Frank Burlison

DOWNEY, Ca. – Ryan Silver’s West Coast Elite Spring Breakout Camp offered a nice sampling of Southern California’s top prep players across the graduation classes Saturday and Sunday at Warren High.

Saturday was a showcase for some of the best of the “soon-to-be” high school standouts in the Classes of 2019 and ’20 (current seventh- and eighth-graders).

Among the most polished and impressive of those from the Class of 2019 included 6-foot-2 Jared Lucas (Hacienda Heights), 6-4 Johnny Juzang (Oak Park), 6-0 Amani Harris (Inglewood), 6-5 Matt Bender (San Diego) and 6-0 Jadon Jones (Long Beach).

[Click to continue reading]

HOUSTON – Weekend No. 3 of the 2015 Nike Elite Youth Basketball is a wrap.

And, after spending hefty portions of Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the MI3 center, here are some observations and my selection of the 35 guys who most impressed me over the weekend:

*By the slimmest of margins, Jayson Tatum is my choice as the “Player of the Weekend” after helping the St. Louis Eagles go 4-0 over the weekend and improved their EYBL record to

The 6-foot-8 Tatum (St. Louis Chaminade High) averaged 26.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists as the Eagles picked up wins over Team Penny, Houston Hoops, Elfrid Payton Elite and Spiece Indy Heat to improve to 9-3 on the season going into the final weekend of spring play in Minneapolis on Memorial Weekend.

[Click to continue reading]

HOUSTON — Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum arrived in Texas this weekend with reputations firmly in place as two of the three or four best high school basketball players in the Class of 2016.

And their performances Saturday in the MI-3 Center only serve to enhance those reputations.

*The 6-foot-9 Giles (Winston-Salem, NC, Wesleyan Christian) averaged 26.0 points (hitting a combined 21 of 34 from the field) and 14.0 rebounds per game as CP3 collected wins over MOKAN Elite and Seattle Rotary in the second day of the third weekend of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League at the MI-3 Center.

[Click to continue reading]

HOUSTON – Bouncing around the first night of action on the third weekend of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League spring circuit, 2015-style:

*Houston Hoops and Team CP3 took different paths while improving their respective records to 8-1 Friday night.

The “home team” zipped past Nike South Beach, 83-55, behind the overall play of – and I don’t think isn’t going to exactly stun you – 6-foot-8 junior-to-be Jarred Vanderbilt (13 points, nine rebounds and six steals) and another left hander, 6-3 combo guard guard-deluxe De’Aaron Fox (19 points, two rebounds, three assists and three buckets from behind the arc).

[Click to continue reading]

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Jarred Vanderbilt, a 6-foot-8 left hander capable of playing any position his Houston Victory Prep team needs him, is the BurlisonOnBasketball top sophomore for the 2014-15 season.

Vanderbilt was joined on the five-player first team by four other strong candidates for the No. 1 spot in the Class of 2017 in post DeAndre Ayton (originally from the Bahamas) – considered by many the top prospect in the class – as well as another post, Xavier Tillman, and guards Trae Young and Quade Green.

[Click to continue reading]