SoCalHoops Prep & High School News Report

SoCalHoops Junior Class--
The Best of the Best: Small/Shooting Forwards--(April 16,1998)

It's time for SoCalHoops to evaluate who we thought, in our opinion, were the best small/shooting forwards (i.e., 3's) in SoCal this past year, and who's got the most potential to become the best in next year's senior class. We haven't ranked the players by number, because generally we think that's pretty silly and doesn't mean much. But we have culled through all the lists we compiled this year, gone through all the notes of the games we watched, reviewed the tapes we've seen, and picked those players who, in our view, were either the best, or who showed the most promise. The players are from Fresno in the North, to San Diego in the South. Generally what constitutes the Southern Region of CIF.

All players on this list (and the lists for other positions which follow) are shown by their primary position first. That is, it's the position we think they're best suited for. The position may or may not be the one they played for most of the year; it may be the position they're now playing on a club team. But it's where we listed them anyway. That means that you may find someone who played a lot of point during the season listed in the shooting guards list, just because we thought he was a better SG than a PG. Don't worry, they're all still guards. Likewise, it may get really murky when we get to the taller "shooting guards" who can also double as "small forwards" or the "small forwards" who can double as "power forwards" or the big men who may seem like centers but who are really forwards because they don't yet have a really developed post game. So if you don't find someone you think should on one of the lists, try another list; you might find him at another position. Hey, we're trying, ok?

For the list of players which follows, what we mean by "small forward/shooting forward" is generally what you think it means: Someone who has the body of a larger player, is very mobile, can play defense out to the wing, rebounds well, and can shoot from the perimeter to inside; it may also mean a player who slashes to the hole off a cut, who can spot up from either in close or three-point range; generally bigger than a guard (either point or shooting) but not generally as big or as strong as the inside a power forward/center players, and typically not a post player.

All the players listed below are currently juniors and will become senior next season. Most have either been stats leaders, received varying degrees of attention from the basketball or general media, or are already established stars. Some are obviously not as well known: For those in the "Rest of the Best" category, we believe they've shown promise or potential, and could break out during the summer circuit or during their senior year and thus have the potential to attract the attention of the colleges at the D-I through NAIA levels. In other words, we believe they are all players.

All the listings are in alphabetical order. We have not assigned numerical rankings, but we have grouped the players into "Best", "Best of the Rest". But for those who are counting, there are 123 players on this list; but only 20 on the "Best" list. As to the Best of the Rest, some are good; many are journeymen players who have the potential to be a lot better. And a few are truly outstanding, but we just couldn't put them on the top. . . not yet.

Sure it's arbitrary as hell, but it's better, we think, than trying to assign numbers to a player. We hate numerical rankings, because they're arbitrary, and it's most often next to impossible to to distinguish between say player 25 and player 53; how much better is one than the other? Who really knows? But obviously some on our list are much better than some of the others. Likewise, some have gotten much more media attention than others, and some have been more heavily recruited than others. Indeed, some may not have been recruited at all or even been much noticed before.

Well, you be the judge. If there's someone we missed (and there are probably a few) let us know. And if you think someone doesn't belong on the list, let us know that too (but be nice; these are, after all still just kids). Either post a message on the board, or send us an e-mail.

The Best of the Best:

The Rest of the Best & Up and Coming:

Dennis Alshuler (6'-5" Jr. F) Corona Del Mar
Scott Anderson (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Fontana
Dion Aye (6'-3" Jr. F) Clovis West
Myron Banks (6'-1" Jr. SF) Dos Pueblos
Mike Bell (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) Canoga Park
Jon Bird (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) Crespi
Ryan Bond (6'-4" Jr. F) Riverside Arlington
Mike Bonwell (6'-6" Jr. F) Santa Fe Christian
Chad Brandel (6'-4" Jr. SF/PF/C) El Modena
Peter Brown (6'-6" Jr. F) Buena
Zack Bruce (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) Dos Pueblos
Josh Burgess (6'-6" Jr. F) Woodbridge
Jeremy Burnell (6'-4" Jr. SF/PF) San Diego Rancho Bernardo
Justin Buttikofer (6'-3" Jr. SF/SG) L.A. Grant
Carlos Cardoso (6'-4" Jr. SF/PF) Corcoran
Jacquay Carlyle (6'-6" Jr. SF) J.W. North
Eric Carver (6'-4" Jr. SF/PF) Oak Park
Iken Cbukumerije (6'-5" Jr. SF) L.A. Palisades
Chad Clark (6'-5" Jr. SF/SG) Glendora
Anthony Compton (6'-3" Jr. SG) L.A. Fairfax
Clifton Cooper (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Cathedral City
Doug Crain (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) Temecula Valley
Nick Czernek (6'-2" Jr. SF) Newbury Park
Larry Davenport (6'-3" Jr. F) Verbum Dei
Alton Davis (6'-4" Jr. F) Long Beach Wilson
Lawrence Diggs (6'-2" Jr. F) Verbum Dei
Andrew Drum (6'-5" Jr. F) Baldwin Park
Ron Eason (6'-4" Jr. SF) L.A. Tower
Garry Eberhardt (6'-6" Jr. F) Oxnard
Omid Eftekhari (6'-5" Jr. F) Anaheim Canyon
Kyle Fitzpatrick (6'-4" Jr. F) La Habra
Adrian Fletcher (6'-4" Jr. F) Etiwanda
Keyon Floyd (6'-4" Jr. SF) Lynwood
Ricky Gallagher (6'5" Jr. SF/PF) L.A. Jordan
Cale Garamendi (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) Fresno Hanford
Jeff Garner (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Fresno Hanford
David Gorman (6'-4" Jr. SF/PF) San Deigo Rancho Bernardo
Eric Greer (6'-5" Jr. SF) Channel Islands
Jermain Harper (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Gardena
Torey Harper (6'-6" Jr. SF) Ridgeview
Richard Harrison (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) L.A. Chatsworth
Chris Heil (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Cypress
Brad Hertel (6'-1" Jr. SF) Clovis West
Aaron Hillier (6'-3" Jr. SF) Rolling Hills Prep
Dennis Hisle (6'-4" Jr. F) Long Beach Wilson
Nimi Horev (6'-5" Jr. SF) Cypress
Geoff Hunt (6'-2" Jr. F) Corona Del Mar
Michael Jaffe (6'-2" Jr. SF/SG) Pacific Hills
Tony Jamerson (6'-5" Jr. SF/SG) Anaheim Kennedy
Alex Jenkins (6'-5" Jr. SF) Dos Pueblos
Gerrod Jenkins (6'-6" Jr. SF) Inglewood
Trevor Jensen (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) San Diego Horizon
Kevin Johnson (6'-3" Jr. SF/SG) L.A. Venice High
Brandon Jordan (6'-4" Jr. SF) Anaheim Katella
John Kelley (6'-0" Jr. SF) Rolling Hills Prep
Kelly Kramer (6'-5" Jr. F) Santa Margarita
Charlie Kudhrat (6'-2" Jr. F) Rolling Hills Peninsula
Garrett Lee (6'-4" Jr. SF) Bishop Montgomery
Earl Lewis (6'-5" Jr. SF) Gardena Serra
Brandon Martin (6'-6" Jr. SF) Trabuco Hills
Derek McBeke (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) J.W. North
Patrick McCoy (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) De Anza
Derrick McCray (6'-6" Jr. SF/PF) Riverside Arlington
Travon McGee (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) L.A. Washington
Clarence Mitchell (6'-4" Jr. SF) Chaminade
Kurt Mjoen (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Simi Valley
Marlik Morris (6'-5" Jr. SF) L.A. Chatsworth
Joe Nichols (6'-5" Jr. SF) Whittier California
Jordan O'Brien (6'-4" Jr. F) Servite
Bobby O'Hara (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) La Verne Damien
John Parker (6'-5" Jr. SF) Pasadena Muir
Josh Payne (6'-5" Jr. F) Rialto
Desmond Penigar (6'-5" Jr. SF) Upland
Darren Peterson (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Long Beach Jordan
Greg Peterson (6'-2" Jr. F) Rialto
Mike Pink (6'-4" Jr. SF) Ayala
Brian Polen (6'-4" Jr. F) Newbury Park
Matt Ponsford (6'-2" Jr. F) Servite
Marquis Revels (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Rialto
Kevin Richards (6'-5" Jr. SF/PF) Pasadena
Seth Richardson (6'-4" Jr. F) Corona Del Mar
Brandon Riedl (6'-6" Jr. SF) Crespi
Jason Ridley (6'-3" Jr. SF) Pasadena
Ryan Romberg (6'-8" Jr. SF/PF) Anaheim Canyon
David Sandoval (6'-2" Jr. SF) Corcoran
Justin Saya (6'-3" Jr. SF) La Verne Damien
Corey Smith (6'-6" Jr. SF) San Dimas
Ryan Shelby (6'-4" Jr. SF/SG) Etiwanda
Jason Silletto (6'-2" Jr. SF/SG) Huntington Beach Ocean View
Ryan Simon (6'-5" Jr. SF) Fresno Hanford
Nick Soderstrom (6'-4" Jr. F) El Modena
Alphonso Stovall (6'-5" Jr. F) Cypress
Todd Stromback (6'-4" Jr. SF) Villa Park
Ricardo Suazo (6'-4" Jr. F) Verbum Dei
Misha Taylor (6'-5" Jr. F) Crossroads
Bobby Thompson (6'-1" Jr. SF) Lakewood
Christian Trapp (6'-7" Jr. F) University of San Diego High
Joseph Wallace (6'-6" Jr. SF) Kennedy
Joe Webber (6'-2" Jr. SF) San Bernardino Pacific
Aaron Willis (6'-5" Jr. F) Canyon
Brandon Woodard (6'-3" Jr. SF/PF) Campbell Hall
Pierre Woods (6'-5" Jr. SF) Long Beach Wilson

©Copyright SoCalHoops 1998
All rights reserved
Questions? Comments? Need Information?
Contact: jegesq@SoCalHoops.com