LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Those wishing to take up-close-and-personal looks at some of Southern California’s best prep teams and players Monday certainly have a multitude of options to choose from among.
Let’s get started with:
*Rancho Mirage High (31001 Rattler Road, Rancho Mirage): This is the site of the Open Division of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and the championship semifinals Monday evening in that division have the makings of being nothing short of terrific.
It wouldn’t be startling if Etiwanda and Chatsworth Sierra Canyon are battling for the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division championship in March.
But, two months beforehand, they’re hooking up in a 7 o’clock semifinal here.
Both squads were superb in their Friday and Saturday games, Etiwanda in dismantling the half-court offense of Oakley (a team of multiple college prospects from Europe and Asia who attend a well-respected – basketball- and academics-wise – academy in the Canary Islands) en route to an eased up 53-37 quarterfinal semifinal.
Coach Dave Kleckner’s program may have lost Jordan McLaughlin to USC (where he starts) but the Eagles may be every bit as potent as they were last season, when they won 27 games before dropping an overtime decision at Santa Ana Mater Dei in the semifinals of the State Southern Open Division semifinals.
Center Jordan Naughton (who signed with Wyoming last month) and forward Kameron Edwards (Pepperdine) are a sturdy and skilled sets of posts, 6-4 wing Delewis Johnson is a three-season starter and junior Garrett Carter has all the goods to be another Kleckner point guard in the mold of Darren Collison (Sacramento Kings) and McLaughlin.
Sierra Canyon lost, arguably, its best overall player when sophomore forward Ira Lee had to undergo season-ending surgery after suffering an injury to his left shoulder in practice early last month.
But the Trailblazers still put a potent – albeit, relatively “young” – lineup on the floor in junior Devearl Ramsey and sophomores Cody Riley, Adam Seiko, Terrence McBride and Remy Martin, with Feinberg siblings, freshman Michael and senior Robby, serving as two capable reserves.
The left-handed Riley – at 6-foot-8 or so and plenty of muscle on the frame – is the most physically imposing post player I saw Friday and Saturday.
High-octane point guard Ramsey and the younger Feinberg helped their team pull away in the fourth quarter against another strong San Fernando Valley-based squad, Mission Hills Alemany, in another quarterfinal Saturday.
Mater Dei lost California Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American Stanley Johnson to the University of Arizona but Gary McKnight’s Monarchs, otherwise, haven’t suffered any slippage as they’ve demonstrated in games with Rancho Mirage, American Fork (Utah) and Hayward Moreau over the weekend in which they haven’t really faced a serious challenge at all.
Returning starters in junior Michael Cage Jr. and seniors La’Vette Parker and Rex Pflueger (possibly the best 2015 player in Southern California) have been joined in the starting lineup by veterans in junior Bailey Stout and sophomore Matthew Weyand.
Two newcomers, senior point guard Kenny Smith Jr. (a transfer from Oaks Christian in Westlake Village) and freshman post Michael Wang, in essence have been playing “starters’ minutes” off the bench for the Monarchs.
They’ll get either Sierra Canyon or Etiwanda Tuesday night (for the championship or third-place affairs) in what could be another “Southern Section championship or semifinal preview”.
But, first things first, and they’ll first have to deal a Monday 8:30 p.m. semifinal with one of the better teams from Georgia in Mableton Pebblebrook.
The Falcons edged another very good CIF Southern Section squad (La Verne Damien) Friday and then pulled away down the stretch against one of the better – and taller – squads from Texas, Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy.
Two of their standouts over the weekend, 6-9 Derek Ogbeide and 6-2 Ty Hudson, signed with the universities of Georgia and Clemson, respectively, last month.
Another player the Monarchs will have to deal with will be 5-10 junior Jared Harper, who will be the quickest player on the floor in the game.
*Torrey Pines High (3170 Del Mar Heights, San Diego): The National Division of the Under Armour Torrey Pines Holiday Classic semifinals certainly shapes up to be every bit as competitive as its “Open” counterparts at Rancho Mirage.
In the first (at 7 o’clock), Corona Centennial — which lost to L.A. Loyola in championship game of this event a year ago – faces unbeaten L.A. City power Fairfax.
And, in the second (tipping at approximately 8:30), Redondo Beach Redondo faces one of the better teams from New Jersey in Patrick School from Elizabeth.
Centennial has lost only to Redondo and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman (during the Dec. 17-20 Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas).
The Huskies’ gifted group of perimeter players (Sedrick Barefield, Khalil Ahmad and Jordan Griffin) will be facing the Lions’ superb counterparts Lindsey Drew, Lorne Currie and Donald Gibson.
Redondo Coach Reggie Morris Jr. has gotten strong play from his deep corps of guards (including Elijah Nesbit, Leland Green and Morgan Means), as well as from extraordinarily skilled 6-9 sophomore Billy Preston.
Preston shared Platinum Division Most Outstanding Player honors with teammate Green and scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, in the Sea Hawks’ wins over L.A. Loyola and Dallas Prime Prep in San Diego.
Centennial and Redondo, as the case with Etiwanda, Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon, field teams that are expected to be among the upper-seeded in the Southern Section’s Open Division playoffs.
*LaSalle High (3880 E. Sierra Madre, Pasadena): The #D1Bound Southern California Christmas Classic is a viable option for who can’t, or don’t want to, make the jaunt to Palm Desert or San Diego.
Three strong candidates for the Southern Section’s Open Division, as well as one of the better programs from Northern California, will be in action in these semifinals Monday night.
Torrance Bishop Montgomery (a sectional Open team last season before going on to win a state crown in Division 4) plays North Hollywood Campbell Hall at 6 o’clock with Sun Valley Village Christian faces that NorCal team – Concord De La Salle – at about 7:30.
Bishop Montgomery is led by the Thompson Brothers, 6-4 senior Stephen Jr. and nearly 6-4 sophomore Ethan.
Campbell Hall has a 6-foot, UCLA-bound guard, Aaron Holiday, who has a couple of brothers earning NBA paychecks.
Village Christian has a future USC Trojan in 6-9 Bennie Boatwright who also happens to be one of the best deep jump shooters anywhere in high school.
*Hope International University (2500 Nutwood Blvd., Fullerton): If you can’t venture outside of Orange County on Monday night, this school – located, literally, across the street from Cal State Fullerton – is a must stop.
The Orange Holiday Classic’s four best squads all advanced to the semifinals, with Anaheim Canyon taking on La Mirada at 7 o’clock, and Orange Lutheran and Santa Ana Foothill following at about 8:30 or so.
Each of the four teams should go in their respective Southern Section playoff divisions.
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I’ll be at Torrey Pines all day on Monday so be sure to follow my Twitter account, @FrankieBur, for frequent updates and comments.