West Coast Showdown Showcase Recap

CYPRESS, CA – On Sunday (Nov. 4) at Cypress Community College, 24 hours before first “official” day of practice for the 2012-13 high school season, the first-ever West Coast Showdown Showcase proved to be quite the preview of some of the very best players Southern California has to offer.

As anticipated, three of the standout members of the Southern California Class of 2015 – guards Jeremy Hemsley (La Verne Damien), Kendall Small (Huntington Beach Ocean View) and Stephen Thompson (Torrance Bishop Montgomery) – were in attendance and each was terrific.

Of course, that’s been the case the entire fall at every event that Hemsley, Small and Thompson – teammates on the Superior Athletes travel program – have participated.

And their younger brothers from the Class of 2017 – Justin Hemsley, Ethan Thompson and Kyle Small – used the event as a opportunity to provide sneak previews as to why each will be among the best freshmen during the 2013-14 campaign.

Here are some of the other players who played well while I watched for close to six hours on Sunday:

*Dakari Archer (5-foot-8/Downey), Keith Davis (6-2/Anaheim Savanna), Julio Guity (6-6/San Diego Morse) and Josh Mishler (6-4/Ocean View) were among the better seniors in attendance.

Archer is among the most under-appreciated players in Southern California and one of the region’s best point guards in the Class of 2013.

Davis should be among the scoring leaders in Orange County this season and Mishler will undoubtedly knock in a lot of jump shots and layups by way of Kendall Small passes this season.

*Brad Johnson (6-7/Yorba Linda), Elijah Johnson (6-2/Santa Barbara San Marcos), Jahmere Mitchell (6-0/San Diego Morse), Mike Nwabuzor (6-0/Lakewood Mayfair), Artis Parris (6-5/Long Beach Poly) and Austin Pauga (6-5/Naperville, IL, Center) did the Class of 2014 proud.

B. Johnson had pretty good low-post moves (he threw in a left-handed jump hook/he’s right-handed) and E. Johnson was one of the smoothest players and best scorers in the entire event.

Mitchell and Nwabuzor are strong and dynamic point guard prospects.

Parris – the most aggressive player, by far, in the 6-5 or taller range on Sunday – is another reason why the Poly Jackrabbits are one of the deepest programs in the West this season.

And Pauga, who has long arms, a quick first step and a solid jump shot, was the only non-Californian player in attendance (to the best of my knowledge, at least).

*William English (6-1/Mayfair), Daniel Hernandez (5-10/Anaheim Canyon), Isaiah McCullough (6-2/Damien), Taylor Muldrow (6-5/San Diego Serra), Dezmon Murphy (6-6/La Mirada), Tariq Tillman (6-2/Spring Valley Steele Canyon) and C.J. Walker (6-5/Anaheim Canyon) demonstrated that Hemsley, Small and Thompson – it sounds like a law firm, eh? – were not the only quality sophomores at the event.

English joined Parris as the two most relentless frontcourt players on display Sunday. English has the kind of strength that most high school linebackers would envy.

*Harrison Bonner (5-10) and Drew Buggs (5-11), both from Long Beach Poly; Dylan Horn (6-1/Calabasas View Point), Morgan Means (5-10/Bishop Montgomery) and Omajae Smith (6-3/San Diego Serra) were among freshmen standouts.

Horn is an exceptional jump shooter and was one of the better scorers at the event, regardless of class.

Smith also scored with relative ease. It will be almost unfair to defenders if he grows another three inches or so.

Congratulations to event directors Don Small, Glen Worley and John Emaguna for a job well done.

I’m looking forward to checking it out again a year from now.

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