LAGUNA NIGUEL – This recently completed boys’ basketball season produced Southern California’s deepest freshman class, relative to on-court performance and long-term potential, in even I-can’t-recall-how-long.
There are at least five players who turned in the consistent caliber of play that, in normal seasons, would lead to providing compelling arguments as to why any of them should be BurlisonOnBasketball’s “Freshman of the Year”.
But the 2022-23 Southland season was anything but normal – even if for nothing but the stunning performance of one freshman alone.
And no California freshman ever – I speak from the experience of seeing pretty much every player who was superb as a freshman in the state, from the mid-1970s or so – turned in the kind of season that Jason Crowe Jr. did for the Lynwood High Knights.
His scoring numbers – and where they stand in history – were astronomical.
But more on those later.
Most impressively, the equal parts slick and smooth left hander led the Knights to the program’s first-ever state championship.
That was wrapped up – in overwhelming fashion – Friday afternoon in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
Coach Jason Crowe Sr.’s team – which started three other freshmen and had a fourth who was the first sub – cruised to an 89-58 victory over Tollhouse (in Fresno County) Sierra, during which the coach’s son scored 36 points (with six assists, three rebounds and just two hours in 27 minutes) while another of those freshmen, Chace Holly, chipped in with 24.
But the numbers the younger Crowe (pictured with his father, late in August, in the Lynwood gymnasium) produced were pretty much status-quo throughout the season.
He finished not only as the most prolific freshman scorer in California’s illustrious high school hoops history, that encompasses a gaudy number of eventual college All-Americans, NBA all-stars and Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, but also No. 3 on the state’s all-time single season scoring list, at 36.0 points per game and 1,295 points.
And, oh yeah – the still-14-year-old Crowe doesn’t turn 15 until July 18!
Dang! How good is this kid going to be by the time he’s old enough to drive himself to school?
My Top 15 (broken down by groups of five) all-SoCal Freshman selections follow.
Be aware:
- Each team’s selections are listed backcourt (BC/guards) or frontcourt (FC/forwards, posts, or “wings”), and listed alphabetically.
- Players were only eligible if they started most of the season (or, in the case of Brandon McCoy, consistently played “starters’ minutes” if they came off the bench).
- And these choices were based upon on-court performances – not “college” or “long-term (professional)” If the latter were the cases, these selections would have a significantly different look.
BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California 2022-23 All-Freshmen Selections
First Team
BC Jason Crowe Jr. 6-2 Lynwood
BC Kaiden Bailey 6-2 Irvine Crean Lutheran
FC Tajh Ariza 6-6 Playa del Rey St. Bernard
FC Brannon Martinsen 6-8 Santa Ana Mater Dei
FC Brandon McCoy Jr. 6-4 Bellflower St. John Bosco
Freshman of the Year: Crowe.
Second Team
BC Tim Anderson 5-11 Pasadena Blair
BC Alijah Arenas 6-3 Chatsworth
FC Maximus Adams 6-6 Harbor City Narbonne
FC Brayden Kyman 6-7 RSM Santa Margarita
FC Zachary White 6-5 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
Third Team
BC Chase Holley 6-0 Lynwood
BC Joey Sterling 6-3 Encino Crespi
BC Joseph Wicker 6-1 Long Beach St. Anthony
FC S.J. Madison 6-4 Redondo Beach Redondo
FC Caleb Newton 6-3 Lake Balboa Birmingham
Fourth Team
BC James Croy 6-2 Riverside Poly
BC. Noa Eteuati-Edwards. 6-1 Arcadia
BC Braeden Davidson 6-2 Irvine Crean Lutheran
FC Eli Garner 6-4 La Verne Damien
FC Jahaz Wright 6-1 Lynwood
FC
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