Frank Burlison

BEAVERTON, Ore. – Approximately 150 boys’ high school basketball players, based in the Pacific Northwest, hooked up in Saturday during the first of the two days of the James Johnson-fronted The Hoop Circuit Prospect Camp at the Beaverton YMCA.

The players were divided among 16 camp teams. I was able to watch half of those teams during the four games I was court-side for Saturday evening.

Action resumes Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, and I’m determined to see as much of the other teams the other eight teams as possible.

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SAN DIEGO – It, like a whole lot of things in everyone’s lives, was impacted by COVID-19, putting Aaron Burgin’s annual Crème of the County on hold for 2020.

But Burgin’s handywork bounced back in a big way in 2021, with 10 games – tipping Saturday morning at 9 at St. Augustine High – showcasing pretty much every quality player in San Diego County from the classes of 2026 to ’22.

Action began with the 2026 Crème Game, showcasing notable future high school standouts among current eighth-graders such as 6-foot-1 Ty Ingram and 5-9 Isaiah Rogers (both of which are part of the Compton Magic club program); 6-2 Jeremiah Profit and 5-8 Jeremiah Turner (both Gamepoint); 5-10 Jaden Bailes (San Diego Soldiers); 6-0 Jayden Gray (San Diego Prospects) and  6-4 Jaidyn Tanner (Roadrunners).

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LONG BEACH – Six-foot-eight seniors Jorge Ochoa (La Mirada High) and Elijah Price (St. Anthony) scored 21 and 14 points, respectively to lead the white jerseys to a 79-64 victor over their black counterparts Tuesday night in the Crème of the Crop All-Star.

The game, the last of four played in the Assumption Greek Church gymnasium, served as the finale to the three-week Pangos Best of SoCal Fall League.

Scoring in double figures for the black jerseys were 6-4 jump shooter-deluxe Malik Moore (a senior at Heritage Christian) and 6-8 Jimmy Oladokun Jr.

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LAS VEGAS – Class of 2022 post Jaxon Kohler’s performance Sunday afternoon was a precise, on-court definition of dominating while he led the West to the championship of the second Pangos All-American Festival 4 in the Ampus Academy Gymnasium.

Kohler, from Utah but set to play for his fourth prep program in Southern California Academy, used his size (6-foot-8ish and 240 pounds or so), strength, unparalleled footwork, deep bag of ball and head fakes, shooting touch and – especially – patience to score 53 points as the West toppled its East counterpart, 133-112.

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LAS VEGAS – East will tangle with West in the championship game of the second Pangos All-American Festival Sunday afternoon at 2 (PT).

In Sunday’s third-place game (set to tip at noon), the Midwest takes on the South after dropping semifinal contests with the East (131-128 in overtime) and West (95-92), respectively, Saturday evening in the gymnasium of the Amplus Academy.

Both contests are scheduled to be televised by BallerTV.

In the first game Saturday, Fabio Basili – a senior (Class of 2022) point guard from Oakridge High in Orlando, FL – knocked in a 3 from the top of the key with 19.7 seconds to go for the East to put things into overtime.

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