DOWNEY, Ca. – I got 90 minutes or so of look at 15 Southern California high school hoopers from the Class of 2022 – courtesy Keion Kendrid and Alex Carmon – in Apollo Park’s gymnasium as part of the first of scheduled Tuesday night “Premier Runs”.
Kendrid (@kezy05), a standout guard at Dominguez High and Long Beach State, runs the L.A. Premier Prep program and is a well-regarded skills trainer.
Carmon (@beachcityhoops), who started for a CIF Southern Section championship Long Beach Poly squad before going on to play for Academy of Art in San Francisco, has evolved into the foremost basketball videographer in Southern California.
Those 15 players were split into three squads which played three “mini games” among themselves and assorted high school graduates who also participated.
A couple of high school programs that will be in the hunt for spots in the CIF Southern Section Open Division bracket this spring were well-represented at the event Tuesday night.
Six-foot-three Kris Krause, who will provide strong leadership for a junior-dominated Bishop Montgomery squad, was superb as a scorer, playmaker and defender in each of the scrimmages.
He and his Knights’ teammates will play three times Saturday and Sunday during the Ron Massey Memorial Classic at McBride High in Long Beach, beginning with their game against Las Vegas Liberty at 6:10 Saturday evening.
And Irvine’s Crean Lutheran program – which won the Southern Section 2A title on June 9 – demonstrated why it should be among Orange County and Southern California’s best by way of the Tuesday night performances of 6-11 James Agany, 6-3 Parker Tuttle and 6-4 Damien transfer Harry Han.
Two of Southern California’s better scorers in the Class of 2022 will be Sage Wayans (South Pasadena) and Kamren Williams (St. Paul) – and they showed why each time they were on the floor Tuesday.
The 6-6 Wayans (pictured) – an all-Southern Section 4AA selection last June – has the size, skill (especially as a jump shooter and handler) and savvy to become a hot name with a lot of college recruiters this winter and spring.
And the 6-1 Williams – a standout during the Pangos SoCal Fall League in Long Beach – showed his deep range as a jump shooter and nifty ability attack defenders vertically, too.
The 6-4 Mac West, a standout as a sophomore and junior at Capistrano Valley Christian (in San Juan Capistrano) after playing as a freshman at Lawndale, played in front of his high school coach Tuesday night, Chris Childress, who could have a top-5 or 6 team in Orange County.
Long Beach Poly – scheduled to play in the Dec. 27-30 along with Crean Lutheran and St. Paul – had one of its best players doing his thing by way of 6-3 Marcel Hayes who, like Krause, showed his chops at both ends of the floor.
Rounding out the group were Westminster High’s Bryan Lai, Kyle Halk, Isaac Hernandez and Jaden Hanspard, as well as Warren’s Satchel Robinson, Brian Demedio and Jaseer Leon.
If you’re interested in playing in the Premier Runs, DM Kindred or Carmon.
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