2006 Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase Report I 8th Grade/Freshmen* (May 9, 2006)   The 2006 Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase was held last Sunday May 7th at Long Beach Jordan HS and as is usually the case there was plenty of SoCal talent on hand.  Especially noteworthy was the Freshman Game which had several terrific prospects and served notice that the SoCal Class of 2009 could challenge the past classes of 1997 and 2000 as the top class in the region this past decade.  Besides the Fullcourt Press’ own Dinos Trigonis and Etop Udo-Ema, other media/scouts in attendance included Frank Burlison (Long Beach Press-Telegram/Scouthoops.com), Dave Keefer and Dave

Rogahn (CaliforniaPreps.com), Greg Hicks (Scouthoops.com) and Joel Francisco (SoCal’s Finest Scouting Service). The report below is the 1st of a three part series highlighting this event which featured over 130 of SoCal’s top underclassmen. 8th Graders (Class of 2010) The top three 8th graders in attendance were the talented trio of 6’8” Jeremy Tyler (San Diego CA), 6’1” Gary Franklin (Los Angeles CA) and 6’4” Tyler Lamb (Chino CA). Tyler is a monster post-player cut from the same mold of fellow San Diego native Jelani McCoy (former UCLA/NBA player).  Very active in the paint and quick in transition, Tyler has a big impact on both ends of the floor and already finishes with impressive athleticism and authority.

Tyler also played with the talented freshmen and more than held his own (12 points/7 rebounds).  Outstanding prospect! Franklin (16 points/4 assists here) is also a big time prospect oozing with potential who reminds me of Jarrett Jack (Georgia Tech/Portland Trailblazers) – a big point that has very nice ball skills with ability to shoot the deep perimeter shot.   Franklin (like Tyler) also played with the freshmen and showed great dime throwing ability – 11 assists).  Although Lamb is the third of this trio listed, he does not play second fiddle to anybody as he is a big time wing with an overall high-major skill set that includes a text book jump shot.  As well as Lamb played in the 8th grade game (11 points/9 boards), he played even better when matched up with the talented freshmen (had 13 points in that game).   Other 8th graders that played well and showed much promise were 6’4” Michael Atwater (Santa Ana CA), 6’6” Clint Bozner (Corona CA), 6’2” Marek Lagorce (Los Angeles CA), 6’4” Nicholas Kasper (Dana Point CA), 6’0” Marquis Cronk (San Diego CA), 5’11” Kurt Davis (Moreno Valley CA), 5’10” Julian Benarouche  (Los Angeles CA), 5’9” Dennis Cid (Long Beach CA), 5’6” Tim Douglas (Cerritos CA), 5’10” Ethan Ayres (Newport Beach CA), 6’0” Carlos Arguedas (Seal Beach CA), 5’5” Tre Irving (San Diego CA), 6’2” Clifford Sims (Bellflower CA) and 5’5” Brandon Graves (Los Angeles CA).   Atwater is a long lefty forward with a very nice stroke that extends to the 3-point line and is an underrated rebounder (had 8 boards here), Bozner (10 points/8 rebounds) is an active rebounder and shotblocker, Lagorce has that special knack of scoring as well as having a nose for the ball (11 rebounds), Kasper is a well-built wing forward that slashes well and is an able defender, Cronk has a strong physique and has a scorer’s mentality (10 points), Davis is a smooth off-guard that can score, Benarouche is a crafty lead guard with a high basketball IQ, Cid is a very good defender and slashing scorer that had a real impact in this game (14 points/8 boards), Douglas is a quick point that handles the rock well, Ayres has a legitimate 3-point stroke, Arguedas is a versatile guard that can play both back-court spots and is headed to Mater Dei for his freshmen year next fall, Irving has a solid handle, Sims (9points/14 boards) is an athletic wing that runs the floor well and Graves is a heady floorleader.   7th Grader 5’3” KJ Smith (Campbell Hall/North Hollywood) played with the 8th graders and although the younger brother of Boston College star Craig Smith is still rather small, he does compete well and displayed a nice handle and ability to handle pressure.

Freshmen (Class of 2009) “Absolutely loaded” – that described the “Top 20” Freshman Game in a nutshell.  Where do you start when talking about the large amount of special players in this class.  Let’s start with the “Fab 4” here: 6’8” Joe Burton (West Valley/Hemet), 6’7” Aaron Moore (Dominguez/Compton) and 6’8” twins Travis and Dave Wear (Mater Dei/Santa Ana). Burton is a Sean May-type power-forward that is a true “back to the basket” post player.  Burton (15 points/16 boards) is a physical rebounder with a soft mid-range touch and the agility to get up and down the court well in transition.  Burton has played so well this spring that Clark Francis (Hoop Scoop) believes he is a Top 5 talent in the national class. Moore is a quick forward that gets to the glass in a hurry and is very skilled from 17 feet on in (had 16 points/11 boards here).  The Wear twins continue to amaze as they put on an offensive clinic – displaying several outstanding offensive moves.  Travis had a game high 26 points (11/17 from the field) to go along with 8 boards and 4 assists while his opponent for a day (and brother) Dave was not too shabby either (20 points on 9/17 shooting with 9 boards). SoCal has seen it’s share of terrific twins the past 10 years (Jason & Jarron Collins, Errick & Derrick Craven and Brook & Robin Lopez) and the Wears could be as good if not better than those guys.

Other Freshmen that showed they belonged to be mentioned with the “cream of the crop” in this excellent class include 6’6” Keegan Hornbuckle (Oaks Christian/Westlake Village), 6’4” Craig Payne (Etiwanda/Etiwanda), 6’5” Rome Draper (Etiwanda/Etiwanda) and 6’0” Justin Cobbs (Bishop Montgomery/Torrance). Hornbuckle was an offensive revelation as he displayed great range on his jump shot (18 points – including 2 “threes”) and an improved overall game.  Hornbuckle may be transferring to Campbell Hall for his sophomore season.  Payne is an undersized but physical inside player that gets a lot done and can finish in traffic (9 points/7 rebounds), Draper reminds me of Dijon Thompson (UCLA/Phoenix Suns) in that he has that great combination of size and perimeter skills while Cobbs has played better at other times I have seen him, but he is a very skilled and solid point ala Mike Bibby that can both score and pass (4 assists here).

Additionally there were several other talented and intriguing prospects that have high-major potential like 6’0” Darius Morris (Windward/Los Angeles), 6’3” Jordan Mackie (Dorsey/Los Angeles), 5’10” Sam Ferguson (Mayfair/Lakewood) and 6’0” Robert Allen (Crossroads/Santa Monica). Morris (9 points/5 boards) is still not physically developed, but he does has the special “something” that is the hallmark of elite point guards. Very crafty with uncanny ability to create for both himself and teammates off the dribble, Darius is an intriguing lead guard that bears watching closely.

Mackie is still a somewhat raw talent, but there is no denying that he has the physical tools and potential to develop into a high-major wing player.  Ferguson has a Kenny Brunner-type physique and plays with great poise and purpose, doesn’t force the issue and loves to get teammates involved.  Allen has grown a few inches and has a very nice feel for the game as well as a dependable handle and ability to score (10 points/6 assists).   Other freshmen that played well include 5’11” Zack Ramirez (San Marcos/San Diego), 6’0” Joshua Johnson (Fontana/Fontana), 6’0” Chris Adames (Diamond Ranch/Diamond Bar), 6’4” Corey Malkiewicz (Bishops/La Jolla), 6’3” Keith Taylor (Loyola/Los Angeles) and 5’3” Jason Vo (El Dorado/Placentia).   Ramirez is a pesky defender (4 steals) that has the ability to find open teammates, Johnson is hard-working combo-guard that plays very nice “D”( 3 steals), Adames is a scrappy defender as well as a solid ballhandler, Malkiewicz has nice size for a wing and plays with energy (5 rebounds/3 steals), Taylor rebounds well (7 boards) and Vo is small, but a crowd favorite that has a quick release on his accurate outside shot.   This Freshman game was so loaded that one easily lost track of the fact that five other top frosh with high-major potential like 6’4” Demetrius Walker (Fontana/Fontana/in attendance but out with a sore back), 6’2” Justin Hawkins (Taft/Woodland Hills/in attendance but out by family decision), 6’8” Chris Cunningham (Diamond Ranch/Diamond Bar/out with flu), 6’3” Roberto Nelson (Santa Barbara/Santa Barbara) and 6’4” Terran Carter (Taft/Woodland Hills) did not take the floor.   The future of SoCal looks bright as the Classes of 2009 and 2010 will keep this area a focal point for national recruiting efforts by major college programs.   Detailed stats of each game and player in this event is available online at: www.CaliforniaPreps.com   Special thanks to Coach Ron Massey and the Long Beach Jordan staff for all their help and efforts related to this event.   * First of a three part series covering the 2006 Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase.

For the Lowest Prices in Travel/Lodging/Car Rental Please visit the Fullcourt Press Travel Center ...