LA VERNE, Ca. – So, do you want to get an up-close-and-personal look at some of the best backicourt prospects in the western high school Class of 2021?
Take a day, or two, or three or – if you really want a close-to-definitive perspective on the top – four and check out the fourth The Classic at Damien, set for Dec. 26, 27, 28&30.
There are bundles of them in the top two divisions (Platinum and Gold) of the five-division, 80-team event.
Because of NCAA rules, coaches can’t attend high school or community college tournaments on Dec. 26 but recruiters from pretty much every NCAA-designated Division I conference across the country will be in a Classic at Damien gym during the other three days.
There will be “head-up” (or thereabouts) backcourt matchups aplenty the first day in both the Platinum and Gold, notably in the Platinum opener when Long Beach Poly faces Lake Balboa Birmingham at 10 a.m.
Poly’s Peyton Watson – little known to college recruiters outside of the immediate regional area, even as late as last spring – has evolved into one of the elite “big” (6-foot-7) point guard prospects anywhere.
He’s offered scholarships by most of the programs in the Pacific 12 Conference.
Birmingham’s junior class is headed by couple of All-L.A. City selections in David Elliott and Corey Cofield II.
The St. Bernard-Richmond Salesian first-day meeting (2:30) could be decided by how well the latter is able to defend the Vikings’ 6-4 Reese Dixon-Waters who (like Watson) has also been offered by a multitude of Pac 12 coaching staffs.
Other notable “shooting” guards from the Class of 2021 in the Platinum Division include Malik Thomas of Damien (who scored a career-high 45 points Friday night against Redondo Union); Jahmai Mashack (pictured) of Etiwanda, who was second-team All-CIF SS Open Division last season; and Josh O’Garro of Santa Clarita Christian.
Rancho Christian has a couple of quality juniors surrounding 7-footer Evan Mobley in its lineup, 6-7 jump-shooting specialist Luke Turner and slick 6-1 left-hander Jaden Byers.
And, as far as Class of 2021 points guards go, the Gold Division appears loaded with them.
Isa Silva (Jesuit), Brenton Knapper (Colony) and K.J. Simpson (Chaminade) are consensus Top 20 prospects, at the position, in the national class. And
Knapper, who helped his team win the State Southern Division II title last spring, has already committed to the University of Santa Clara.
If Simpson’s and Silva’s teams win their openers, they would meet in a quarterfinal Thursday night (6:30).
Two of the most explosive “wings” in the western Class of 2021 are Knapper’s teammate, 6-5 Denim Dawson, Tyler Powell of Ribet Academy and Justin Rochelin of Heritage Christian.
The 6-5 Powell, a Nike EYBL “Why Not” 16s teammate of Simpson, Elliott and Cofield last spring and summer, will lead his squad (State D-IV champion last spring) into an opening-night (5:30) game against Sierra Canyon.
And that means he might, on occasion, be matched against one of the most improved seven-footers (7-3, actually) in high school hoops in Sierra Canyon’s 7-3 Harold Yu.
Another “big” from the Class of 2021 who figures to get extensive evaluations from college coaches during the week is 6-9 DeMarshay Johnson, Jr. of Richmond Salesian.
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