Best of SoCal Fall Showcase: Class of 2022 standouts
GARDEN GROVE, Ca. – Christian Moore (Los Angeles Brentwood Academy) and Gabriel Quiette (Santa Ana Mater Dei) were clear standouts in the Top 20 Freshman game last Saturday during the Pangos Best of SoCal Fall Showcase at Santiago High.
Moore (6-foot-4/PICTURED) and Quiette (6-3) played for the team wearing black jerseys that smacked its white-wearing counterparts, 81-51.
The winning squad also got nice efforts from 6-0 and oh-so-physical Barrington Hargress (L.A. Ribet Academy) as well as an athlete who was promoted to the game after his dominance in the Eighth Grade (Class of 2023) contest, 6-4 Brady Dunlap (Santa Clarita).
Moore’s older brother, guard Payton Moore, is a Santa Monica High graduate and freshman at Rice.
Moore is already projected as a starter for Ryan Bailey’s Brentwood squad and he could be a key figure in trying to help the Braelee Albert-led team win a third consecutive CIF Southern Section championship.
It doesn’t seem likely that Quiette will start on a very gifted Mater Dei squad as a freshman but could work his way into a seven- or eight-player rotation for Coach Gary McKnight before too deep into the 2018-19 season.
The black jerseys also were repped by the Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) backcourt duo of Brandon Perez and Ben Shtolzberg – which could be starting sooner than later for the Irish this season.
Other noteworthy freshmen at the event included 6-7 Randi Ovalle (San Gabriel Academy), 6-1 Skyy Clark (Westlake Oaks Christian), 6-7 Jorge Ochoa (Orange Lutheran) and 6-3 Anthony Scott (San Diego Mission Bay).
Ovalle, who came from the Dominican to Southern California last fall, needs to get more aggressive at times but has quite a collection of skills for a player of his size and age.
Clark struggled with his jump shot Saturday but powered his way to the rim for a few layups.
Ochoa turned in some solid minutes off the bench the next day (Sunday) at Orange Lutheran during The LEAGUE.
Scott, whose brother, Andre, started on San Diego’s Open Division champion, turned in another quality performance after doing the same thing during the Sept. 1 Crème of the County at Army-Navy Academy in Carlsbad.