The post Jaylen Hands 1v1 King of The Court w/ Former UCLA Teammate Jules Bernard! + EXCLUSIVE Workout! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The post WHO'S THE HARDEST PLAYER YOU'VE EVER GUARDED? Ballislife All American Edition appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The boys basketball team at Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) is rolling along unbeaten and has ascended to the No. 1 sport in the FAB 50 national rankings. The Huskies, behind their unique and exciting offense spearheaded by 6-foot-6 UCLA-bound point guard Lonzo Ball, won three holiday tournaments and have scored over 100 points 10 times while compiling a 19-0 record. The Huskies are eyeing CIF Southern Section and CIF State Open titles with an excellent chance to be crowned the No. 1 team in the nation. Standing in their way is FAB 50 No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) which is the defending CIFSS Open Division champions and currently 19-0.

CLICK HERE to watch a replay of the complete Chino Hills vs. Bishop Montgomery game!

CLICK HERE to watch a replay of the complete Fairfax vs. Windward game!

The host school, Fairfax (Los Angeles) will take on talented Windward (Los Angeles) in a 5 pm (PT) game before the FAB 50 showdown at 7 pm (PT). Fairfax, currently 18-3 and ranked No. 11 in the state by CalHiSports.com, is led by LMU-bound guard Donald Gipson and Army-bound forward Babacar Thiombane. Windward is an underclass-dominated team that includes Shareef O'Neal, a sophomore and the son of retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, and another talented tenth-grader in Jules Bernard.

Chino Hills vs. Bishop Montgomery, 7 pm PT

Team: Chino Hills 19-0 (Ranked No. 1 in FAB 50, No. 1 in Cal-Hi Sports state rankings)
Coach: Steve Baik (Seeking his third league title and first in the Baseline League in his sixth season with the Huskies.)
Key Players: PG Lonzo Ball (6-6, 2016, Returning All-American, Returning Cal-Hi Sports State Junior Player of the Year, Mr. Basketball USA candidate, UCLA commit), SF Li’Angelo Ball (6-4, 2017, UCLA commit), SG Lamelo Ball (5-9, 2019, UCLA commit), SF Eli Scott (6-4, 2017), C Onyeka Okongwu (6-8, 2019).

What To Watch For vs. Bishop Montgomery: The Huskies opened up the season ranked No. 11 in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings and have played above expectation level, winning three December tournaments and defeating teams from eight different states to elevate to No. 1. The catalyst is Lonzo Ball, who has elevated his play from the best returning player in the CIF into one of the nation's top three national player of the year candidates. Lonzo has had multiple triple-double games, including some incredible numbers in Chino Hills' biggest games. Ball, a once-in-a-decade type passer, had 20 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Chino Hills' 66-60 win over Patrick School of New Jersey in the City of Palms Classic championship game. The big win for the Huskies came in the quarterfinals over three-time defending FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy of Florida that opened up the country's eyes to potentially how special this team could be. Ball finished that game with 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Chino Hills then went to the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and outclassed the field, winning the title game 96-80 over Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif) as Ball had 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, seven steals and four blocks. Chino Hills has defeated six teams so far that are or have been ranked in the FAB 50 -- including two teams twice. In the second win over Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), Ball finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. On national television in a rematch with High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), Ball may have turned in his most impressive performance with 15 points, 22 assists, 11 rebounds, four steals, and five blocks. For good measure, he went for 32 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists in a recent 92-65 win over Damien (La Verne, Calif.) in what was supposed to be the toughest league test on the road this season.

It will be a colossal upset if Chino Hills loses in league, but Bishop Montgomery will be its toughest test remaining in the regular season. The Knights are the second ranked team in the state -- but more importantly one of California's most disciplined and well-prepared teams despite an underclass-dominated lineup. When Chino Hills played High Point Christian the first time, the Huskies raced out to a 28-11 lead and that team could never recover. The same thing happened in the first game vs. Foothills Christian, as Chino Hills blitzed that team early and led 40-13 after one quarter. High Point Christian played much better in the second go-around, but ran out of gas in the second half trying to keep up with the Chino Hills offensive onslaught. Foothills Christian played much better in the second game, and actually took the lead with around 10 seconds remaining. Since Bishop Montgomery hasn't played Chino Hills, one of the keys to the game will be how fast the Knights can get acclimated with the Huskies' unique style. Bishop Montgomery can't afford a slow start.

There is no doubt Lonzo Ball is the catalyst for Chino Hills, but the reason the Huskies are much improved over last year is the improvement of the veterans and the additions. Li'Angelo Ball (6-4, 2017) is a relentless scorer who has soft hands and excels at shooting on the wing or converting long passes from his older brother Lonzo. The newcomers are what takes this team to the next level. La'Melo Ball (5-9, 2019) can score, distribute, and is a fearless competitor despite being 14-years old. Scott gives Chino Hills toughness, athleticism and has a knack for mixing it up and getting to loose balls. After senior big man Shane Hopkins went down with injury, freshman Okongwu (6-8, 2019) has done an excellent job controlling the paint. As a first-year player, he's done a great job of staying home and not getting into the air, staying discipline and for the most part staying out of foul trouble against some serious competition. Bottom line, it's hard to exploit any weakness because Chino Hills makes up for them by the total numbers of shots it puts up and the extra possessions its style produces.

Team: Bishop Montgomery 19-0 (Ranked No. 7 in FAB 50, No. 2 in Cal-Hi Sports state rankings)
Coach: Doug Mitchell (27th season at Bishop Montgomery, 609-151 current won-loss record including 2 season at South Torrance, 16 league, 5 CIF Southern Section, and 3 CIF State titles)
Key Players: CG Ethan Thompson (6-4, 2017, Younger brother of Oregon State's Stephen Thompson Jr.), SF Jordan Schakel (6-5, 2017), SG David Singleton (6-4, 2018).

What To Watch For vs. Chino Hills: Bishop Montgomery has not allowed more than 67 points in any of its wins this season (it won that game over league rival Cathedral 99-67) and Chino Hills has scored under 83 points only once, so something has to give. In the game in which Chino Hills scored under that total, Patrick School did as good a job of any team so far of limiting RUN GMZ (as in Gelo-Melo-Zo) to one shot and slowing down the tempo. That City of Palms Championship game was played without a shot clock and there is a 35-second clock in California, so Bishop Montgomery cannot get behind too much or else it will have to put up shots early in the clock, which has played into Chino Hill's hands all season long. Under Mitchell, the Knights make defenses work by taking good field goal attempts and play disciplined man-to-man defense. If there is any team that is efficient enough on both sides of the ball to pull off an upset, it's Mitchell's team.

Chino Hills wants what Bishop Montgomery has -- a coveted CIF Southern Section Open Division title under its belt. The Knights are the defending champs and have three prime-time players back from that team, all of whom are underclassmen. Thompson has a knack for scoring and is improving as a ball-hander and defender. Schakel is a jack-of-all-trades and doesn't have a glaring weakness. He can shoot, rebound and make plays for teammates. His production and the things he does that don't show up in the box score will be one of the keys to this game. Singleton is tough and his skill level has blossomed this season. If two of the three aforementioned players have a big game, Bishop Montgomery will be in excellent shape heading into the fourth quarter.

Gianni Hunt (6-1, 2019) has cracked the starting lineup and excels at penetration -- and is fearless taking big shots. Other role and bench players such as Jalen Washington (6-0, 2018) have made an impact and depth is one area where Bishop Montgomery has a big advantage. Bishop Montgomery is not a big team, but it rebounds the ball hard, but the Knights can't forget that Chino Hills likes to leak out for streaking baskets off long passes from Lonzo Ball. If the Knights are not dicisplined in this area of the game they will lose by double digits. Chino Hills barely goes to its bench (Cam Shelton comes off the bench for spot minutes) and it would seem the Huskies would be at a disadvantage in this area. The Huskies, and in particular the Ball Bros., are in excellent basketball shape and other teams simply can't keep up with them over four quarters. This is where Bishop Montgomery has to use its depth to try to slow RUN GMZ down and out execute Chino Hills at the end. Bishop Montgomery could play good team defense, get good offensive production from its big guns, and makes less mistakes -- and Chino Hills can still win. Lonzo Ball's ability makes Chino Hills that good.

L.A. Fairfax vs. L.A. Windward,  5 pm PT  

Team: Fairfax 18-3 (FAB 50 bubble club/regionally ranked, No. 11 in Cal-Hi Sports state rankings)
Coach: Havey Kitani (35th season at Fairfax, 746-260 current won-loss record, 2 CIF state titles, 4 L.A. City Section titles)
Key Players: Donald Gipson (6-4, 2016, LMU commit), Babacar Thiombane (6-7, Army commit), Jamal Hartwell II (5-10, 2018).

What To Watch For vs. Windward: The Lions are coming off a disappointing 53-47 home loss to Western League rival L.A. Westchester and want to stay on course for the rematch the last game of the regular season on February 12. Fairfax's young backcourt, which includes Hartwell and freshman Ethan Anderson (6-1, 2019), had a few too many turnovers under pressure vs. Wetchester, so look for the Lions to focus on ball-control versus a team that doesn't quite defend like Westchester does. If Fairfax takes care of the ball and if Thiombane stays out of foul trouble, it should be in good shape. Thiombane will battle Shareef O'Neal and is the more experienced and intense player right now. Gipson is nicely rounding into shape coming off of ACL surgery and has had multiple 20-point outings in big games this season. Realistically, Fairfax is capable of winning this game even if Gipson doesn't have a big outing. Kitani wants to make sure his team remains focused as it battles Westchester for the potential top seed in the L.A. City Section Open Division playoffs. As the host team of the Fairfax State Preview Classic, the Lions will not overlook Windward and will be motivated to come out and jump on Windward.     

Team: Windward 6-11
Coach: Rod Foster (former UCLA player took over for Steve Smith on January 22)
Key Players: Shareef O’Neal (6-8, 2018, son of Shaquille O'Neal), Jules Bernard (6-5, 2018), Jaylen Harris (5-11, 2017).

What To Watch For vs. Fairfax: In the preseason, this looked like a big-time game with big-time D1 prospects on the floor. There will be some big-time players, but Windward is a struggling club that just went through a coaching change and will be underdogs coming in. Foster, who played in the NBA after a successful career at UCLA, takes over for Smith, who is moving on to coach in the WNBA. Foster previously coached youth teams in the area and it won't take him long to get acclimated with Windward's players. The Wildcats have played a tough schedule, so they'll be ready for Fairfax's intensity -- executing will be the question. It isn't just youth versus a tough schedule that led to a sub .500 mark -- Windward had some injuries, but the coaching change could lead to a spark. Harris is the main player coming off injury, and his play will be key versus Fairfax's young backcourt. If he distributes and finds the hot hand, Windward could be in position to pull off the upset. Bernard is a talented southpaw and one of the better sophomores on the West Coast. He's capable of putting up big numbers and his matchup vs. Gipson should be one of the best of the day. If O'Neal is engaged and works inside, it will increase Windward's chances of pulling out the win. The son of Shaq, Shareef is a budding talent, he doesn't get the ball inside at times -- and at other times he's hangs out on the perimeter. It will be very interesting to see what type of affect the coaching change will have on O'Neal's game. The team will have a clean slate and a win here could propel the Wildcats to a strong regular season finish.

The post BIL To Stream Titanic Matchup: Chino Hills vs. Bishop Montgomery Jan 30! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: Introducing Ben Baker and Kamaka Hepa

Norwalk, Calif. -- The depth of the 2015 Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp reflected the vast amount of quality players in the West's 2018 and 2019 classes. There were approximately 15 players in attendance who are a notch above the rest in terms of long-term college potential, but that group dominated camp games to varying degrees. No one player put his stamp on the camp as the undisputed top performer.

There were a vast amount of standouts in the second tier and a number of players had legitimate cases to be selected to the camp's Cream of the Crop Top 60 game, which is for the best performers not selected to the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game, which is designed for the camp's top performers as selected by camp directors and media in attendance.

There was plenty of discussion about the merits of some of the campers who weren't selected for the camp's showcase games or the ones who perhaps should have been in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game instead of the Top 60, but when the dust settled two shooting guards emerged as the Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp MOPs. David Singleton, a 6-foot-4 sophomore combo guard from Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), and Jules Bernard, a 6-foot-5 left-handed wing guard from Windward (Los Angeles), were as close to the ideal combination of high major prospects who consistently dominated camp games as there were at the two-day event.

Singleton had multiple 20-point games to follow up on the excellent performances he stringed together at the recent Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic for Bishop Montgomery. Singleton is also a throwback in terms of competitiveness regardless of camp atmosphere and because of his will to win in every situation. The sophomore wasn't too pleased his team lost in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game despite his 15-point, 6-rebound, 2-steal performance.

With his advanced triple threat game and ability to cover ground while driving, in addition to keeping the defense honest with a dependable jumper, Bernard was arguably the toughest perimeter check at camp. He came as close as any player to dominating camp from start to finish, but a sprained ankle suffered in a Sunday game kept him from producing at his normal level over the second half of the event on Sunday. Bernard finished the Top 30 game with seven points and one rebound.

Two players who might have made their case as camp MOP has they participated in the Top 30 game were 6-foot-5 freshman wing Cassius Stanley (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood, Calif.) and 6-foot sophomore point guard Spencer Freedman (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif.).

Stanley wasn't available on Sunday because his high school team was competing in a fall league game (in which he went for 41 points). Freedman didn't play in the Top 30 game because of an academic priority. Stanley is favorably compared to former Compton (Calif.) High School and NBA All-Star Demar DeRozan because of his athleticism and world-class leaping ability. As far as Freedman, it would have proven difficult to find a better perimeter shooter at the event.

The Top 30 game was a close affair until 6-foot-5 sophomore wing Harrison Butler (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.) of the White club made some big plays down the stretch to help his team pull out a 96-87 win over the Black club. Butler knocked down a clutch 3-pointer, made three of four free throws, and came up with five rebounds in the final three minutes of the contest. Butler finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Leading the way in the first half for the White club was 6-foot-8 sophomore power forward Riley Battin (Oak Park, Calif.). Battin used his wide variety of slick post moves and good positioning to score on the inside and clean up on the glass. Battin is coming off knee surgery and wasn't moving as well as his normally does, but his fundamental play made up for the lack of mobility. Last year's freshman All-American (as named by GrassrootsHoops.net) finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Payton Moore's Coming Out Party

Six-foot-4 Payton Moore, a power combo guard from Windward (Los Angeles), didn't come into the camp with the national reputation of some of the West's top sophomore prospects, but he upped his national profile because of his standout play. There were probably a dozen or so prospects with more projected "upside" than Moore in attendance, but no player from start to finish played consistently harder on both ends of the floor. Inch-for-inch, pound-for-pound, Moore was the camp's best rebounder and he displayed tremendous finishing ability around the basket.

"Honestly, when I'm out on the court, I think I'm the best player on the floor," Moore said about his mindset coming into the camp. "I pride myself on being a high motor player and doing the right thing. I had a lot of confidence coming in, because I knew with my rebounding I would touch the basketball."

Moore, who has been offered by USC and Boise State, is excited about Windward's upcoming season. The Wildcats have Moore (who came off the bench last season), Bernard and 6-foot-8 Shareef O'Neal (the son of former NBA standout Shaquille O'Neal who wasn't in attendance) for three more seasons. They also have junior point guard Jaylen Harris returning and could be FAB-50 ranked in 2016-17 -- and perhaps this upcoming season with continued development.

Long Trip Pays Off For Trey Johnson

While Kamaka Hepa flew from the Northernmost part of Alaska to attend the Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp, the amount of traveling 6-foot-5 Trey Johnson did to get to the camp is commendable.

The sophomore from Hillcrest (Idaho Falls, Idaho) came with his father via a 16-hour automobile ride and the road trip back home likely felt shorter than the ride in to Southern California after his 15-point performance in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game. Johnson is a solid athlete with a good inside-outside offensive game. He has the ability to hit the deep-range shot or take defenders off the dribble and is an active rebounder.

There wasn't an official Top 60 game MVP named, but Johnson and 5-foot-10 point guard Ethan Anderson (Fairfax/Los Angeles) would have been the prime candidates. Anderson is explosive with the ball in his hands and is nicely developing his lead guard skills. Anderson was one of three talented 2019 prospects from Fairfax -- the other two being 6-foot-4 Robert McCrae and 6-foot Dijuan Chumack.

The Lions' best player, however, in attendance was 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard Jamal Hartwell. A camp veteran, Hartwell has cut down on his turnovers in this type of setting over the last year and is making sound decisions once he gets in the key or past first level defenders. This is significant because he gets the nod as the guard with the best first-step explosiveness in the camp. He finished with five points and six assists in the Top 30 game.

Some of the names prominently mentioned that would have been suitable for the Top 30 game who participated in the Top 60 were Anderson, 6-foot-2 sophomore Jalen Flanagan of El Camino (Oceanside, Calif.), 6-foot-6 sophomore Kaveon Batiste of Pacific Hills (Los Angeles) and 5-foot-11 sophomore Taurus Samuels of Vista (Calif.).

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Top 9th & 10th Graders Show OUT At Pangos All Frosph/Soph West Camp! Official Mixtape appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Norwalk, Calif. -- One of the most refreshing aspects of the fall grassroots event period is to evaluate young players that may not have played in the big-time July viewing period events or/and those participating in a camp setting with other elite talent for the first time.

The Pangos All-Frosh/Soph Camps serve many purposes -- to evaluate some of the nation's best young talent on the same floor, to give talented young players a platform to gain experience playing against elites in their class and to evaluate young players who may help some of the nation's elite programs during the winter.

The Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp at Cerritos College was the first experience in an elite camp setting for many in attendance and in the first set of games it showed. In those games, there were all-arm shots that didn't come close to the rim, panicked over dribbling and some awkward movements. That is to be expected, but a selected few overcame the early jitters a lot quicker than others and settled into their game.

A couple of newcomers to the camp scene looked stood out and looked like cagy veterans on the first day of the two-day event. For 6-foot-2 sophomore shooting guard Ben Baker of Berkeley (Calif.), he came in with a chip on his shoulder and used that motivation plus his skill to impress the national contingent of scouts in attendance.

Baker is an aggressive offensive player who can finish around the rim with high efficiency and from both sides of the paint. Baker also makes the correct decision the majority of the time in the open court and excels at passing from various angles. Where he really makes his mark is on defense. Baker has great instincts in the backcourt and harassed many offensive players into turnovers before they even got the ball past the half court line. He also picked the pocket of highly-regarded 6-foot-4 freshman Elijah Scranton (Village Christian/Sun Valley, Calif.) in the open court.

"I came here to experience all the different competition, especially since I'm from Berkeley and people don't really know me" Baker said. "It definitely gives me an edge. I've never been to stuff like this."

Baker, who has been playing basketball since he was six years old, patterns his game after "stretch guards" such as Paul George and James Harden. He feels Berkeley's team success will lead to individual accolades.

Kamaka Hepa, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who came to Southern California from Barrow (Alaska), made quite an impression considering his long trek with his high school coach all the way from the North Slope of America's northernmost state. Hepa is a 4-man with solid face up skills who can attack either way. He is not the quickest of foot, but Hepa makes defensive players commit to him and has solid instincts around the basket. Hepa blocked some shots, has soft hands and knows how to finish once he gets his mitts on the basketball.

It will be interesting to see if Hepa shows even more on the second day of camp as he continues to get comfortable in the camp setting.

Like Baker, 5-foot-10 David Mixon of South Gate (Calif.) hopes team success will boost his individual profile. Mixon is not new to the Pangos Frosh/Soph Camp -- he participated last year -- and displayed marked improvement. That is always something evaluators like to see in a camp veteran.

Mixon's improved physical conditioning helps his confidence and he also has an improved offensive skill set. Mixon has the ability to break down defenders off the dribble and either set up teammates or finish himself with a high percentage shot. Mixon also can get in a stance and defend. His play should help make the Rams one of the top contenders in the L.A. City Section Division 2 ranks.

Marlon Cunningham, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Albuquerque (N.M.), was another relative newcomer to the Grassroots scene who turned heads his with his impressive play. Cunningham is a major factor around the basket with solid scoring ability and great instincts for the ball. He definitely made a positive impression and it will be interesting to evaluate his production level in one of the Cream of the Crop All-Star games.

Other first day camp standouts who came in under the "sleeper" category who had a breakout day include 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard Ronnie Green (Silverado/Victorville, Calif.), 5-foot-11 sophomore shooting guard James Chun (Riordan/San Francisco, Calif.), 6-foot-2 sophomore combo guard Jalen Flanagan (El Camino/Oceanside, Calif.), 6-foot-4 sophomore wing Ofure Ujadughele (Millikan/Long Beach, Calif.), 6-foot-2 sophomore combo guard Caden Farley (Coronado/Henderson, Nev.) and 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Michael Miller (Diamond Ranch/Pomona, Calif.).

Some of the standouts mentioned above don't yet have the national reputations of some of the elites in the 2018 and 2019 class, but with continued development and production could one day be mentioned in the same breath as that small group of players.

Up-and-comers who had productive days shouldn't necessarily be confused with those with the biggest national reputations or the best long-term prospects in attendance. Those players include 6-foot-4 freshman wing Cassius Stanley (Harvard-Westlake, North Hollywood, Calif.), 6-foot-4 sophomore shooting guard David Singleton (Bishop Montgomery/Torrance, Calif.), 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry (St. Augustine/San Diego, Calif.), 6-foot-5 sophomore shooting guard Jules Bernard (Windward, Los Angeles) and 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard Spencer Freedman (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.).

How the new kids on the block compare with the established campers will further be determined on the camp's second day.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph: Introducing Ben Baker and Kamaka Hepa appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.