2002 California Juco Summer Showcase:
There were 40 teams involved. I managed to see 25 of them (in 15 games, which means I saw a few of them twice).
One thing that stands out in my mind is how many outstanding point guards there were. Nearly every team I saw had an excellent point, and several had more than one. There were quality players at every position, but the level of talent at PG seemed truly exceptional for what one might expect to see from 25 teams chosen at random.
And these are some good teams. Granted, I tried to see what I thought were the better teams, but in a field like this a good team could find itself facing some intense competition. For example, the Las Vegas team faced South County, Hooptown, The Buzz and Print Pro (all in the same day, no less). Obviously, the schedule was intended to promote competition and, based on the games I saw, mismatches were few and far-between.
These evaluations are all just my opinion – mostly based on stats, team performance and my impressions at this event. But I also took into account what I already knew about the players and teams. And the actual placings are by their very nature somewhat arbitrary, but the list should give a good idea of who stood out on the 25 teams I say play. None of this summary includes any of the teams (or players) I didn’t see play at the Showcase.
So, without further delay...
Best teams:
1. South County (Saddleback) - Bell joins perhaps the state’s deepest frontcourt
2. Las Vegas (Southern Nevada) – Star-studded roster, especially in backcourt
3. Hooptown SO (LA Valley) – Trio of top freshmen led by Strong keep them near the top
4. Valley Blue (Irvine Valley) – Scoggin, Lambert & Lombard may be state’s top trio
5. Team 605 (Cerritos) – Deep, talented backcourt plus good PF in Heron
6. San Marcos (Palomar) – legit 10-man rotation outlasted tough Hayward team
7. Walnut (Mt. San Antonio) – Martin & Smith give them top-notch inside-outside combo
8. The Buzz (Fullerton) – Stubborn team with excellent backcourt
9. Saratoga (West Valley) – solid cast surrounds star SG Powell
10. Cucamonga (Chaffey) – Won impressively even without Pace in lineup
11. Hayward (Chabot) – Gray heads up a deep and talented backcourt
12. Print Pro (Antelope Valley) – Fortier & Melvin are outstanding set of forwards
Six teams that will be significantly improved this season:
1. S.A. Hoyas (Alameda) - stronger supporting cast for Jordan
2. High Desert (Victor Valley) - good backcourt, Russ strong inside
3. Vaqueros (Santa Barbara) - solid set of guards in Pickert and Cowen
4. Westside (West LA) - nearly upset Saratoga but must find more offense
5. The Cats (Canyons) - PF Brown adds inside presence and PG Morales was impressive
6. Mojave Green (Barstow) - Sherrod, other transfers could mean first winning season in a while
DR’S All-Showcase Team:
PG - Kameron Gray, Hayward (Chabot)
SG - Terrance Martin, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
SF - DaShawn Strong, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
PF - Trae Fortier, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
C - Micah Lombard, Valley Blue (Irvine Valley)
The Top 100 Players (listed and ranked by position):
Point Guards:
1. Kameron Gray, Hayward (Chabot)
2. Steve Scoggin, Valley Blue (Irvine Valley)
3. Brian Lang, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
4. Justin Bell, South County (Saddleback)
5. Philip Scott, Cucamonga (Chaffey)
6. Carlos Rivers, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
7. Matt Reid, Team 605 (Cerritos)
8. Ricky Williams, CBL (San Jose)
9. Donyare Mayfield, The Buzz (Fullerton)
10. Lawrence Walker, San Diego (Grossmont)
11. Cheo White, Team 605 (Cerritos)
12. Matt Mitchell, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
13. Jason Goodwin, SA Hoyas (Alameda)
14. Solomon Brown, The Bolts (Cypress)
15. Damon Knight, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
16. Ryan Miller, The Knights (Shasta)
17. Carlos Bailey, Mojave Green (Barstow)
18. Omar Cowen, Vaqueros (Santa Barbara)
19. Joseph Anderson, High Desert (Victor Valley)
20. Mike Morales, The Cats (Canyons)
21. Jesse Cottonham, Saratoga (West Valley)
22. Mike Webb, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
23. M’Jumbe Williams, Westside (West LA)
24. Ronald Spotwood, The River (American River)
25. Lawrence Abel, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
26. Anthony Hardin, The Seals (Monterey)
27. Scott Carr, San Diego (Grossmont)
Shooting Guards:
1. Terrance Martin, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
2. Javance Coleman, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
3. Robert Powell, Saratoga (West Valley)
4. Myron Jordan, SA Hoyas (Alameda)
5. Matt Nelsen, The Cats (Canyons)
6. Jonathan Pickert, Vaqueros (Santa Monica)
7. Idel Dawson, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
8. Tony Roberts, Team 605 (Cerritos)
9. Justin Allen, The Buzz (Fullerton)
10. Ron Banks, Team 605 (Cerritos)
18. Jay Sherrod, Mojave Green (Barstow)
11. Maurice Thomas, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
12. Michael Hubbard, The Buzz (Fullerton)
13. Tarran Turner, High Desert (Victor Valley)
14. Alex Cabagnot, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
15. Matt Andrade, Hayward (Chabot)
16. Chad Bigler, South County (Saddleback)
17. Jamaal Lee, The Cats (Canyons)
Small Forwards:
1. DaShawn Strong, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
2. Marques Crane, South County (Saddleback)
3. Nick Porter, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
4. Sidney Melvin, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
5. Michael McFadden, CBL (San Jose)
6. Avin Curry, SA Hoyas (Alameda)
7. Chris Booth, The Bolts (Cypress)
8. Tuggi Smith, The Knights (Shasta)
9. Glenn Payne, The River (American River)
10. Micah Johnson, Cucamonga (Chaffey)
11. Phil Strocco, San Diego (Grossmont)
12. Jordan Feramisco, San Marcos (Palomar)
13. Allan Purnell, The Buzz (Fullerton)
14. Damien Mathieu, Hayward (Chabot)
15. Jamal Washington, High Desert (Victor Valley)
16. Steve McMaryion, Westside (West LA)
17. Will Campbell, San Marcos (Palomar)
Power Forwards:
1. Trae Fortier, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
2. Keith Everage, South County (Saddleback)
3. Danny Lambert, Valley Blue (Irvine Valley)
4. Hardy Asprilla, North Bay (Sequoias)
5. Odell Qualls, Knights (Shasta)
6. Andrew Zahn, Valley Blue (Irvine Valley)
7. Nathan Dowd, The Buzz (Fullerton)
8. Mackenzie Clark, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
9. Malcolm Heron, Team 605 (Cerritos)
10. Lionel Davis, Cucamonga (Chaffey)
11. Adrian Fletcher, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
12. Midwin Francis, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
13. Spencer Foster, North Bay (Sequoias)
14. Anthony Roberts, The Buzz (Fullerton)
15. Reggie Johnson, Westside (West LA)
16. *Steven Brown, The Cats (Canyons)
17. Ahmad Fudge, Hayward (Chabot)
18. Chris Dean, South County (Saddleback)
19. John Kupper, Vaqueros (Santa Barbara)
20. Justin Vanderweff, San Diego (Grossmont)
21. Robert Hamilton, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
Centers:
1. Micah Lombard, Valley Blue (Irvine Valley)
2. Jamaal Smith, Walnut (Mt. SAC)
3. Andre Hardwick, South County (Saddleback)
4. Vincent Cofield, Hooptown SO (LA Valley)
5. Darren Triba(?), San Marcos (Palomar)
6. Jeff Jones, CBL (San Jose)
7. Justin Jefferson, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
8. Antoine Russ, High Desert (Victor Valley)
9. Thomas Diezi, The Buzz (Fullerton)
10. Brandon Murray, Print Pro (Antelope Valley)
11. Jason Carter(??), Las Vegas (Southern Nevada)
12. Nick Frye, Saratoga (West Valley)
13. Mike Mauger, San Diego (Grossmont)
14. *Derrick Franklin, The Bolts (Cypress)
15. Matthew Misko, North Bay (Sequoias)
16. Isaiah Buckley, Hayward (Chabot)
17. David Hungerford, The Cats (Canyons)
18. Nate Rede, The Seals (Monterey)
*Brown and Franklin are not D-1 eligible
note: PG Sheldon Pace (Cucamonga/Chaffey) and SG Anthony Shavies (Hayward/Chabot) were not rated due to the fact I didn’t see Pace and barely saw Shavies due to injury. I’ve seen them play before, however, and if they were rated here they would each be near the top of their respective categories.
More Showcase Info
Game-by-game listing
Showcase front page
