LAGUNA NIGUEL – The most “under-appreciated” (at least by the generic high school hoops follower, whose opinions are largely shaped by social media hits-pursuers) member of the high school program that won 111 games over the past four seasons is about to be shown a whole lot of appreciation.
While winning those 111 games and bagging three CIF Southern Section Open Division crowns, the Corona Centennial High Huskies have had some high-profile performers.
Notably, those were guards Kylan Boswell (who played exceptionally well as a freshman for the University of Arizona this past season); Donovan Dent (another first-year standout, at the University of New Mexico, and California’s best player in the 2021-22 season); and Jared McCain (a McDonald’s All-American, bound for Duke this fall), as well as 6-foot-10 Devin Williams, who will be attending summer classes as a soon-to-be freshman at UCLA in a few months.
But the player whose four-season value in that remarkable run was often taken for granted or rarely acknowledge at all – other than by Josh Giles and his Centennial coaching staff and pretty much every head coach whose team he helped knock off in that stretch – is 6-foot-7 Aaron McBride.
He’s the choice as the BurlisonOnBasketball Most Outstanding Senior in Southern California for the 2022-23 season.
The soon-to-be Computer Science major (he’s got something in the range of a 4.5 Grade Point Average) at Loyola Marymount University was something more than just an “X factor” amongst a lot of stars during 27-5, 21-2, 33-1 and 30-4 seasons at Centennial.
During that stretch, McBride – as low-key unassuming off the court as he is forceful and energetic between the baselines – was the program’s best rebounder and low-post defender and scorer (with a jump shot whose range accuracy increased every season).
He was on the receiving end of so many pick-and-roll passes from Boswell, Dent and McCain in that stretch when that was among the most feared elements of Giles’ offensive arsenal.
Of course, he turned in the “play of the season” – at least in California – by way of his steal and buzzer-beating and CIF SS Open Division-winning dunk against St. John Bosco in the Honda Center on March 4.
That sequence overshadowed his turn-around jumper from the right baseline – while being double-teamed by 6-9 Xinyi Li and 6-4 Brandon McCoy – that tied the score with a minute to go.
Another performance that embodied the kind of effort he turned in and impact he had on winning – regardless of his “stats” – came in the team’s 66-62 win over then No. 10-ranked Camden of New Jersey on Jan. 14 during the HoopHall Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, MA.
While McCain was (rightfully) earning his ESPN and social media kudos for his 27-point effort (with six 3s), it was McBride who (metaphorically) punched out the team led by McDonald’s All-Americans D.J. Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, both University of Kentucky-bound.
McBride scored “only” 11 points and was credited with “just” 10 rebounds but his physicality and effort at both ends of the floor on nearly every sequence was every bit as consequential in the outcome as was McCain’s marvelous jump shooting display.
Rounding out the BurlisonOnBasketball All-SoCal Seniors’ first team were McCain; fellow Duke-bound guard Caleb Foster (who helped Notre Dame captured the State Division I crown); center Jacob Huggins of State Open champion Harvard-Westlake, who is headed to Princeton; and Kansas-bound Marcus Adams of Narbonne, the most offensively “skilled” player in his size range in the west’s senior class.
My Top 65 (broken down by groups of five) all-SoCal Senior 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.
- 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 2022-23 All-Senior Selections
First Team
BC Caleb Foster 6-4 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
BC Jared McCain 6-3 Corona Centennial
FC Marcus Adams 6-8 Harbor City Narbonne
FC Jacob Huggins 6-8 Studio City Harvard-Westlake
FC Aaron McBride 6-7 Corona Centennial
Senior of the Season: McBride.
Second Team
BC Carson Brown 6-3 RSM Tesoro
BC Tyler Rolison 6-0 Playa del Rey St. Bernard
FC Brady Dunlap 6-8 Studio City Harvard-Westlake
FC Xavier Edmonds 6-9 Torrance Bishop Montgomery
FC Dusty Stromer 6-7 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
Third Team
BC Darius Carr 6-3 L.A. Fairfax
BC Parker Strauss 6-4 Newport Pacifica Christian
FC Mikah Ballew 6-6 Valencia
FC Andrew Meadow 6-7 Valencia West Ranch
FC Devin Williams 6–10 Corona Centennial
Fourth Team
BC Bronny James 6-3 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon
BC Jaqari Miles 6-3 Valencia West Ranch
FC Jazz Gardner 7-0 Valencia West Ranch
FC Ashton Hardaway 6-7 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon
FC Kevin Patton 6-8 Temecula Rancho Christian
Fifth Team
BC Nick Lundy 6-3 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa
BC Jackson Mosley 5-10 La Canada St. Francis
FC Zack Davidson 6-8 Santa Ana Mater Dei
FC Rock Reynolds 6-9 RSM Santa Margarita
FC Curtis Williams 6-7 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda
Sixth Team
BC Jimmy Baker Jr. 6-0 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda
BC Mike Price 6-2 Corona Centennial
FC Xinyi Li 6-9 Bellflower St. John Bosco
FC Jacob McFarland 6-10 Moreno Valley Rancho Verde
FC Will Smith 6-4 Torrance Bishop Montgomery
Seventh Team
BC Efe Gucoglu 6-3 Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley
BC Shadale Knight 6-0 Rancho Cucamonga
FC Nils Cooper 6-5 Santa Monica Crossroads
FC Dennis Evans 7-2 Riverside Hillcrest
FC Denzel Hines 6-7 Ontario Colony
Eighth Team
BC Jayden Mojica 6-2 San Gabriel Academy
BC Maurice Wright 6-1 Santa Fe Springs St. Paul
FC Rodney Brown 6-6 Temecula Rancho Christian
FC Isaiah Chappell 6-8 Santa Monica Crossroads
FC Keyon Kenzie 6-7 Woodland Hills Taft
Ninth Team
BC Sean Cervantes 5-9 La Mirada
BC Will Householter 6-3 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa
FC Isaiah Fields 6-5 Valencia West Ranch
FC Martin Gumwel 7-0 Temecula Rancho Christian
FC Terrance Hampton 6-6 Pasadena Maranatha
Tenth Team
BC Franklyn Chambers 6-0 Long Beach Jordan
BC Kai Davis 6-2 Valencia
FC Christian Jones 6-5 Torrance Bishop Montgomery
FC Isaiah Sherrard 6-7 Oak Park
FC Bradyn Smith 6-5 Peninsula
11th Team
BC Giovanni Goree 5-9 Northridge Heritage Christian
BC Dennis Redmond Jr. ` 6-1 Long Beach Jordan
FC Bowen Hammer 6-7 Anaheim Fairmont Prep
FC Arik Mawien 6-4 SJC Capistrano Valley Christian
FC Reese Widerburg 6-3 Oxnard
12th Team
BC Carlo Billings 6-0 Santa Ana Foothill
BC Malik Khouzam 6-0 Walnut
FC Malcolm Bell 6-5 Diamond Bar
FC Dominik Contreras 6-5 Oxnard
FC Cannon Potter 6-7 Orange Lutheran
13th Team
BC Colin Huang 6-0 Irvine Portola
BC Tyson Jackson 6-2 Lake Balboa Birmingham
FC Zyier Beverly 6-8 L.A. Washington Prep
FC Jonathan Choyce 6-4 L.A. Westchester
FC Shawn Oliver 6-6 Long Beach Wilson
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