SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: First look at "The Classic at Damien" Tournament.
Damien, SG Academy, St. Paul, and St. Francis are among an impressive list of teams from the area that will be participating in this tournament.
The Divisions for The Classic at Damien Tournament were unveiled on Wednesday with a few surprises. Area teams can’t be found in the Platinum or Gold Divisions, but that doesn’t mean that the action won’t be as compelling in the lower divisions.
Diamond Division
San Gabriel Academy: It was a great appearance by the Eagles last year at the tournament as they won three games and caught the eye of plenty of basketball fans. The Eagles return one of the top guards in the area in Ethan McCloskey (all-tournament pick). McCloskey had a huge summer at the Section 7 summer basketball tournament. Isaiah Johnson and Jayden Mojica to give coach Kevin McCloskey plenty of scoring production.
St. Paul: It’s the second year of the Patrick Roy era at St. Paul and the Swordsmen will be one of the major contenders to win this division. The Swordsmen have three of the top sophomores in the area in Osami Maciel, Moses Wright, and Tony Mawein along with seniors Malik Olyfioya and Maurice Wright. This will be a very interesting team to follow.
Silver Division
St. Francis: The Golden Knight will resume the role of one of the major contenders in this division. Jackson Mosley is the unquestioned best defensive player in the area, he can make life very difficult for shooting guards. Mazi Mosley is a sophomore that is getting a lot of college attention and Luke McGarth will be counted on for scoring production. Bradin Dantzler, George Tupy, Joe Hickey, Ethan Childs, and Kennedy Egbo give coach Todd Wolfson a truckload of presence in the paint. Let’s make this team the overwhelming favorite to win the Silver Division.
Bronze Division
Damien: Many are shocked to see that tournament organizers have put this team into this division. Damien took quite a hit due to graduation and the loss of D-1 prospect Jimmy Oladukun to Sierra Canyon cemented this team into the division. They are simply not the same team they’ve been since coach Mike LeDuc left Glendora for this program. Coach LeDuc's comments in our preseason questionnaire say it all, “We lack experience this year but do have more depth than last year. We are going to be young with probably 2 sophomores and a freshman starting. 1 senior and 1 junior should round up the starting 5. Nate Garcia in the center position continues to improve each day and will be a major factor in our success.” The player to follow is freshman Eli Garner (wing, 6-4), who has everyone in the program extraordinarily excited. So while it feels strange for the Spartans to be in this division, this is the appropriate division.
Diamond Bar’s Malcolm Bell (Twitter)
Diamond Bar: If you haven’t had a chance to watch Malcolm Bell in action, you need to do so. This junior is one of the more electrifying forwards that you will see in the area. He was an All-CIF selection last year and had another outstanding off-season. He was recently offered by Cal State Dominguez Hills. He’ll be joined by Alex Kim, who was a second-team all-league selection last year, and 6-6 center Max Gao. Dior Brown leads a solid backcourt for Henry Frierson. We would love a Diamond Bar vs Damien matchup.
La Mirada’s Julian Gomez (left) and Sean Cervantes (right) are two players to follow at “The Classic At Damien” Tournament.
La Mirada: Here is another team with a big-time player in Julien Gomez. The sophomore shooting guard played a leading role in the Matadores making the CIF-SS Div. 2-A final. Coach Randy Oronoz spoke highly of this player before their game against Los Altos at the St. John Bosco Tournament last year and he was undoubtedly one of the best players on the court. We’ve heard that he had another outstanding offseason and is ready for a big year. He is another reason why this division is top-heavy in guard play. Also, keep a sharp eye out for Aidan Nasser, he looked terrific in the playoffs last year. Sean Cervantes had major inroads in the playoffs last season.
Pasadena: Everything that could go wrong for the Bulldogs last year went wrong for longtime coach Tony Brooks. Pasadena finished the season with a 13-10 record and a second place placing in the Pacific League. They’ve always used this tournament as a good bellwether for the season and look for that to continue in 2022. Abbott Fluckey is a 6-9 guard/forward that has flourished in the offseason and the guard play of Jason Guyton and Fidel Cabrera is about as good as it gets in the Pacific League.
Bosco Tech: The rise of Bosco Tech to the Bronze Division shows you how much a terrific job that Michael Romo has done as coach. No matter what happens in this tournament, just the fact that they are in the same division as Damien says a lot about the growth of the program. Darius Benitez is one of the more talented guards in the area with scoring machine Jaden Erami (23 PPG - All-CIFSS). Another player to follow is Ryan Osborne (Junior) who averaged double-double last year (22 PPG and 11 Rebounds Per Game). Don’t sleep on the Tigers in this division.
Green Division
If you are an area basketball junkie, this division is for you.
Bonita: It was strange to see Bonita post a record like 9-17 in 2022, but Tim Godley will be the first to tell you, COVID hit this program hard. Now that this team had a full offseason to get some meaningful work in, the Bearcats should be a much more improved team in 2023. Colton Perez is a 6-4 junior that appears to be ready for a breakout season. Bonita also had an interesting prospect in 6-3 sophomore forward Andrew Sanchez.
La Canada: The Spartans will use this tournament as a final prep for the toughest league in the west SGV, the Rio Hondo League. Tom Hofman is as good as it gets for coaching in the area, and his team won a division title at this event several years ago. The west side is filled with big men and La Canada has one in 6-7, Evan Mulcahey. The Spartans always have good guard play and that will be the case in 2023 with Samuel Guerrero and Jackson Reynolds.
San Dimas: This will be the sixth appearance for the Saints at this tournament and coach Jeremy Kettering has a nice guard tandem of Aaron Park and Ethan Chavez. We need to see what the Saints look like in the low post before evaluating them fully before the start of the Valle Vista League play.
Iron Division
Several local teams fill out this division that includes Charter Oak, Diamond Ranch, Glendora, Northview, Schurr, Sierra Vista, and South Hills. Check our basketball previews to get an inside look at these teams.