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LAGUNA NIGUEL – Five players now playing major college basketball helped the Harvard-Westlake boys’ program win consecutive State Open Division championships.

Jump-shooter deluxe Brady Dunlap (St. John’s) and powerful center Jacob Huggins (Princeton) were key elements for the David Rebibo-coached team that knocked off Santa Maria St. Joseph, 76-65, in Sacramento on March 11 of 2023 to cap a 33-2 season.

And, again in Sacramento last March 9, the Wolverines held of Richmond Salesian, 50-45, to finish 33-3, and bid farewell to State Player of the Year Trent Perry (UCLA) and fellow seniors Robert Hinton (Harvard) and Christian Horry (UCLA).

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – Onto the next 10 . . .

No.’s 11 thru 20 of the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal preseason boys Top 70 consists of 10 teams that are capable of landing into the Top 10 before the end of December.

That group includes three programs that played in either the CIF Southern Section (Saint Pius X/Saint Mathias and Corona Centennial) or L.A. City (Westchester) Open Division playoffs last season.

Three others (Heritage Christian, Windward and Rolling Hills Prep) also played in Southern Regional competition.

*The SPX/SM Warriors suffered significant losses to graduation (including all-CIF SS Open choice Tyrone Riley, starting at the University of San Francisco) and transfer (guard Tariq Bridges to Millikan).

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – When Coach Jason Crowe and his uber-gifted son, Jason Crowe, Jr., moved from Lynwood High to Inglewood in the early summer, the fallout into the 2024-25 season figured to be significant.

And that it was.

The Sentinels (Coach Crowe’s alma mater) open the season at No. 23 in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal ratings and – with the left-handed, two-time All-CIF SS selection and junior guard leading the way – could be a threat for a deep playoff run in February.

Other notes on teams No.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – And, for the next 20 teams – No.’s 31-50 – on the BurlisonOnBasketball Preseason Southern California Top 70:

*There are three programs (La Habra, St. Anthony and Temecula Valley) that won CIF Southern Section championships last season, and another (Washington Prep) that bagged a Los Angeles City Section crown.

*The Saints of St Anthony are joined in this Group of 20 by two other programs, St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery, that figure to be the roughest challengers for returning champion St. Pius X/St.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – With a near mind-numbing quantity of club tournaments, regional and national camps, and spring, summer and falls leagues behind us, the start of the “real” high school boys basketball season rapidly approaches.

And, before Monday’s tip-off to the 2024-25 season is upon us, let’s look at the teams I anticipate being those with the best chances of significant regular-season and playoff success.

I capped the list of those at 70 (those I’ve seen in the spring, summer or fall, plus others that I have a reasonably good “feel” for).

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