Frank Burlison

LYNWOOD – They’re still a couple of months away from making their debuts on the real high school – not club or camp – level of basketball.

But that didn’t prevent a whole bunch of players from the prep class of 2023 from providing a nice glimpse as to what kind of impact they’re going to make this season – and over the course of four seasons.

The Pangos All-West Frosh-Soph Camp, held at Lynwood High, provided the platform and, on Saturday, many of those in the building may have gotten their first looks at most of those guys.

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NORWALK – The Bishop Gorman High squad found itself in quite a predicament early in the second half – trailing by 15 points and facing the best big man in the country – Sunday afternoon at Cerritos College in the championship game of the 6^th Ron Massey Fall Hoops Classic.

Not to worry, though.

Coach Grant Rice’s Gaels got a superb 12 or so final minutes from their terrific backcourt – notably junior point guard Zaon Collins (pictured) – to board the charter bus north for Las Vegas afterward with title hardware following their 78-72 victory over the Evan Mobley-led Rancho Christian Eagles.

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NORWALK – Junior Jaden Hardy scored an evening-high 36 points, including two free throws with 12.7 seconds to go, as Henderson (NV) Coronado rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to knock off Mater Dei, 73-72, Saturday night in the last of the four Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic quarterfinals at Cerritos College.

Coronado will take on Rancho Christian at 11:20 a.m. Sunday, on Court 2, in the second Challenge of Champions Bracket championship semifinal.

In the first semi, set to tip at 10:10, Bishop Montgomery plays Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.

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LONG BEACH, Ca. – Saturday’s Pangos Best of SoCal Fall Showcase, held at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church gymnasium, was an eight-game affair featuring many of the best high school hoopsters in the region across all four classes.

And the event offered a bit of a preview of what to expect from a few middle schoolers when they matriculate to high schools.

The Top 20 seniors contest was the last contest of the evening and it was a whopper.

Judah Brown (pictured), a quick- and big-jumping forward at Pacifica Christian (in Newport) who plans to sign a National Letter of Intent with Coach Randy Bennett’s Saint Mary’s program in November, scored 34 points and blocked a half-dozen or so shots to lead the team wearing the dark jerseys to a 109-105 overtime victory over the white jerseys.

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  CARLSBAD – The fifth Crème of the County was responsible for a long – and entertaining – Saturday of top-flight high school basketball at the Army-Navy Academy in this San Diego suburb.

   The overwhelming major of the very best hoopsters in San Diego County – from the Classes of 2023 (current middle school eighth-graders) thru 2020 – were on hand and participated in a collective 10 games, tipping at 9 a.m. and wrapping at about 7:30 that evening.

   The brainchild of Aaron Burgin – journalist/media specialist/hoops impresario – was capped with the Crème de la Crème contest, pitting players from across each of the classes and that made up the first nine contests.

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