Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL – Twenty-three players cracked the list of BurlisonOnBasketball’s top SoCal freshmen for the 2024-25 season.

Only one of those helped his team win a CIF Southern Section championship – and a state title, to boot.

Cameron Anderson averaged just 14.9 minutes. 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as Eastvale Roosevelt’s top substitute.

But the 6-foot-4, 15-year-old was a key element in the Mustangs’ 35-3 season that included wins over Sherman Oaks in the CIF Southern Section and State South Regional Open finals, and against San Francisco Riordan in the State Open championship game in Sacramento.

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Hudson Mayes,  first-team, all-CIF Southern Section Open Division and BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal seniors squad from Redondo Union, announced on social media Friday that he has re-opening his recruiting.

The 6-foot-5 Mayes made the decision following Central Michigan University firing Coach Tony Barbee Thursday. He signed a National Letter of Intent with the program in November.

His move means that he is among the upper tier of “available” big guard/small forward “wing” prospects now available to colleges from the Class of 2025.

Mayes had one of the strongest senior seasons of any player in California, earning all-Platinum Division honors during the Tarkanian Classic and Classic at Damien in December where the Sea Hawks were a combined 6-2 in the two strongest tournaments in the west.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – NaVorro Bowman was a four-time, first-team all-pro during his eight seasons as an NFL linebacker and is into his second season as the linebackers’ coach for Jim Harbaugh and the L.A. Chargers.

His namesake son wasn’t anything close to as physically imposing – at 6-2 and 160 pounds – during his recently completed sophomore season for the Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball team as his 245-pound pops was while manhandling NFL running backs and quarterbacks.

But Junior terrorized plenty of opponents while helping the Knights win 28 games – with two of those losses coming to eventual State Open champion Eastvale Roosevelt in the CIF Southern Section and State Regional Open finals.

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LONG BEACH – Some of Southern California’s – and beyond – better high school boys basketball underclassmen were at McBride High for the Pangos All-American Preview Camp Saturday.

The Top 30 Crème of the Crop All-Star Game Most Outstanding Players were sophomores Mahamadou Diop (who led San Gabriel Academy to the State D-III championship in Sacramento on March 14) and Siincere Hudson (Inderkum High in Sacramento).

The 6-foot-9 Diop – who is expected to play for Mali’s national team this summer – scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 21 minutes for Team Blue, which fell to Team White, 103-98, in the all-star game.

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LONG BEACH – Some of Southern California’s – and beyond – better high school boys basketball underclassmen were at McBride High for the Pangos All-American Preview Camp Saturday.

The Top 30 Crème of the Crop All-Star Game Most Outstanding Players were sophomores Mahamadou Diop (who led San Gabriel Academy to the State D-III championship in Sacramento on March 14) and Siincere Hudson (Inderkum High in Sacramento).

The 6-foot-9 Diop – who is expected to play for Mali’s national team this summer – scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 21 minutes for Team Blue, which fell to Team White, 103-98, in the all-star game.

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