Burlison on Basketball

Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

San Diego’s top hoopers were on display Saturday

By 251 Comments

SAN DIEGO – The Burgin Family – immediate and extended – did the San Diego (and beyond) Basketball Community another huge favor Saturday at St. Augustine High.

The ninth Crème of the County, the brainchild and labor of love (lots of each) of Aaron Burgin, played host to 11 games, tipping at 8:30 a.m. and wrapping about nine hours later with the Crème de la Crème contest made up of the event’s top performers and “prospects”.

And, in a nifty example of why their team will go into the season as San Diego County’s top-ranked squad, the Montgomery High senior duo of forward J.J. Sanchez and guard Xair Mendez (pictured, right to left) shared game Most Outstanding Player honors while leading the white jerseys squad to an 111-107 win over its dark jersey-wearing counterpart.

Sanchez, his twin Alek (a left hander who also was on the winning team) and Mendez helped lead Ed Martin-coached Montgomery to a 28-4 record last season that included losses to Carlsbad in the San Diego Section Open title game and to Redondo in the first round of the State Southern D-I regionals.

Senior guard Jake Hall (an all-San Diego selection last season who committed to signing with UC San Diego) is the top returnee for Carlsbad and played for the white jerseys.

Other projected top teams in San Diego that were well-repped at the Burgin event included St. Augustine and Mission Bay.

St. Augustine Coach Mike Haupt has a strong sophomore class, led by forwards Drew Parker and Anthony Etheridge who were standouts in the 2027 Crème contest.

The Saints also have a terrific pair of junior guards in Jaden Bailes (a returning starter who played in the Crème de la Crème affair) and Lincoln Grogan (a transfer from Mater Dei Catholic who hit eight 3s in the 2026 Crème contest).

Mission Bay Coach Marshawn Cherry has one of the top junior guards in SoCal in 6-2 Caleb Newton, while two other returning starters, 6-7 junior Clay Grebing and 6-6 senior Pablo Balderas, also had strong moments Saturday.

Last season’s San Diego, Full-Time Hoops Freshman of the Year, guard Tavid Lee Johnson (Francis Parker), hit a bunch of jumpers and scored on some nice drives in the 2027 Crème’ game and the Crème de la Crème.

Among the “non-San Diego County players” who participated (because they played for San Diego-based club programs in the spring and summer), and stood out, were:

*Junior forwards Brayden Kyman (Santa Margarita) and Tariq Iscandari (Corona Centennial), members of Players Player 17U squad.

*Senior guard Louis Bond (Windward) and senior post Mason Hodges (San Juan Hills), starters for the Gamepoint 17U team.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *