SCOTTSDALE, AZ – There are those who follow such things closely that believe that the La Lumiere School has the most gifted roster in all of high school and prep school basketball.
And, based upon what happened during the final game of the two-day HoopHall West Invitational, those same folks are feeling vindicated about their beliefs.
The LaPorte, IN-based Lakers had no difficulty in improving to 9-0 while subduing a talented but young Houston Westbury Christian squad, 91-44, Saturday night in the Chaparral High gymnasium in the 11th and final game of the event.
Sophomore point guard Tyger Campbell was the only starter for Coach Shane Heirman who didn’t score in double figures but that’s because he was so busy setting the proverbial table for his teammates via 16 assists and only two turnovers.
Six-foot-10 Jaren Jackson, who signed with Michigan State last month, scored 14 points to go with 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and three rim-disrupting dunks while future Big Ten rival Jordan Poole (who signed with the University of Michigan) came off the bench to drop in four shots from beyond the arc en route to a 20-point effort while being credited with just 13 on-court minutes.
With University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller and assistant Joe Pasternack in the building, 6-7 Brian “Tugs” Bowen, one of the most versatile players in the Class of 2017 (and still unsigned), went for 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Two other as-of-yet-uncommitted-or-unsigned seniors, guard Isaiah Coleman-Lands (21 points, with five of seven from on 3s) and 6-11 Jacob Epperson (10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots), also offered keen demonstrations as to why their list of college options only figures to grow week-by-week.
Heirman, his players and the rest of the La Lumiere travel party were slated to stay in Arizona an extra day (Sunday) due to adverse weather conditions blocking a flight into Chicago.
But the Lakers have a Thursday night clash set in Indiana against in-state power New Albany and its terrific junior, Romeo Langford, that could provide their first tough challenge of the still-oh-so-young season.
Charles Smith IV, one of three sophomores in the Westbury Christian starting lineup, had a team-high 12 points.
In the other five games played Saturday:
Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei 79, Phoenix St. Mary’s 43: The Monarchs remained unbeaten with their seventh blowout in as many tries in a tune-up to their appearance in the Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas (Dec. 15-20).
Spencer Freedman (19 points, including four 3s, as well as six assists and just one turnover) ably demonstrated why he’s one of the elite junior point guards anywhere while 6-6 (and unsigned) senior Justice Sueing went for 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists and likewise just a solo turnover for the Monarchs.
Tempe (AZ) Corona del Sol 84, NYC Christ the King 74: In a tussle between teams that had impressive victories on Friday’s first day of the event, senior guards Alex Barcello (University of Arizona) and Saben Lee (Vanderbilt) combined for 63 of their squad’s points in the victory.
Lee was a point behind Barcello to go with 10 rebounds and six assists while Barcello had four rebounds and five assists to go with 32 points.
Georgia Tech-bound guard Jose Alvarado had 24 points for Christ the King but missed 17 of his 25 shots from the field. Massive (6-11 and 280 or so pounds) sophomore Kofi Cockburn went for 10 points and as many rebounds.
Chandler (AZ) Basha 71, Hayward (CA) Moreau Catholic 56: Basha won its second game of the event while Moreau Catholic was blanked in two attempts.
Football standout (he’s a heavily recruited 6-5 wide receiver) Terrell Brown scored 25 points with seven assists and as many steals for Basha while freshman Kyree Walker and senior Damari Milstead went for 27 and 20 points, respectively, for Moreau Catholic.
Gilbert (AZ) Perry 49, Lake Oswego (OR) 42: In a game that set the art of jump shooting (or, at least, successful jump shooting) back considerably, sophomore Jalen Williams scored 13 points to lead his team to the victory.
The teams combined to hit just 30 of 92 shots from the floor (.326 percent).
Scottsdale (AZ) Chaparral 72, Northridge (CA) Heritage Christian 60: The host team pulled away down the stretch for the victory in its only appearance in the event.
Unsigned senior guard Colten Kresl didn’t jump shoot as well as he normally does (he was just six of 18 from the field) but scored 23 points to go with six rebounds and six assists.
University of California (the Berkeley chapter)-bound Juhwan Harris-Dyson went for 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals for Heritage Christian.
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