Frank Burlison

Bryce Mella, who averaged 19.8 points per game as a sophomore at Mountain View High in Orem, made an in-state transfer while moving to Utah powerhouse American Fork.

The 6-foot-5 Mella (pictured) was also a standout with the adidas-fronted Utah Prospects’ 16U squad in the spring and summer while establishing himself as one of the top backcourt college prospects in the West’s Class of 2026.

He closed the 2023-24 season at Mountain View by averaging 28.8 points over the final five games while hitting hit 17 of 38 shots behind the 3-point arc in that stretch.

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Six-foot-eight Christian Collins, one of the top junior-to-be basketball prospects in Southern California, has enrolled at St. John Bosco High, several sources say.

Reached for comment Wednesday night, Matt Dunn would not confirm that Collins – who played at St. Bernard as a freshmen and sophomore and began attending Westchester in the spring – is coming to the school.

If Collins is with the Braves this coming season, it would strengthen a roster already good enough to challenge for a Trinity League title, another trip to the CIF Southern Section Open playoffs and another state championship.

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LAS VEGAS ­– Teams representing two of California’s top boy’ basketball club programs captured the top divisional championships of the Big Time Tournament Sunday afternoon at Bishop Gorman High.

Jalen Green Elite 17U (69-50 vs. SoCal-based BTI) and Team Lillard 17U (73-60 vs. Northern California’s Lakeshow-Amundsen) – each from program’s from Northern California) – took home the two 17U Invitation titles among the event’s 10 brackets.

Seniors-to-be Luke Isaak (Danville San Ramon Valley), Julius Olanrewaju (Fresno San Joaquin Memorial), Brandon Benjamin (Anaheim Canyon) and Chris Baudreau (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman) combined for all but eight of Jalen Green’s points in its 17U victory.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Gymnasiums in Long Beach, Garden Grove, Anaheim and Irvine will play host to boys high school basketball camp and club events this week during the first of three NCAA “evaluation” periods this month.

Coaching staffs among the 350-plus Division I-designated programs in the NCAA will be allowed to attend the events, from Thursday thru Sunday afternoons, to watch potential-recruits play in person.

Many Division I programs are expected to be represented during the Pangos Premier 80 Showcase, set to tip off at 12:30 Thursday afternoon at McBride High in Long Beach (7025 Parkcrest).

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GLENDALE, AZ – Every major boys high school basketball powerhouse program in California was repped at the June 21-23 Section 7 Boys Weekend in the State Farm Stadium.

But, with the City of Glendale and Legacy Foundation, 16-team brackets laced with programs such as Harvard-Westlake, Roosevelt, St. John Bosco, Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon – as well as Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas – it was clubs from Arizona and Idaho that rolled to those championships.

Yes, that’s right, you read Idaho.

  The Owyhee Storm, whose campus is in the Boise suburb of Meridian, knocked off:

*Perry of Gilbert (which has won three Arizona state titles in a row but was without USA BB 17U squad member Koa Peat);

*Portland’s Central Catholic, projected as the top team in Oregon in ‘24-25;

*Richmond Salesian, the California State Open Division championship runner-up last March and:

*Orlando’s Oak Ridge, which lost in overtime to Miami Columbus in Florida’s top division state title game, to secure the City of Glendale crown.

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