Southern California: January additions help teams
The second day of January marked end of the 30-day “Sit Out Period” needed for varsity eligibility for basketball players who transfer within the California Interscholastic Federation but who don’t make a change of residence upon those change of schools.
Here are some of those already making significant impacts:
Amar Brown (6-7, Damien): Brown, who started at Cantwell-Sacred Heart last season as a freshman, gives the Spartans a deeper bench and a potentially formidable scoring and rebounding presence in the lane.
Sedrick Hammond (6-3) and Orlando Robinson (6-7), both L.A. Cathedral: Hammond (Clark) and Robinson (Centennial) came from Las Vegas and they helped lead Cathedral to the Jan. 5 final of the Huntington Park Tournament, where it was narrowly beaten (by six points) by Chino Hills.
Wednesday night Hammond (just a junior) and Robinson were key contributors in a 65-64 Del Rey League victory at St. Bernard that further paints the Phantoms as viable candidates for the Southern Section’s Open Division playoff bracket.
Christian Koloko (6-11) and Tyrese Windham (6-0), both Lake Balboa Birmingham: These guys join 2017 all-City selection Devonaire Doutrive to enhance the Patriots’ ability to make a strong run for a second consecutive L.A. City Open Division championship after winning just five of their 13 games before the duo became eligible.
Shengzhe Li (6-10, Santa Margarita): An already formidable frontcourt (senior Jordan Guest and juniors Jake Kyman and Max Agbonkpolo) got deeper and bigger with the addition of Li, who is from China. He fouled out in his first two games but should be an even more difficult matchup in the second round of Trinity League play.
Oscar Lopez (6-3, Torrance Bishop Montgomery): Lopez proved a big boost with his new program in his first game while helping the injury-plagued Knights rally to knock off Sierra Canyon during a Jan. 5 Take Flight Challenge contest at Cerritos College.
He’s gained considerable bulk and strength since his sophomore season at Lynwood High. He’s equally effective from the perimeter and the left post.
Jonathan Salazar (6-5, St. John Bosco): Salazar, who is originally from Panama, is a transfer from Trinity International in Las Vegas who will likely inherit most of the minutes made available while Alpha Okoli – the team’s most consistently effective player in December – appeals the Southern Section ruling that his high school eligibility (eight total semesters) was exhausted after the first semester.
Jaden Shackelford (6-3, Hesperia): The left-hander junior (PICTURED), who came over from Oak Hills High, which is also in Hesperia, had strong spring and summer success with The Truth Nike/EYBL program. His addition makes Hesperia a threat to go deep into the CIF SS 2A playoffs.
Cassius Stanley (6-5, Sierra Canyon): During his freshman and sophomore seasons he helped lead Harvard-Westlake to state and Southern Section titles, respectively.
There isn’t a more vertically explosive player in Southern California.