Maurice Wright (left) played his sophomore season at Santa Clarita Christian after spending his freshman season at Paraclete of Lancaster, while Trent Perry was one of the state’s best freshman for Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood. Photo: Ronnie Flores
Here’s a quick-hitting list of transfers that impacted the now completed 2020-21 boys basketball season. These transfers impacted our state rankings all season and will effect our upcoming all-state team. It was arguably the most hectic off-season we can ever recall because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and because of the scheduled late start to the season. We offer a rundown of where some of California’s elite players ended up, including some who left the state, and some who transferred to non-CIF programs and out-of-state to play a more traditional 20-21 schedule.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All player rankings and all State Top 20 weekly team rankings for the regular season will be for Gold Club members only. To get your Gold Club membership for rates of $3.99 per month, $9.99 for three months or $24.99 for one year, CLICK HERE
Note: We’re in the process of updating our Cal-Hi Sports Hot 100 player rankings in the 2021-2024 classes for Gold Club members. This fall we’ll also introduce the 2025 class after the summer evaluation period. You can get more daily boys basketball updates by following Ronnie Flores on Twitter: @RonMFlores
This boys basketball season was unlike any other and now that it’s over and Centennial (Corona) has been named the State Team of the Year, it’s time to begin forming our annual all-state teams. This will be our 42nd annual all-state team (you can see all of them under the “All-State” tab on the homepage) and the process will also be different than year’s past. We won’t have our regular nominations process that we begin by listing the better players from each section. We’ll just begin picking the 30 best players for our overall team and begin the process of placing deserving players in our traditional five division format. That will obviously be a more difficult process because there was no regional tournament for NorCal players and handful of the state’s elite talent either opted out of the season, left early for college or only played with a prep or travel-based team during what would have been a normal high school season (November through March).
Onyeka Okongwu, former two-time Mr. Basketball State POY and now playing for Atlanta Hawks in NBA Eastern Conference finals, was all-state four times at Chino Hills. Photo: Prep2Prep.com.
This season, in particular, we have to double check who transferred where and make sure that player participated in the majority of his team’s games. We understand programs played a wide range of games (some in the range of 10 and others up to the allowed 28), but a player had to participate in a majority of his team’s games to be eligible for the all-state team.
Don’t assume we know about each transfer or if each player participated in all his team’s games. Feel free to send us info/stats to make sure all facts are reviewed. You can send a nomination with each player’s vitals (school, height, position, year in school, significant statistics) and send to markjtennis@gmail.com or call (209) 608-1317 (that is the cell for editor Mark Tennis) or email Managing Editor Ronnie Flores at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com or send him a text: (323) 573-6921.
Credible input will be helpful this year especially since some of the newspaper-based honor squads won’t be released or will be cut back significantly.
Keep in mind, we’ll have our normal all-state underclass teams, but don’t list any freshmen because this was their first year of high school. We understand some of the players listed below didn’t play a CIF season or some freshmen actually transferred from the original school they were enrolled at last fall before the first games were actually played in March. We already know some players have transferred again and we’ll update that in our final Cal-Hi Sports Hot 100 for 2020-21. It’s been a year since we updated our player rankings so we have plenty of work to do before we finish all of our boys basketball coverage for the 2020-21 school year.
CLASS OF 2021
Cody Barnes (6-4) from Buchanan (Clovis) to Santa Margarita (Rancho SM)
Nathan Bittle (6-10) from Crater (Central Point, Ore.) to Prolific Prep (Napa)*
Alexander Crawford (6-6) from Eastlake (Chula Vista) to Coronado (San Diego)
Cory Cofield (6-4) from Birmingham (Van Nuys) to West Ranch (Valencia)
Denim Dawson Jones (6-6) from Colony (Ontario) to Orange Lutheran
Ryan Grande (6-0) from La Canada to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Yaru Harvey (6-3) from Sheldon (Sacramento) to Southern California Academy (Valencia)*
D.J. Johnson (6-7) from Moreau Catholic (Hayward) to San Leandro
Solomon Jones (6-7) from Poly (Long Beach) to Veritas Prep (Santa Fe Springs)
Everett May (6-5) from Los Alamitos to Veritas Prep (Santa Fe Springs)
Darius McClain (6-4) from Lynwood to Westchester (Los Angeles)
Malik Merchant (6-2) from San Leandro to Berkeley
Hercy Miller (6-3) from Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) to Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Pape Momar Cisee (6-10) from Fairmont Prep (Anaheim) to Central Point Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.)
Isaiah Moore (6-5) from Ben L. Smith (Greensboro, N.C.) to Vanden (Travis AFB)
Ryan Moore (6-3) from Salesian (Richmond) to Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Chris Page (6-4) from Gardena to Coronado (San Diego)*
Jalen Pitre (6-7) from Gahr (Cerritos) to Long Beach Poly
Jaden Phillips (6-4) from Modesto Christian to Veritas Prep (Santa Fe Springs)*
Geronimo Rubio-De La Rosa (6-2) from Brookside Christian (Stockton) to Spring Creek Academy (Plano, Texas)
Luke Turner (6-7) from Rancho Christian (Temecula) to Santa Margarita
Darrion Williams (6-6) from Capital Christian (Sacramento) to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)*
Jaden Winfield (6-5) from Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) to M.L. King (Riverside)
CLASS OF 2022
Max Allen (6-8) from Heritage Christian (Northridge) to AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)*
Alpha Chimbambe (6-5) from JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Skyy Clark (6-2) from Heritage Christian (Northridge) to Ensworth School (Nashville, Tenn.)
Noah Clifford (6-6) from De La Salle (Concord) to Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.)
Jeremiah Dargan (6-4) from De La Salle (Concord) to Clayton Valley (Concord)
Robert Diaz (5-11) from Millikan (Long Beach) to JSerra (San Juan Capistrano)
Amir “Duke” Gibson (6-7) from Taft (Woodland Hills) to Serra (Gardena)
Jason Hart Jr. (6-1) from Taft (Woodland Hills) to Providence (Burbank)*
Mason Hudnall (6-5) from Moreau Catholic (Hayward) to NELA Prep (Glendale)
Dior Johnson (6-2) from Mayfair (Lakewood) to Centennial (Corona)*
Jaden Lebel (6-4) from Foothills Christian (El Cajon) to Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Ramel Lloyd Jr. (6-6) from Taft (Woodland Hills) to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Koat Keat (6-9) from Renaissance Academy (La Canada) to Crean Lutheran (Irvine)
Evan Manjikian (6-8) from Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Lorenzo Marsh (6-4) from St. Anthony (Long Beach) to Long Beach Poly
Tajavis Miller (6-3) from Servite (Anaheim) to Friendship (Lubbock, Texas)
Dok Murodari (7-0) from Canyon (Anaheim) to Premier Academy (Trophy Club, Texas)
Malachi Murrell (6-2) from Shadow Hills (Indio) to La Quinta
Devin Newsome (6-0) from San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) to South St. Paul (Minn.)
Alex Nokes (6-8) from Santa Monica to Brentwood (Los Angeles)
Aidan O’Neill (6-3) from Saddleback Valley Christian (San Juan Capistrano) to Capo Valley (San Juan Capistrano)
Gavin O’Neill (6-4) from Saddleback Valley Christian (San Juan Capistrano) to Capo Valley (San Juan Capistrano)
Randi Ovalle (6-7) from St. John Bosco (Bellflower) to Victory Christian Center School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Tyus Parrish-Tillman (6-7) from Fresno Christian to Clovis West (Fresno)
Brandon Perez (6-3) from Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) to Saugus
Oziyah Sellers (6-4) from Modesto Christian to Southern California Academy (Valencia)*
Malachi Scott (6-6) from Long Beach Jordan to Compton
Jaylen Thompson (6-6) from St. Joseph (Alameda) to Southern California Academy (Valencia)*
Jaylon Walton (5-10) from Central (Fresno) to Bullard (Fresno)
Lejuan Watts (6-3) from Clovis West (Fresno) to Bullard (Fresno)
Quinten Webb (6-5) from Loma Linda Academy) to Etiwanda
Chance Westry (6-4) from Trinity (Camp Hill, Pa.) to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Payden White (6-5) from Centennial (Corona) to Poly (Riverside)
Tookey Wigington (5-8) from Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) to Ribet Academy (Los Angeles)
CLASS OF 2023
Courtney Anderson Jr. (6-3) from Salesian (Richmond) to Dublin
Kylan Boswell (6-0) from Colony (Ontario) to Centennial (Corona)
Rodney Brown Jr. (6-5) from Perris to Rancho Christian (Temecula)
Darius Carr (6-3) from St. Bernard (Playa del Rey) to Cathedral (Los Angeles)
Amari Carraway (5-11) from Fresno to Pueblo (Tucson, Ariz.)
Z.J. Cotton (6-0) from Hoover (Fresno) to Murrieta Valley (Murrieta)
Devin Curtis (6-10) from Heritage Christian (Northridge) to Ribet Academy (Los Angeles)
Justin Daniels (6-3) from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) to Taft (Woodland Hills)
Jurian Dixon (6-3) from San Ysidro to St. Augustine (San Diego)
Brady Dunlap (6-5) from Hart (Newhall) to Harvard-Westlake (Studio City)
Pierre Isaac Geneste (6-10) from Prolific Prep (Napa) to Ribet Academy (Los Angeles)
Orlando Greenlow (6-5) from Venice to Lawndale
Ashton Hardaway (6-5) from Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) to Duncanville (Texas)
Kristian Holmes (6-0) from Fresno to San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno)
Jamar Howard (6-4) from Pacific Grove to San Luis Obispo
A.J. Johnson (6-1) from San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) to Taft (Woodland Hills)
David Manea (6-5 from Beckman (Irvine) to Orange Lutheran*
Prince Oseya (6-9) from Premier Christian Academy (Northlake, Texas) to Modesto Christian
Mike Price (6-1) from Crespi (Encino) to Ribet Academy (Los Angeles)
King Jhsanni-Wilhite (6-0) from St. Ignatius (San Francisco) to Riordan (San Francisco)
Devin Williams (6-9) from Corona to Centennial (Corona)
Mikey Williams (6-3) from San Ysidro to Lake Norman Christian (Charlotte, N.C.)
Maurice Wright (6-2) from Paraclete (Lancaster) to Santa Clarita Christian
Gus Yalden (6-8) from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
*Indicates did not play CIF season.
Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
