Bosco Dream Showcase: Top Junior Performers
BELLFLOWER — Monday’s Bosco MLK Dream Showcase featured nine games and some of the top teams and players from various regions of Southern California. Sheldon’s Marcus Bagley, Mayfair’s Josh Christopher, Foothills Christian’s Yassine Gharram, Lynwood’s Jaren Johnson, St. Bernard’s Nick…
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Continue ReadingBELLFLOWER — Monday’s Bosco MLK Dream Showcase featured nine games and some of the top teams and players from various regions of Southern California. Sheldon’s Marcus Bagley, Mayfair’s Josh Christopher, Foothills Christian’s Yassine Gharram, Lynwood’s Jaren Johnson, St. Bernard’s Nick Bowden and Bosco’s Wynton Brown made up some of the top seniors in attendance, but in this piece we take a look at the top performers from the junior class.
Damion McDowell, St. Bernard
McDowell is gaining a reputation as a walking double-double because it seems like he produces one each time we see him. The 6-foot-6 junior forward scored 18 points and added 10 rebounds in St. Bernard’s win over Foothills Christian and earned those numbers simply because he plays harder than his opponent. McDowell is active on the offensive and defensive boards and plays to his strengths offensively as a powerful paint finisher.
St. Bernard forward Damion McDowell has become a consistent double-double threat for the Vikings.Langston Redfield, Capistrano Valley
We wrote about Redfield’s recruiting earlier this week in a Recruiting Report on the Capo Valley junior. The 6-foot-3 point guard has his hands in a little bit of everything for the Cougars, evidenced by his 11-point, 10-rebound, six assist performance in a comeback win over Washington Prep. Redfield is a high IQ player on both ends of the floor, pinpoint passer and crafty finisher around the basket. He does need to improve on his perimeter jump shot to be a viable Division I level floor general.
Christian Johnson, Lynwood
Johnson is a guy who defines the term, “scores in bunches.” The 6-foot guard is a confident and consistent perimeter shooter both off the catch and off the bounce, but he’s also shown more aggressiveness to the basket. Johnson uses his strength to hold off defenders and get into the paint where he can finish with a floater or draw a foul and get to the free throw line. He finished with 17 points in Lynwood’s loss to Windward, including 9-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Lamaj Lewis, St. John Bosco
The Braves were in need of an offensive spark heading into the fourth quarter of their close win over El Camino Real and Lewis stepped up to the challenge. The 6-foot-3 guard scored six of his 11 points in the final period and did a nice job of drawing fouls and converting at the free throw line, hitting all four of his freebies. Lewis has such a smooth game that it sometimes looks like he’s going through the motions, so it was good to see him turn up the energy a couple notches.
Reese Dixon-Waters, St. Bernard
Dixon-Waters is well-known for his smooth scoring ability from all three levels of the floor, but his shot wasn’t dropping as consistently as he’s used to against Foothills Christian. The 6-foot-5 wing didn’t let that phase him and made an impact in other facets of the game, most notably on the boards as he finished with 16 rebounds to go along with his 12 points. There’s no question Dixon-Waters is a high major talent, and if he continues to rebound like he did Monday, he’ll play well-beyond the college level.
Christian Cavanias, Los Altos
Cavanias is the least known name on this list, but his impact on winning for Los Altos is on a similar level to the above-mentioned players. The 6-foot-3 junior forward isn’t the most skilled or athletic guy on the floor and instead takes pride in doing all the intangible things to help his team to victory. Cavanias is the the first on the floor for loose balls, is a strong interior defender even when giving up a size advantage and he puts his body on the line when stepping over and taking countless charges. Cavanias finished with 15 points and took four charges in Los Altos’ win over Fremont.