LOS ANGELES – The Southern California high school boys’ hoops classes of 2018 and ’19 were on display, front and center, Sunday at the Windward School during the West Coast Elite End of Summer Camp.
Foremost among those in the sophomore class (’19) were Cassius Stanley (Studio City/Harvard-Westlake), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Camarillo) and Max Agbonkpolo (Rancho Santa Margarita/Santa Margarita).
Stanley, who helped lead Harvard-Westlake to a California D-IV crown in Sacramento last March, is among the most highly touted players from his class in the country.
Jaquez doesn’t yet have nearly the national reputation among college recruiters and Internet “scouting-types” of fellows like the 6-foot-5, high-jumping Stanley or a few other SoCal players from the class who were not in attendance at the WCE event Sunday such as 6-8 Onyeka Okongwu and 6-1 Melo Ball (who helped lead Chino Hills to a 35-record and mythical national title last season); 6-0 Ethan Anderson (L.A./Fairfax) and 6-7 Isaiah Mobley (Temecula/Rancho Christian).
But the 6-6 Jaquez was likely the most productive (as a scorer and rebounder) and impressive player on display among the 140 or so who participated Sunday.
He closed out his first “camp game” early Sunday afternoon by hitting three 3s late in the contest and then with tit for tat, on the boards and on the drive, against Stanley.
Jaquez may have cleared more rebounds and certainly hit more jump shots than did Stanley in the Top 20 All-Star contest that wrapped up things late Sunday afternoon.
But Stanley had the most eye-popping bucket in the all-star contest, a hanging, nearly-double clutch, one-handed 15-footer over the top of the outstretched right arm of Jaquez.
If you want me to go full-blast hyperbole on the shot, it was definitely in the “Kobe Bryant-, Michael Jordan– and (to go way, way back in my Hoops Time Machine) Elgin Baylor-mode”.
The 6-6ish Agbonkpolo (he is of Nigerian decent) saw his freshman season limited to, basically, one varsity game (he suffered a broken bone in a foot in the season-opening game against Bishop Montgomery last Thanksgiving Weekend) and the Santa Margarita freshman team’s Trinity League season.
After spending the spring and summer playing for the Dream Vision travel program’s “16s” team (that included Ethan Anderson and another Santa Margarita player from the Class of 2019 in 6-7 Jake Kyman, also not in attendance Sunday), Agbonkpolo is now taller (by at least two inches) and much stronger, body-wise, than he was when the regular season wrapped up on March.
And it doesn’t appear as if he is anywhere near finishing sprouting (his father is 6-9). He was, at least, one of the five best “prospects” at the event.
Among the strong performances turned in my members of the Class of 2018 were those by 6-8 Jacob Eyman (Los Alamitos), 6-4 Wes Slajchert (Oak Park), 6-2 Cameron Shelton (La Verne/Damien), 6-4 Alpha Okoli (Bellflower/St. John Bosco), 6-6 Rip Economou (Santa Monica), 6-4 Jordan Griffin (Los Angeles/Verbum Dei) and 6-5 Ryan Turell (Valley Village/Valley Torah).
Eyman showed immense potential as a sophomore, when the Eyassu Worku-led Griffins were part of the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff field.
As he showed in July (with The Truth travel squad) and Sunday, he’s well on his way to tapping deeply into that potential as a rebounder, shot blocker and scorer.
Slajchert was an all-Southern Section as a sophomore when he helped his team win a Southern Section Division 3AA title. There isn’t a more complete “combo” guard in the state.
Shelton was a reserve the Chino Hills team that was 35-0 while winning Southern Section and State Open Division championships and finishing atop all of the national prep rankings. He was a part-time starter as a freshman for the Huskies.
The left hander showed off improving point guard skills Sunday (especially as a passer) that will no doubt be put to good use with his new prep program.
Okoli (a hard-driver and finisher), Economou (a big jump with a lot of range on his jump shot), Griffin (a combo guard with a fluid jump shot) and Turell (who showed he is a lot more than just a very good jump shooter) are going to climb up the pecking order of recruiters’ wish lists this coming season.
Six-eight Cade Potter (Orange/Lutheran) was a little used reserve as a freshman but, as a sophomore, looked like he is going to blossom while playing in the Trinity League (one of the strongest in the West) as a sophomore.
Seniors (Class of 2017) who were very good on Sunday included point guard Sam Holtze (Sherman Oaks/Notre Dame), 6-5 Harold Moore (Los Angeles/Westchester), 6-2 Zach Green (the son of the late football coach Dennis Green attends Cathedral Catholic in San Diego) and 6-4 sleeper-of-note Myles Jones (Cypress).
Freshmen (2020) of note on hand included 6-4 Jadon Jones (Rosemead/Cantwell-Sacred Heart), 6-2 Keith Dinwiddie (Los Angeles/Verbum Dei), 6-2 Ryan Evans (Rancho Santa Margarita/Santa Margarita) and 6-4 Austin Cook (La Verne/Damien).
Leave a Reply