Sophomores shine at San Diego Super 80 Showcase

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OCEANSIDE, Ca. – An extraordinary sophomore class demonstrated why it is all of that – and maybe more – Saturday at Mira Costa Community College during the San Diego Super 80 Showcase.

About 70 players got in two games apiece, with seven games played during the event that was put on so ably by Charlie Mercado of San Diego’s Gamepoint Basketball and Chad Groth of  Arizona-based Area Codes Basketball.

Six-foot-three wing Brandon Cyrus (Torrey Pines), 6-7 post Tim Harrison (Parker) and 6-0 point guard Eric Monroe (St. Augustine) – each of which has had strong falls during appearances at exposure events – were among the most impressive of the many standouts Saturday.

Based on the way he shot in both of his games, Cyrus will soon shed the “very good athlete with raw skills” tag.

He got exceptional lift on all of his jumpers, with nice form and accuracy from mid- to deep-range, and also scored readily after dribble penetration.

Harrison played “bigger” than anyone Saturday and not just because he was taller than all but a very few players in attendance.

At times it appeared as he if was bouncing on a trampoline while everyone else was trying to jump in mud.

As he demonstrated succinctly at the Full Court Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp at Cerritos College in Norwalk last week, Monroe’s feel for point guard play — especially his vision and ability and willingness to get the ball where it needs to be immediately — puts him near the top of all PGs in the 2016 class in the region.

Among the other sophomores who impressed Saturday included:

*Anthony Coleiro (6-0/Temecula Valley), a very good jump shooter and improved handler and passer who has impressed at every venue I’ve watched him this fall;

*Takoda Browne (5-11/Kearny), one of the better defenders and most tough-minded kids in the class;

*Reid Johnson (6-5/Cathedral Catholic), a strong rebounder who has a wonderful feel for how to play in the low post;

*Burke Twyman (6-6/Mission Vista), somewhat of a revelation (I’d never seen him before) who was an active rebounder and scored with either hand, in and around the lane;

*Michael Pelaiz (5-8/Parker), gee, how many lob passes for dunks will he and Harrison hook up on over the next three seasons?; and

*Jamal Brower (5-10, Temecula Rancho Christian), a point guard who shot very well from the perimeter on Saturday.

Among the freshmen on display Saturday, three players showed off a lot of point-guard skill and instinct: Jailen Moore (5-10/Lake Elsinore Lakeside); Jalen Flanagan (5-10/Riverside Martin Luther King); and Quincy Ferebee (5-7/San Diego Serra).

The junior class, even minus Gamepoint program standouts in guard Justin Simon of Temecula Temecula Valley (he was at UCLA on an “unofficial” visit) and forward Brady Twombly of Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (ditto Boston College), was well represented with quality college prospects.

Among those were guards Tommy McCarthy and Patrick Fisher (both of La Costa Canyon), Torin Webb (Temecula Great Oaks) and Khy Kabellis (Escondido).

McCarthy and Fisher, both solid scorers and playmakers, will team for one of the better starting backcourts in San Diego County in 2013-14.

And look for Webb and Kabellis to intrigue the heck out of college recruiters, too, especially next spring.

Four front court players from the Class of 2015, Travis Fuller (La Costa Canyon) and Vincent McFadden (San Juan Capistrano Valley San Juan Hills), each about 6-7; as well as the 6-5ish Chad Morrison (Oceanside El Camino) and Michael Gale (Mission Hills), also had solid Saturday efforts.

Fuller and McFadden are strong vertical athletes who knocked in a lot of mid- to deep-range jumpers Saturday.

And Morrison and Gale were among the better shooters and scorers on display Saturday, regardless of size or position.

But no one shot and scored better than did one of the seniors in attendance Saturday, 6-3 Ben Perez (San Marcos).

Perez, another Gamepoint standout, goes by the Twitter handle of “Bean”. He should think about changing it to “Buckets” because few players on the Southern California high school scene are as good as he is at ringing them up in a hurry.

Perez and Chris Sullivan of Long Beach Poly are the two most under-recruited shooting guard-prospects in the west in the senior class.

On the subject of “under-recruited” and “under-appreciated”, two 2014 point guards who fall into that category are Jean Luc Williams (Mission Hills) and Dakota Orr (Oceanside El Camino).

Any of the freshmen and sophomores who stuck around to watch the four juniors-seniors games in the late afternoon and early evening Saturday got an informative lesson in the art of point-guard play by way of the performances of Williams and Orr.