best wings 2003

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Top SoCal Players: Best Wing Players
In The Class Of 2003--(Sept. 1, 2002)

Given our extremely busy June, July and August this year, we decided to wait until all the dust had settled on the summer before posting our listings of top players in SoCal. It's been a while since we've updated the lists for the class of 2003 and 2004 (coming soon) but as we say, better late than never. As in our prior lists, we've broken the players down into various categories, with the most talented and promising (in our very humble opinion) listed first, followed by the next best, and so on and so forth. We've sort of changed the last category (which used to be called "Best of the Rest"), and we're now calling it "Players to Watch For This Season," and we actually think that more aptly describes why we have these guys listed in the first place. Our lists are not intended, as some others apparently are, as expressions of who we think has reached the pinnacle of achievement, not by any stretch. All we're doing is listing players that we think are talented, to one degree or another, some more than others. But everyone we've listed has shown potential and if you don't know all of these guys, then you may want to make it a point to check them out during the upcoming high school season or at one of the fall tournaments taking place in the next few weeks. Not everyone plays club or travels during the summer, so some of these names may seem a bit surprising or may not be as well known as others, but everyone listed has shown us some good things when we've seen them play. In other words, there are enough sleepers out there that someone may just have a fantastic high school season and blow up even if they're not too well known right now.

As some will also notice as you read through all of the lists, the names of some players one might expect to see are not listed, and we're talking about those guys who have opted to attend prep schools in the east. For example, the name of Marcus Williams, formerly of Crenshaw, isn't listed with the point guards because he's going to be attending Oak Hill in Virginia. There are a lot of other players like him who have taken their games back east, but we don't want to make this intro any longer than necessary, so if you really want to know why we've listed someone somewhere, or haven't, read the explanatory notes below.

Top 10 Wings of 2003
(Listed Alphabetically)

Trevor Ariza 6'-7" LA Westchester
Richard Cobbs 6'-5" Canyon Spring
Jason Gilzene 6'-6" LA Fairfax
Justin Hawkins 6'-6" Mayfair
Sean Marshall 6'-4" Eisenhower
Dominic McGuire 6'-5" San Diego Lincoln Prep
Fred Washington 6'-5" Bishop Montgomery
Trayvon Williams 6'-5" Fontana HS
Tony Gonzales 6'-4" Sunny Hills
Atiba Riley 6'-4" San Diego Patrick Henry

Next Top 20 Wings of 2003
(Listed Alphabetically)

Santiago Aguirre 6'-5" Santa Barbara HS
Jermaine Arterberry 6'-4" Los Angeles HS
Donald Barksdale 6'-5" San Diego Lincoln
Jeffrey Comminey 6'-4" LB Millikan
Anthony Davis 6'-5" Montclair Prep
Anthony Esparza 6'-5" Bakersfield Garces
Trent Hardeman 6'-4" Troy
Matt Kaplan 6'-5" Claremont
Robert Lewis 6'-5" Montclair Prep
Ronald Ligon 6'-3" Inglewood
Derek Rasp 6'4" Camarillo
Zach Ryan 6'-7" Bakersfield Garces
Brett Soderberg 6'-5" Corona Centennial
Brandon Sweeney 6'-4" Pasadena
Gabe Treadwell 6'-6" San Joaquin Memorial
Tai Turner 6'-3" Verbum Dei
Wai John Wai 6'-6" La Jolla
Jacob Wild 6'-5" Reedley Immanuel
Jonathan Wiley 6'-4" Westlake
Derrick Williams 6'-4" Price

Other Wing Players of 2003 To Watch For This Season:
(Listed Alphabetically)

Tony Accetta 6'-4" Arroyo Grande
Andrew Allison 6'-3" Western Christian
Chris Barrett 6'-2" San Diego Escondido
Gabe Bernard 6'-5" LA Cleveland
Tim Bland 6'-1" San Diego Helix
Chris Butler 6'-3" Canyon Country Canyon
Juan Canas 6'-4" Bishop Amat
Tory Chapman 6'-3" San Diego Escondido
John Chrispens 6'-4" Northwood
Harris Chung 6'-3" Harvard-Westlake
Eric Clark 6'-5" San Diego El Camino
Carlton Clay 6'-4" Antelope Valley
Aesh Dabbas 6'-5" Silverado
Jacob Daigle 6'-4" San Gorgonio
James Daniel 6'-4" Riverside Poly
Brett DeLaura 6'-5" Capistrano Valley
Darryl Diggins 6'-4" Fontana HS
Alvis Dowiels 6'-4" LB Jordan
TJ Fakenhide 6'-4" Eastside Chrisitian
Mike Fisher 6'-6" Santa Barbara
Sean Flynn 6'-4" South Torrance
Mike Gan 6'-4" Loara
Nick Gonda 6'-5" Loyola
Chris Huie 6'-6" San Diego Lincoln
Chris Hunt 6'-7" Simi Valley
Rodney King 6'-4" Indio
Jason Lee 6'-4" Fresno Clovis West
Lafayette Lofton 6'-5" Brawley
Jesse McDonald 6'-5" Hesperia Christian
Sean McDonough 6'-3" La Habra
Chris McRay 6'-5" LA Carson
Tim Manning 6'-4" San Diego Fallbrook
Christian Martin 6'-5" Bakersfield Garces
Sean Martin 6'-2" Glendora
Cory Mazza 6'-3" Thousand Oaks
Kyle Miller 6'-2" Esperanza
Chris Minardo 6'-6" Ayala
Richard Moss 6'-5" La Jolla
Casey Ortiz 6'-5" Ocean View
Chris Petrovich 6'-5" San Diego San Pasqual
Cameron Porter 6'-5" Murrieta Valley
Matt Poss 6'-5" Sand Diego Scripps Ranch
Nick Roberds 6'-4" Upland Christian
Kevin Rohani 6'-4' Irvine University
Tristan Seisa 6'-3" Sherman Oaks Buckley
Conte Shumante 6'-3" Gardena Serra
James Spencer 6'-3" Stoneridge Prep
Drew Stinnett 6'-4" San Diego Valhalla
Dan Strickland 6'-3" San Diego St. Augustine
Robert White 6'-5" San Diego Hoover

Now here's the long explanatory note about the list above (and the other lists of other position players that you'll see posted shortly):

What's a wing? Well, to some, this position is viewed as non-existant. In high school, players are usually simply categorized as guards, forwards or posts. Some recruiting guys use the designation "BF" for "Big Forward" or WF for "Wing Forward." We have something similar in mind with this kind of hybrid designation. What we mean by "wing" is a combination of a "guard-foward"---sometimes maybe more of a guard, but often more of a small forward type, but usually either smaller, quicker, or a better slasher than a shooter. Ok, we'll admit it, the position is an entire cop-out, something we're making up, and we're using it as just another excuse for us to list more guys in a category which seems to favor their style of play. Anyway, we're just trying to be more inclusive, and list as many of the top players as possible, including those who are sometimes thought of as "tweeners"....the guys without a position.

Anyway, now onto the caveats about what these lists are and are not intended to convey:

Caveat 1: We have not ranked everyone based on college potential. Obviously, those we've ranked the highest and grouped into the top group, we believe are a pretty solid bet to continue their playing careers after high school at some level in college; we think the most talented of the groups have the potential to be D-I guys, but at what level that happens to be isn't for us to say. These players are clearly not finished products, and many of them will continue to grow or develop earlier or later than others. At bottom, what we are doing is simply listing
the top players in SoCal who we believe have talent, potential and have demonstrated that they are not only excellent high school players, among the best in SoCal, but also have shown skills which we think will make them good college prospects.

Caveat 2: This will sound like a broken record, but we haven't used numerical rankings for individual players. Maybe we will someday, but not for now. Others who rank players use numbers to distinguish who their "No. 1" guy is. We don't necessarily think anyone sees enough of any of these players on a consistent enough basis to make such a statement. We've heard a lot of good reasons to do numerical rankings, but we think there are just too many subtleties to any kid's game, and besides, these are still just high school guys, and we don't want to add to the "head blowing up" syndrome. Our purpose is simply to recognize talented players. Let others pick the nits, and tell us how this or that player is "No. 7" out of more than 10,000 high school players in Southern California.

Caveat 3: We have not seen every player in SoCal, and we would venture that no one has. Some of what we've done in listing these players is the result of a consensus which comes from others we speak with, high school coaches, or club coaches, and even more than a few college coaches. We can't possibly have been everywhere, and likewise, not every kid in Southern California who plays hoops for his high school played this summer. So, please try to keep some perspective on these lists when you read them and take them for what they are.

Caveat 4: Lastly, and not to be too repetitive, if we've left a player off the list, it may or may not be an oversight. It actually may be intentional. On the other hand, if you think someone deserves to be on the list who isn't, let us know. Send us an e-mail and we'll consider adding the name to the lists of top players.

Caveat 5: Remember to have fun with this. Lists like this are not the end of the world. If your name is there, congratulations, but keep up the good work. And if it's not, well, keep working. But remember to have fun.