Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei’s Shaqquan Aaron transferring to Taft

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There are a few rites of passage in high school sports every August. Football practice starts, class schedules are distributed and the usual influx of basketball transfers arrive at Mater Dei.

But in the first man-bites-dog story of the 2011-12 high school year, the Monarchs appear to be losing a high-profile player.

New Taft Coach Jason Hart confirmed Friday that Shaqquan Aaron, considered one of the nation’s top sophomore shooting guards, was in the process of enrolling at the Woodland Hills school.

Taft was thought to be a team on the downswing in the wake of longtime Coach Derrick Taylor’s departure for St. John Bosco. Guard Ajon Efferson left for Pasadena and guard Darryl Stewart transferred to Chaminade.

But Aaron will join a returning core of senior forward Brandon Perry and senior guard Steve Jones, making the Toreadors at least competitive next season in the City Section.

‘There’s enough talent to compete at a high level,’ said Hart, the former NBA guard who is embarking on his first high school head coaching job after coaching a couple of Amateur Athletic Union teams the last few summers.

--Ben Bolch