LYNWOOD, CA – Two of the most successful high school programs in the West gave every indication on Saturday that they are bound for a hook-up Sunday afternoon for the championship of the 20th Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic
The Long Beach (CA) Poly Jackrabbits and Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman Gaels cruised to a couple of pool-play victories apiece Saturday at Lynwood High to advance to Sunday morning’s (11:20) championship-round semifinals.
Poly, which knocked off the MOC Stars and Belmont Shore Gold, will take on the San Diego All-Stars (2-0 in Pool B) on Court 2 while Bishop Gorman faces Branch West Prep on Court 1.
The title game is set for 2:50 on Court 1, with the semifinal losers hooking up in the third-place game at the same time a few feet away on Court 2.
The Jackrabbits of Coach Sharrief Metoyer got their usual stellar performances out of USC-bound Roschon Prince as well as Jordan Bell – arguably the best pair of seniors on one prep roster in the West.
And one of the better juniors in the region – 6-foot-7 Kameron Chatman – was also marvelous. Get ready for a lot of comparisons to the likes of Jalen Rose and Tayshaun Prince – he, too, is a skilled lefty with more than passable (pun intended) point-guard skills.
Grant Rice’s Bishop Gorman program last three players to Pac-12 programs (Shabazz Muhammad to UCLA; Rosco Allen to Stanford and Ben Carter to Oregon) but could prove to be even deeper in gifted players this season.
The Gaels crushed Belmont Shore Blue and the Arizona Magic to earn their spot in the Sunday 11:20 a.m. tilts.
Six-five Rashad Muhammad – among the most under-recruited and under-appreciated seniors in the region – continued his terrific summer and fall offensively, hitting a lot of jumpers (off the catch and dribble) and driving every-so-smoothly to the rim for layups for the Gaels.
According to Rice, he is not being recruited much at all right now by (NCAA-affiliated) Division I programs. And that’s a pity for a lot of those programs. There are fewer players in the West who have improved as much since the end of their junior seasons.
The Gaels also showed off a terrific sophomore class that includes the likes of 6-10 Stephen Zimmerman, 6-8 Chase Jeter, 6-4 Nick Blair and 6-3 Orr Lemui.
The left-handed Zimmerman, sidelined most of the spring and all of the summer with an injured right knee, demonstrated that he is rounding nicely into shape, thank you very much!
The San Diego All-Stars have a roster of sophomores and juniors, with the exception of freshman point guard Justin Moore (Mission Bay) – who is clearly one of the elite ninth-graders in Southern California.
Six-three Trey Kell (Saint Augustine) and 6-4 Chad Morrison (La Costa Canyon), both juniors, were among those who also turned in impressive efforts for San Diego.
Branch West Prep trailed by 10 points early in the second half against Belmont Shore before senior point guard Eric Childress (Lawndale, CA, Leuzinger) helped mount a successful comeback.
Bob Gottlieb’s other squad in the event (Branch West Elite) lost a close contest with San Diego to fall into Sunday’s 10:10 round of games.
A multitude of non-California players dotted that roster, including two of the better prospects on hand in the entire event – both Omaha, NE, residents in 6-0 senior point guard K.J. Scott (Central High) and 6-3, high-jumping junior Khyri Thomas (Benson).
Action is set to begin Sunday morning at 9 o’clock with the third-place (in Pool play) vs. third-place games.
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