Frank Burlison

Many of the top high school basketball programs along the west coast will be involved in “one-day events” on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

Among those are the “MLK Classic”, just outside of Las Vegas at Henderson’s Coronado High.

The six-game event culminates in the 8 p.m. clash between Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, CA) and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. Both squads are jammed with high-quality underclassmen, including Cassius Stanley (Sierra Canyon), along with a terrific senior in University of Washington-bound Tyler Bey (Bishop Gorman).

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –  Sunday’s second major day of the 17^th Spalding Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield College’s Blake Arena was as noteworthy for who was watching the action on the court as it was for who was playing.

Head honchos Dana Altman (Oregon), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) were among the college coaches who were in the building for at least a few of the eight games played Sunday that tipped at 9 a.m. and didn’t wrap up for 13-plus hours.

Altman was there to watch, specifically, future Ducks Miles Norris (the 6-foot-9 resident of San Diego who is attending Brewster Academy in New Hampshire as a senior) and Bol Bol (the 7-3 son of late NBA player Manute Bol, who played for Mater Dei in Southern California for the second half of last season before relocating to Findlay Prep in Henderson, NV, in the fall).

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Springfield, MA – Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills High in Southern California and Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina hooked up in a crowd-pleasing confrontation Saturday night to a cap the day’s eight games played in Springfield College’s Blake Arena for the 17^th Spalding HoopHall Classic.

Ultimately, Okongwu, a 6-foot-8 junior, came out on top ever-so-slightly, statistically, against the 6-6, 275-pound Williamson, who made a strong on-court presentation as to why he should be rated the No. 1 player in the national senior class.

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Temecula’s Rancho Christian High and L.A. Fairfax will be the sites for two noteworthy “one-day” hoops events Saturday.

Rancho Christian (313000 Community Way) plays host to the Eagle Showcase, with the first of six games getting underway at noon and a field that includes two of the Top Five teams in Southern California in Etiwanda and the host Eagles.

Etiwanda (17-1), led by seniors Kessler Edwards and Elijah Harkless, faces Twenty-Nine Palms at 3 while the Eagles (15-2) play Chula Vista Mater Dei at 6.

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LA VERNE, Ca. – The Chino Hills basketball team that left Las Vegas on Dec. 23 after dropping its final three Tarkanian Classic games wasn’t the same one that showed up for its Baseline League opener at Damien High Tuesday and won in oh-so-impressive fashion, 85-72.

The Huskies, under first-year Head Coach Dennis Latimore, were punched out by 21 (Rancho Christian) and 15 points (Corona Centennial), respectively, during the Nov. 27-Dec. 2 Battle Zone Tournament in Corona.

It was then on to Scottsdale in Arizona where they held 10 point-plus advantage against that state’s best team, Phoenix Shadow Mountain, before dropping an 85-81 decision in the Dec.

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