game 3 preview

Fairfax Lions

Joe Shipp (6'-5" Sr. F)
Ismael Torres (6'-2" Jr. SG/SF)
Fernando Sampson (6'-0" Fr. G)
Marqui Jones (6'-4" Jr. SG/SF)
Kevin Cooper (6'-1" Sr. SG)
Fowzi Abdelsamad (6'-1" Jr. SG)
Evan Burns (6'-5" Fr. F)
Lovester Adams (6'-1" Jr. SG)
Stanley Thorne, Jr. (5'-10" Sr. PG)
Jason Morrissette (6'-5" Jr. SG/SF)
Craig Smith (6'-6" So. C)

Fontana Steelers

Gary Holmes (6'-7" Sr. F)
Jordan Walker (6'-6" Jr. PG/C)
Baron Baker (5'-10" Sr. PG)
Mark Mancha (6'-1" So. SG)
Deandre Alexander (6'-0" Jr. G)
Corey McJimson (6'-2" Fr. SG/SF)
Aaron Gipson (5'-8" Fr. PG)
Daniel Dukes (6'-2" Jr. SF)
Ray Hopes (6'-3" Sr. F)
Michael Stephenson (5'-9" Jr. PG)
Scott Anderson (6'-5" Sr. F)
Eli Machado (6'-1" Sr. SF)
Joseth Dawson (6'-2" Sr. SG)
Erik Crull (6'-3" So. F)

At first glance, Fontana's bench is a little deeper and certainly a little taller than Fairfax, but that is deceiving; both these teams feature some great D-I college prospects, including what should be one of the better matchups of the event with Gary Holmes, who will attend Eastern Washington going up against one of the top unsigned prospects in the country, Joe Shipp of Fairfax. In the backcourt, look for Baron Baker and Stanley Thorne, two very exciting point guards to do battle; at present Baron is unsigned, and Stanley will play for Loyola Marymount next year.

Fontana made it to the D-IAA CIF SS quarterfinals last year, and this year returns several top D-I prospects in addition to Baker and Holmes. In particular, there's Joseth Dawson, a great shooter, who is averaging more than 20 ppg, and who's getting tons of attention and will sign in spring. Look for Joseth to match up against Jason Morrissette, a truly athletic and gifted shooting guard who loves to slash and drive to the basket and is one of the top juniors and best open court men in SoCal.

Other top players for Fontana include Corey McJimson, a freshman who can create a shot off the dribble, and Deondre Alexander and Aaron Gipson, who along with Michael Stephenson also plays point. Scott Anderson, a big banger is one of the best all-around players, and Jordan Walker is the other "big" man inside. Daniel Dukes, at 6'-2" would probably be a shooting guard on any other team, but he plays a lot bigger than his listed size, and he'll cover the three with Ray Hopes, a football player who is also a tremendous inside banger, and Eli Machado. Newcomers Erik Crull and Mark Mancha add depth off the bench.

We expect that Fairfax will challenge some of the "traditional" City Section powers this year for a section title and a trip to the State Tournament with some of the quickest guard play anywhere with Shipp, Thorne, and Morrissette. Jason Lovester and Torres, will play the two, while Joe will handle the three/four, along with Evan Burns, one of the best freshman this year. Smith will handle the post capably and add some inside power to Shipp’s game.