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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The countdown continues, with No.’s 21-30 of the BurlisonOnBasketball preseason boys Southern California Top 40 teams (and 10 “honorable mentions”).

And, trust me: I’m doing my best to get the final Top 20 on the website before games “officially” tip off for the 2021-22 season Monday evening:

 

21. Lake Balboa Birmingham

Coach: Nicholas Halic

League: West Valley (L.A. City Section Div. 1).

2021 results: 12-4 (CIF L.A. City Section Open champion; lost to Sierra Canyon in first round of Regional Open championships).

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LONG BEACH – The Pangos Best of the West Middle School Showcase had a distinct NBA flavor Saturday at McBride High.

The sons of three former NBA players – Gilbert Arenas, Matt Barnes and Kenny Smith – were among the 100 or players on hand for the Dinos Trigonis-fronted event that showcased a lot of quality sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the west coast.

But it was a kid without any NBA bloodlines – although I’m sure, like all hoopers who’ve reached this stage, he aspires to carving his own niche in the league someday – that bagged Most Valuable Player honors for his performance in the Top 30 Cream of the Crop all-star clash that wrapped the camp up Saturday evening.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Monday marks the first day of the real high school basketball season for 2021-22 after the pandemic-impacted hybrid “2021” season that began in the early spring and wrapped up in June.

Yeah, it was crazy, eh?

Here’s the first of a four-part series previewing my choices as the Top 40 teams (in the CIF Southern and L.A. City sections) in Southern California.

Based upon what I’ve seen in summer and fall competition – and a healthy mix of “hunches” on the kind of teams that will, once again, be produced by the elite programs and coaches in the region – here are my teams “31 to 40” in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 40:

 

31. Eastvale Roosevelt

Coach: Steve Singleton

League: CIF SS Big VIII (Div.

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SACRAMENTO – The first-ever, two-day Nor Cal Frosh/Soph Camp wrapped up Sunday afternoon at Foothill Hill after showcasing a healthy percentage of the best of the region’s boys’ underclass hoops talent.

All due respect for Shawn Hadnot and Ryan Diew (of the Sacramento Magic club program) and their crew for putting on such a high-quality event – especially for the first time out of the chute.

I’ve put together a list (alpha sorting) of the 12 guys that most impressed me over the two days (a couple of guys played only on Saturday), not just based upon “potential” but in terms of their overall effort and attitude, as well as athletic and basketball skill.

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SACRAMENTO – The first-ever, Northern California Boys’ Basketball Frosh-Soph Camp tipped off Saturday afternoon at Foothill High.

And, appropriately enough, a player from Sacramento was among the first-day standouts.

Six-foot-four Ben Roseborough, a sophomore who attends Sacramento High (located about 12 miles to the south of the Foothill campus), hit seven 3s en route to a 27-point effort in his “Santa Clara” team’s 88-82 loss to “University of Pacific” in one of the first two games – played in the main and auxiliary gymnasium.

Not a shabby performance for a kid who suffered a fracture in his right pinky – yes, he’s right-handed – more than a month ago and had only recently begin using that hand in interaction with a basketball.

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