Frank Burlison

LONG BEACH, Ca. – Las Vegas Bishop Gorman and three Southern California squads picked up wins Saturday – the last three of those by oh-so-slim margins – to advance to Sunday’s semifinals of the seventh Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic at McBride High.

Coach Grant Rice’s Bishop Gorman program – which didn’t play last season due to Nevada COVID-19 restrictions – won the Massey event in 2018 and ’19.

It wasn’t held a year ago due to California’s COVID-19 guidelines.

The Gaels trailed Valencia (CA) West Ranch by 10 points late in the first half of the first quarterfinal played Saturday evening but outscored the Wildcats by 39 points the rest of the way to prevail, 84-55.

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DOWNEY, Ca. – I got 90 minutes or so of look at 15 Southern California high school hoopers from the Class of 2022 – courtesy Keion Kendrid and Alex Carmon – in Apollo Park’s gymnasium as part of the first of scheduled Tuesday night “Premier Runs”.

Kendrid (@kezy05), a standout guard at Dominguez High and Long Beach State, runs the L.A. Premier Prep program and is a well-regarded skills trainer.

Carmon (@beachcityhoops), who started for a CIF Southern Section championship Long Beach Poly squad before going on to play for Academy of Art in San Francisco, has evolved into the foremost basketball videographer in Southern California.

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BEAVERTON, Ore. – The “Arizona” team closed activities by knocking off “Idaho” in the championship of the Great 8 Tournament early Sunday afternoon during the second and final day of The Hoop Circuit’s Prospect Camp at the Beaverton YMCA.

Approximately 150 players, spread over 16 teams, played four games apiece – plus the single-elimination, eight-minute affairs to close the camp – during the James Johnson-fronted event that attracted many of the top Northwest-based prospects from the Classes of 2026 to ’22.

The Arizona team was led by two of the best “sleepers” from the Class of 2022 in the Northwest, 6-foot-4 Devon Malcolm (South Salem in Oregon) and 6-5 Caden Harris (Summit in Bend, OR), along with one of the elite “big” prospects in all of the West from the Class of 2024, 6-10 Austin Maurer (Medford, OR, Cascade Christian).

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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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