Boys’ basketball: Tall players are everywhere
Mater Dei senior shows off his versatility
Either I just happened to pick the right games at the right time or the number of outstanding big men playing high school basketball is multiplying.
My weekend started with Loyola at Chaminade on Friday. There was 7-foot McDonald’s All American Thomas Welsh of Loyola. He just keeps getting better and better. With his work ethic, the sky is truly the limit. And 6-10 sophomore Trevor Stanback of Chaminade keeps improving, too. Wait until he’s a senior. Then there was 6-8 senior Jack Williams of Chaminade. Teams used to dare him to shoot from outside. Well, he had 11 points in the first quarter and his shooting skills have improved dramatically.
On Saturday, the Nike Extravaganza was full of tall players on the rise. Alemany’s 6-8 Daron Henson made three consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter against Fairfax. At times, Redondo’s 6-8 Terrell Carter was a man among boys.
JSerra’s 6-11 Jayce Johnson had a block of Bishop Gorman’s highly regarded 7-0 Stephen Zimmerman, letting everyone know not to forget about him. Mater Dei’s 6-10 sophomore, M.J. Cage, more than held his own against 6-10 Jahlil Okafor of Chicago Whitney Young, a McDonald’s All American.
And there was 6-7 Stanley Johnson of Mater Dei showing everyone he can play point guard as if he were 6 feet tall.
On Wednesday, I’m headed to L.A. Cathedral to see all their tall players.
It’s a very good season for the big men in Southern California high school basketball.
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