ENCINITIS, Ca – The start of the “real” high school basketball season is less than a month away.
And those in the Boys & Girls Club gymnasium in this San Diego suburb got a nifty look at some of the better players in San Diego County, as well as the make-up of what should be some of the better teams, Wednesday night in the first-ever Pangos Best of San Diego Showcase.
The St. Augustine squad that has positioned itself as the preseason choice to win the San Diego section’s Open Division crown was well represented by three players that make one of the state’s best 2021-22 “perimeter: juniors Jurian Dixon (6-foot-5) and Jaden Matingou (6-2), and sophomore Lolo Rudolph (6-2).
Dixon, who played as a freshman at San Ysidro, was a key element on the Why Not team that captured the Nike/EYBL Peach Jam 16U championship in July.
Rudolph was the top freshman in San Diego County last season and Matingou is one of the section’s most rapidly improving players in his class.
San Ysidro figures to be – conservatively – among the top five in the county going into the season.
And six of Coach Terry Tucker’s players were on hand Wednesday night to validate that suggestion.
Seniors Franly Valenzuela (6-9), Sebastian Medina (6-1), Martin Flores (6-8), Miguel Figueroa (6-1) and Luis Rodriguez (6-7), as well a 6-8 sophomore, Andrei Tovar, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.
There were four games played in order for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors although there were several players who crossed over into other games.
Notable among those was a 5-10, 8th grader from Corona, Isaiah Rogers, who played in the middle two games.
Rogers scored 27 points, including five 3s, in the junior game – playing with and against some guys as much as three years older than him.
His father, Kevin Rogers, is an assistant coach on Josh Giles’ Centennial staff and Isaiah seems on the path toward becoming the next of elite guards produced in that program.
Another freshman among Wednesday night’s standouts was 6-1 Ty Ingram (San Diego Charter), whose father, Tyrone Shelley, was one of the best scorers to come out of San Diego County (Crawford) and is now a coach at Southwestern College in San Diego.
It was evident Wednesday night that San Diego High may have one of the better freshmen classes in all of Southern California.
Gavin Guinn (who originally enrolled at St. Augustine) of San Diego High led all scorers with 20 points in the Freshman game that started things off at 6 o’clock.
His San Diego classmates, 6-1 Isaac Webb and 5-8 Isaiah Marte, also showed off significant skill in that affair, during which Ingram was another sparkler.
Twins J.J. and Alex Sanchez demonstrated in that same game that they should be “instant impact” guys at Montgomery High.
A 6-3 freshman who put in some serious work in each of the first two games was the guy who probably traveled the greatest distance to get to the event –Tariq Bridges from Crespi in the San Fernando Valley community of Encino.
Brothers Kristian and Kenny Gonzalez (who played for Mission Bay last season) of Mater Dei Christian in Chula had strong moments in the junior and senior games, respectively.
Two players, based upon their play Wednesday night, seem poised for terrific senior seasons: 6-5 Vishal Jayanthi (Sage Creek in Carlsbad) and 6-6 Lucas Gordon (San Marcos).
Six-nine Cyprian Hyde (Vista) and 6-1 Shea Fitzgerald (Cathedral Catholic) remind those in attendance – me, too, of course – why they are among the best prospects in San Diego’s Class of 2023.
The most physically gifted player in the event, inch for inch and pound for pound, was another junior in 6-8 Jacob Bannarbie.
Bannarbie – who pretty much did anything he wanted (34 points, including a gaggle of dunks) – attended Torrey Pines as a freshman and sophomore.
He attended classes – briefly – at San Diego High this fall but, apparently, currently isn’t enrolled in a high school.
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