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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The national high school Class of 2017 has a hefty share of high-quality “post” players – or, if more “wing” than “post” — players who stand 6-foot-8 or taller.

Five of those landed spots on my 10-player first team all-Summer of 2015 for the Class of 2017.

And, after the last of the “national” summer events I watched – the adidas Global Nations in Southern California that ran July 31-August 3 – my choice as the “Most Outstanding Junior-To-Be” for the class was clear cut.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The bulk of California’s very best high school players from the Classes of 2016 and 2017 will be in the same building on the same Sunday afternoon this month.

The first-ever Prep2Prep California All-Star Basketball Game will be played on Aug. 30 at Las Positas College in the northern California city of Livermore.

Among the players committed to playing in the event, for the South squad, are UCLA-bound brothers Lonzo and Li’Angelo Ball from Chino Hills.

The 6-foot-5 Lonzo Ball helped lead the Team Rose squad to the championship of the adidas Global Nations Tournament at Cerritos College in Norwalk Monday night.

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NORWALK, Ca. – Rawle Alkins capped a terrific summer with the latest in a series of terrific performances Monday night during the championship game of the adidas Global Nations.

The 6-foot-4 Alkins, a two-time all-New York City selection at Christ the King High who is searching for a prep school to attend as a senior, scored 26 points – in just 20 minutes of on-court time – while dropping six of eight attempts from behind the arc to help Team Rose pull away in the fourth quarter for a 113-93 victory over Team Wall at Cerritos Community College.

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GARDEN GROVE, Ca. — The teams representing the United States’ Class of 2016 took different paths Sunday night to the Monday night championship game of the adidas Global Nations playoffs.

Team Wall busted out to a 24-point advantage over Class of 2017 Team Lillard and cruised to a 117-73 victory in one semifinal on Court 1 in the Next Level Sports Center.

And, on Court 4, Team Rose led by only four points early in the fourth quarter before pulling away in the closing minutes and knocking off Team African, 105-89.

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GARDEN GROVE, Ca. – At the halfway point of the adidas Global Nations there have been – appropriately enough – standouts from multiple countries.

*Gary Trent, a 6-foot-5 junior-to-be at Apple Valley High in Minnesota, scored 28 points Saturday night to help USA 2017 “Team Lillard” come from 15 points behind at intermission to topple Team Asia Pacific (in reality, Australia), 94-88, to improve to 3-0 in the Next Level Sports facility.

Trent, who helped the USA win a FIBA 16-Under tournament in June, is averaging 23.7 points per game while hitting 11 of 25 shots from behind the arc.

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