Frank Burlison

SAN DIEGO – The Burgin Family – immediate and extended – did the San Diego (and beyond) Basketball Community another huge favor Saturday at St. Augustine High.

The ninth Crème of the County, the brainchild and labor of love (lots of each) of Aaron Burgin, played host to 11 games, tipping at 8:30 a.m. and wrapping about nine hours later with the Crème de la Crème contest made up of the event’s top performers and “prospects”.

And, in a nifty example of why their team will go into the season as San Diego County’s top-ranked squad, the Montgomery High senior duo of forward J.J.

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LONG BEACH – For seven or so hours Sunday, McBride High was the high school hoops capital of California.

The sixth Kenny Smith/Pangos Guard Camp Workout and the Beach City Hoops/SoCal Invitational drew a plethora of the top high school players in Southern California and beyond.

Notable among those athletes were Eastvale Roosevelt’s Terrific Trio of Class of 2025 guards, Brayden Burries, Myles Walker and Issac Williamson, along with Inglewood junior Jason Crowe Jr.

Those four were front and center in the final action of the late afternoon, with Burries, Walker and Williamson leading the Class of 2025 team that pulled away in the final minutes to knock off Crowe and his fellow juniors, 82-67.

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ANAHEIM – The Ballislife boys’ high school All-American Camp was held Aug. 17&18 at Open Gym Premier, with some of the region’s top guards in the Class of 2025 on hand.

*Eastvale Roosevelt was repped by two players in the Top 20 Upperclassmen all-star game: 6-foot-2  Issac Williamson and another senior, 6-3 Dominic Copenhagen.

Williamson (pictured), a starter for the adidas-front Compton Magic 17U squad this spring and summer, joins Brayden Burries and Myles Walker as returning all-CIF Southern Section selections from the 31-4 Mustangs.

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IRVINE, Ca. – Sunday’s fifth Hoops by Ugland (@Devin_Ugland) Skills Summit, held at Beckman High, provided a nifty platform for approximately 80 boys’ high school players to enhance their short- and long-term basketball futures.

Once more, Ugland’s tireless efforts resulted in providing quality competition and coaching, as well as an opportunity to be watched by college coaches and scouting- and media-types.

Players got two hours of skills work via rotating “stations” and lots of competitive 3-on-3 action vs. multiple groups of opponents.

After an hour break for lunch – provided by Ugland and his significantly “better half”, Chelsea Ugland, without charge – there were 12, 5-on-5, 40-minute games, enabling each athlete to play twice.

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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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