The Southern California 2016 and 2017 teams swept their Northern California counterparts, and a school that looks like a CIF Open Division favorite this season also got a sweep of the MVP awards, however the inaugural Prep2Prep California All-Star Classic at Las Positas College-Livermore last Sunday was an event those in attendance will not soon forget.
Four teams of 12 players played two NBA-style games of four 12-minute quarters with fouls reset at the beginning of each quarter so neither of the games would become a slow-down, free-throw shooting contest.
The Classic featured high-flying guards, big guys mixing it up in the paint, long-range 3-point shooting, some monster dunks, and two very competitive games. But in the end the more up-tempo game the Southern California teams tend to play won out in both contests.
Most analysts had predicted the 2017 SoCal team would dominate and the 2016 game would be closer, and that’s exactly what happened.
The SoCal 2017 team won 135-114 and the boys from down south won the 2016 game, 137-134, in a thrilling finish.
“The kids liked the event and it stirred up the north/south rivalry,” said selection committee member Ronnie Flores of Cal-Hi Sports and GrassrootsHoops.
“One of the things that was good was it was highly competitive, there was pride to win by both teams, and there was no hot-dogging. Sometime in this type of setting it isn’t always competitive,” continued Flores in comparing the Prep2Prep All-Star Classic to other similar events he’s seen in Southern California.
Even though the south won both games and pretty easily in the juniors matchup, the first-ever event of its kind in Northern California saw the local boys give it their all.
“I thought this was one of the best all star games I’ve ever seen or been associated with. The kids on both teams gave it everything they had,” said SoCal 2016 coach and Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth Coach Ty Nichols.
It didn’t hurt that the coach of the defending CIF Division V state champions and an early favorite for the Open Division this season had both players of his Sierra Canyon backcourt garner MVP honors.
The 2016 game MVP was Devearl Ramsey. After displaying great speed and superb ball-handling while spinning and slashing his way past defenders, he was dubbed “the Pearl” by the announcer who was comparing the 5-10 senior to legendary NBA star Earl “the Pearl” Monroe.
Ramsey finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. He got the 2016 South club going at the beginning of the game by pushing the ball in transition and making difficult outside shots, including an off-balance NBA-range 3-pointer that charged up the crowd.
“They used to call me 'The Pearl' at the YMCA,” Ramsey said. “I found out what Earl Monroe did and to be called that is an honor.”
The 2016 NorCal team fought back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to get within three points with the ball and 9.9 seconds left, and a good chance to tie the game.
Going into the possession they had made 16-of-39 from outside the arc but despite getting off a good 3-point shot the attempt by Jordan Ratinho of De La Salle-Concord was just off the mark and SoCal escaped with a win.
“I’m proud of Jordan just getting off that shot against a team with that kind of defensive pressure. Most guys might not even be able to get it off,” said incoming De La Salle Coach AJ Kuhle. The protégé of Frank Allocco replaced his mentor at De La Salle when Allocco was named an Associate Head Coach at the University of San Francisco this summer.
Keith Fisher of Westchester-Los Angeles led SoCal with 22 points (nine rebounds) while Lonzo Ball of Chino Hills, the top-rated player for either class in the two games, finished with 19 points and five assists.
Jordan Ford of Folsom was going to be the MVP had the NorCal boys pulled it out. The 6-1 guard turned in the best offensive performance by anyone in the two games. Ford had 28 points on an amazing 8-of-11 shooting overall and 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
SoCal 2017 boys just too tough
The 2017 game MVP was Remy Martin of Sierra Canyon. The 5-9 junior guard finished with a very solid 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. However, like Ramsey, he did not lead the team in any statistical category except explosiveness and ball-handling.
NorCal jumped out to a 16-6 lead, but once Martin turned on the jets to lead the fiery transition game top-level teams from Southern California are noted for, the outcome was never in doubt. The SoCal boys led by 30 points early in the fourth quarter before settling for a 21-point victory.
Brandon McCoy, a 6-11 center that recently transferred to Cathedral Catholic-San Diego from cross-town Morse, delighted the crowd with some monster dunks and dominating inside play. The personable McCoy very well could have been the MVP after finishing with a double-double 20 points and 17 rebounds, with five blocked shots.
During an interview with McCoy prior to the Classic in San Diego via cell phone before class, the big man was in the process of ordering two donuts and a sausage croissant after a 6 a.m. workout.
At the time he joked, “I guess I’ll have to work it off.”
Not only did he work it off in Pleasanton but showed the fans at Las Positas College why just about every analyst considers him one of the top two post prospects on the West Coast alongside DeAndre Ayton of Balboa City-San Diego.
The 6-10 Ayton was originally scheduled to play alongside McCoy on the SoCal 2017 team but had to pull out late due to a nagging old injury that needed rehab.
“I had fun playing basketball. That was my main goal,” McCoy said. “I didn’t come into the game trying to do anything outside my game but I think I did well."
Never whoa – it’s always go
“Martin’s performance and later Ramsey’s, served as a reminder that Sierra Canyon will likely open the 2015-16 season as the No. 1 ranked team in California and as a top 10 club nationally in the FAB 50,” Flores remarked.
“Our goal is to win the CIF Southern Section and state Open Division titles,” said Martin, who according to Flores is the state’s fastest player with the ball foul line to foul line. “To do it we have to stay true to ourselves and keep the relationships and chemistry going.”
Coach Nichols had this to say about whether he ever tries to get the blazing backcourt duo to take something off the pace.
“It’s never whoa, its always go. I never want to slow them down.”
“It’s an all-star game…we wanted to run and gun - that’s our style," Ramsey said. "We wanted to play the way we play, not adjust to anyone else’s style."
A whole slew of other players impressed in both games and will be included in the game rankings feature that will follow.
Those rankings were done by the Prep2Prep All-Star Classic selection committee comprised of Joel Francisco of ESPN, McDonald’s Game committee member Frank Burlison of BurlisonOnBasketball, and Flores.
An extra day’s stay
The selection committee members, all from Southern California, and one SoCal 2017 player, got an extra days stay in the Bay Area, but it wasn’t the way they wanted.
Francisco, Burlison, Flores and Miles Brookins of Mater Dei-Santa Ana ended up with their flight having to be cancelled when their plane clipped the wings of another aircraft on the runway.
The airline put them up at the Oakland Airport Hilton with the three adults taking care of Brookins, whose mother was rightfully concerned upon hearing of the incident.
All four made it home safely on Monday morning, although Brookins had to hustle from John Wayne Airport in Irvine to get to the first day of class at Mater Dei.
