Westchester (17-5) vs. Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley (20-2): This is a potential State Southern Regional Div. I playoff matchup, as both teams are in contention for titles in their respective CIF division (Westchester, the L.A. City, and Capistrano Valley, the Southern Section IA, where it is top-ranked).

Both teams are dominated by seniors, Westchester with a strong frontcourt that includes 6-8 Zach McMillan and 6-4 Keywhon Pounds, and Capo with 6-8 Chris Bench and 6-4 Stephen Short.

  4:30, Woodland Hills Taft (20-3) vs. L.A. Loyola (19-3): Here is what promises to be the most entertained, fast-paced contest of the day.

Taft, under first-year Coach Jason Hart – who played 12 years in the NBA – has a club that could not only win an L.A. City crown but the Toreadors also are one of the few squads capable of making things interesting for Mater Dei in the State Regional playoffs.

Leading the way for Taft are seniors in 6-6 Brandon Perry (a Cal State Northridge signee), 6-7 Anthony January Jr. and 6-foot Steven Jones, along with one of the Southland best and most versatile juniors in 6-4 Kris Yanku.

Loyola (No. 4 in the CIF SS IAA ratings behind Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly and Etiwanda) was the CIF SS IA champion a year ago when the Cubs lost to Mater Dei in the second round of the State Southern Regional playoffs.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright may be the best sophomore point guard in the country and he delivers his passes to a bevy of scorers including 6-5, University of Pennsylvania-bound Julian Harrell and 6-0 Jacob Hazzard, the grandson of the late UCLA and NBA great guard, Walt Hazzard.

  6, Long Beach Poly (19-1) vs. Orange Lutheran (14-9): The Jackrabbits’ only loss was to Loyola (70-65) during the Pacific Shores Tournament final at Redondo High on Dec. 3.

Coach Sharrief Metoyer has as gifted a pair of juniors as there are on any one team in the West in 6-7 Jordan Bell and 6-5 Roschon Prince.

  The Lancers have been under-achievers of late – dropping three games in a row and seven in their past nine.

Guard Gabe York, who underwent an appendectomy on New Year’s Eve, returned to the lineup for the team’s 90-65 Trinity League loss at home to Mater Dei Wednesday night. He will enroll at the University of Arizona in the fall and give Coach Sean Miller a prolific jump shooter.

Six-five Payton Banks is the club’s next best offensive threat and one of the more gifted juniors in Southern California.

  7:30, Mater Dei (20-2) vs. La Verne Lutheran (18-5): How competitive will a game between the state’s Div. I (Mater Dei) and III champions of 2011 be during the second month of 2012?

That will depend on the health of La Verne Lutheran’s 6-9 senior Grant Jerrett, who suffered an ankle sprain recently. If he is anywhere near, say, 80 percent effective, the Trojans can make things mildly interesting if not – Blowout City, baby.

Along with Katin Reinhardt, the Monarchs also have another of the West’s best seniors in 6-7 Xavier Johnson, who signed with the University of Colorado in November.

  9, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman (18-4) vs. Chicago Whitney Young (12-7): The featured attraction of this event – among players, at least – is Gorman’s Shabazz Muhammad.

He’s the consensus choice as the top player/prospect in the national senior class and he is sure to wow what is likely to be a crowd that is hovering at capacity late Saturday night.

Coach Grant Rice’s team also has two other elite-level prospects in 6-8 seniors Rosco Allen (Stanford) and Ben Carter (Oregon).

Whitney Young has some of the more touted underclass frontcourt talent on one team, nationally, via junior Thomas Hamilton and sophomores Jahil Okafor and Paul White.

As always, check my Twitter account – FrankieBur – and this website for updates from Mater Dei