LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The 2015-16 Southern California high school basketball season was an extremely impressive one for freshmen.
It was so much so, in fact, that it was difficult to limit the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal all-Class of 2019 squad to just a dozen members.
Some players I believe to be NCAA Division I prospects didn’t make the cut.
How collectively good are the 12 players I selected?
The list is so good that it would surprise me in the least if four or five – or more – of the players prove to be McDonald’s All-America selections three years from now.
Deciding upon a “top freshman” for 2015-16 was every bit as challenging.
The list of candidates for that honor was whittled to three, with each of the players having been part of state championship teams.
One of those, Cassius Stanley, helped lead Harvard-Westlake to California’s Division IV crown by way of an eased-up, 66-49 victory over Salinas Palma on March 26 in Sacramento.
And guard LaMelo Ball and center Onyeka Okongwu were key elements for the Chino Hills squad that zipped thru the season at 35-0, rolling through eight sectional and state playoff games by an average margin of 29 points in the process.
And the winner is . . . listed below, along with the 11 other players on the all-Freshmen squad:
Player of the Season
Onyeka Okongwu 6-9 Chino Hills
Frank Says: Relative to his shot-blocking and rebounding production, his mid-range jump shots and his ability to convert a lot of Lonzo Ball passes into dunks, Okongwu was the most impressive freshman “big” I’ve seen anywhere in California in a long, long while. He’ll be the most dominant post player in California, and maybe in all of the Western region, as a sophomore.
The rest (alphabetically)
Ethan Anderson 6-1 Los Angeles Fairfax
Frank Says: This is the best freshman guard Harvey Kitani has coached at the L.A. City power in – well, may in forever. He could be the City Player of the Year as a sophomore.
LaMelo Ball 5-10 Chino Hills
Frank Says: The youngest of the Brothers Ball – he doesn’t turn 15 until August 22 – showed off some dazzling moments as a ball-handler, passer and scorer during that 35-0 run. With the oldest of the Brothers Ball – National Player of the Year Lonzo – doing his thing in Westwood next season, look for Melo to do a whole lot of wheeling and dealing with the ball in his hands a whole lot more as a sophomore.
Gianni Hunt 5-11 Torrance Bishop Montgomery
Frank Says: He started at point guard for the entire season for a squad that – with five starters scheduled to return from a 28-3 team – could be the West’s best in 2016-17.
Jaime Jaquez 6-5 Camarillo
Frank Says: Cassius Stanley has a well-earned reputation as the most spectacular player in the class and the best “dunker” of the group, too. Well, even if that is the case – and I suspect it is – Jaquez isn’t far behind in either category. He was the most impressive player – in any class – that I watched during Julius von Hanzlik’s Stud 26 games at Valley Christian High in Cerritos on April 30.
Jake Kyman 6-7 Rancho Santa Margarita/Santa Margarita
Frank Says: The best freshman in Orange County has a chance to hang onto that title next for each of his next three classes.
Oscar Lopez 6-2 Lynwood
Frank Says: He nearly helped the Knights win a Southern Section title in March after they dominated a strong San Gabriel Valley League. Watch this program – and Lopez – closely next season.
Jarod Lucas 6-3 Hacienda Heights Los Altos
Frank Says: This statement covers a whole lot of territory but Lucas could be the best innate scorer in this group. He and Isaiah Mobley are standouts for the Compton Magic 16s squad.
Makur Maker 6-11 West Hills Chaminade
Frank Says: Maker and senior Roman Silva (who has since signed with UTEP), during a Chaminade-Diamond Ranch Southern Section title game at Azusa Pacific University, hooked up in the most impressive “big man” battle I saw in Southern California.
Isaiah Mobley 6-8 Temecula Rancho Christian
Frank Says: The Ray Barefield-coached Rancho Christian program is on rapid rise – and Mobley, the Southern Section’s 5AA co-Player of the Year is a significant reason why that is the case.
Robert McRae 6-4 Los Angeles Fairfax
Frank Says: Ethan Anderson, as a season-long starter, produced the more impressive statistical line. But McRae is every bit as impressive a prospect as is his teammate and classmate.
Cassius Stanley 6-5 Studio City Harvard-Westlake
Frank Says: The phrase “vertically explosive” doesn’t begin to express how quickly and how far he gets up on a basketball floor. He’s in that rarified air of Joey Johnson (Wilmington Banning, Class of 1985) – the most impressive jumper I’ve seen in Southern California and just about anywhere else.
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