Two of this year’s First Team All-State honorees are all-time CIF Southern Section career scoring leader Jarod Lucas of Hacienda Heights Los Altos and four-year all-state Cassius Stanley of CIF Open Division state champion Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth. Earlier this week, Stanley had a press conference at the school where he committed to Duke. Photos: @ClassicAtDamien / Twitter.com & Dylan Stewart / CIFSS.org.
Two-time Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills and NorCal Player of the Year Jalen Green of San Joaquin Memorial are headliners for the 41st annual Cal-Hi Sports all-state boys basketball teams. Go inside to see why these 10 have finished their careers as First Team Overall honorees out of the thousands who played this past season.
For the all-time archive of every Cal-Hi Sports All-State elite/overall team for boys that has been chosen, CLICK HERE.
RELATED All-State Boys Basketball All-State Teams: By Divisions | Underclass (Gold Club) | Final List of Nominees (Gold Club)
We hope you like this free post on CalHiSports.com. Please help us out today by becoming a member of our Gold Club so you can see all of our great content, including our Inside the All-State Team feature coming soon plus our other all-state boys basketball teams and upcoming class-by-class player rankings. For more on special offer to get signed up for $3.99 for one months, CLICK HERE.
To order a commemorative, official All-State Basketball patch for those who’ve been named to one of our all-state teams for the 2019 season, go to THIS LINK at BillyTees.com. The special link has been set up for all-state basketball patches. Billy Tees has been the official merchandiser of the CIF for many years.
This was all-state hoops patch for last year. This year’s patches are similar and were delivered this week to our partners at BillyTees.com.
2019 CAL-HI SPORTS ALL-STATE
ELITE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS
FIRST TEAM OVERALL
G - Ethan Anderson (Fairfax, Los Angeles) 6-1 Sr.
Ethan has always played alongside excellent guards during his four-year career for the Lions, including 2018 all-stater Jamal Hartwell (George Mason), but when he became the focus of the offense as a senior he stepped up in a major way. Anderson led Fairfax to its first L.A. City Section Open title since 2015 and to a 27-2 record and state No. 6 ranking. Along the way, the powerful guard averaged 20.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 6.3 apg and 2.4 spg while developing into one of the toughest defensive checks in the state because of his combination of strength and skill. It’s been a highly decorated career so far for the former UNLV commit and now headed to USC, as he was the Wooden Award recipient for L.A. City programs, named L.A. City Section Player of the Year, Western League Player of the Year and MVP of both the Pac Shores and Rose City Classic holiday tournaments. As a junior, Anderson averaged 20 points, and was named the Western League’s Most Outstanding Player after sharing league MVP honors with Hartwell as a sophomore. Anderson’s biggest fans are his supportive parents, who are actually basketball junkies who take the time to attend and support other players not associated with Fairfax at high school and grassroots games.
G - Jalen Green (San Joaquin Memorial, Fresno) 6-4 Jr.
After being the only sophomore on the 30-player Elite Teams last season, he moves up from third team as one of four Mr. Basketball finalists this year. For player honors, we’ve always slotted CIF Central Section schools with the North (and San Joaquin Memorial has appeared in the NorCal playoffs the past two seasons with Green leading the way) and it’s not a hard evaluation to call him the best player in the state north of the Grapevine. Green therefore will go into our files as the first NorCal POY from the CIF Central Section since DeShawn Stevenson of Washington Easton in 2000 and the first for the Panthers since Cliff Pondexter in 1973. After averaging 27.9 ppg for the section D2 champs as a 10th-grader, Green upped his overall production to 31.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 3.6 apg while shooting 63 percent from the field as the Panthers repeated as section champions. Green scored 39 points in a regional playoff win over Dublin before his San Joaquin Memorial career came to an end in the team’s second loss of the season to Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland. Green has already left the school for Prolific Prep of Napa, and won’t be in the running for a slew of statewide and national post-season honors next season. Leaving a school for an academy-type program not part of the CIF is becoming the norm for elite senior-to-be prospects in the state that don’t attend SoCal powerhouse programs.
F - Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Camarillo) 6-7 Sr.
A repeat selection, this skilled forward moves up from the second team and will go down as one of the best players ever from Ventura County. Jaquez was named all-CIFSS D2AA and to the L.A. Times’ all-star team for the second consecutive season and was named Player of the Year by the Ventura County Star. One of the best pure scorers in the state, Jaquez had a career-high 50 points versus friend, travel ball teammate and fellow all-stater Jaden Shackelford and is the No. 2 all-time single season scoring leader from Ventura County (917 points) behind 1988 all-stater and former NBA player Don MacLean of Simi Valley (1,008) and in front of all-stater Drake London of Moorpark (906). Jaquez set a slew of school records after averaging 31.7 ppg and 11.7 rpg for a 25-4 team that defeated state power Mater Dei of Santa Ana. He finished with school No. 1 career marks of 2,627 points, 25.3 ppg, 1,189 rebounds, and 11.3 rpg. The four-time All-Coastal Canyon League choice is headed to UCLA and one day hopes to make his mark with the Mexican National Team. Since Camarillo was upset in the CIFSS D2AA quarterfinals and didn’t get into the CIF state playoffs, it was considered D2 for our all-state honors. That’s why Jaquez became an easy choice to be the D2 State Player of the Year.
Jake Kyman had an outstanding career at Santa Margarita and will continue to wear the blue and gold in college at UCLA. Photo: Gregory Townsend @SMCHSBasketball.
F - Jake Kyman (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM)
6-7 Sr.
Classy individual was a cinch first team pick after putting up 21.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg against one of the most challenging schedules in the country. Kyman gets high marks not only for his statistical output, but also his timely plays on both sides of the ball, none which were bigger than a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation in the CIFSS D1 title game that the Eagles won in overtime against eventual D1 state champ Chino Hills, 62-61. Kyman shot 54 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line as one of the most consistent players in the talent-laden Trinity League. Kyman had some big playoff moments and also had a 28-point, 10-rebound performance in a big regular season win over Rancho Christian on the road. This year’s Orange County Player of the Year is headed to UCLA.
G - Jarod Lucas (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights)
6-3 Sr.
This sharp-shooting guard with a competitive edge didn’t play the strongest competition day in and day out, but there’s no denying his big-time ability or the prodigious numbers he put up. Facing defenses geared to stop him for four seasons, Lucas finished his career as SoCal’s all-time leading scorer (3,356 points) and No. 3 on the all-time state list behind two high school All-Americans. Lucas had a monster senior season, scoring over 50 points five times (and 49 three times), averaging a state best 39.6 ppg (1,189 points), 11.3 rpg, 4.4 apg while draining 133 3-pointers, the highest reported total in California. Lucas got fouled a lot, and when he did he made the opposition pay, draining 422-of-476 (89 percent) as a senior while making 1098-of-1263 (87 percent) for his career, a number that smashes the reported state record held by 1999 Mr. Basketball Casey Jacobsen (710 makes). Lucas’ scoring average hovered around 25 ppg for his first three seasons, and even as his scoring average spiked as a senior, the Conquerors’ continued to win. A four-time Hacienda League MVP, Lucas led Los Altos to four consecutive league titles while putting together a 37-3 mark. The two-time San Gabriel Valley Tribune Player of the Year is headed to Oregon State.
F - K.J. Martin (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 6-6 Sr.
Similar to Jalen Green and Jarod Lucas, this rugged forward moves up from the third to first team. Last season, the CIF Open Division champs ended up as the only team with two elite team selections, with the rest of the top teams ending up with one pick. Because junior Cassius Stanley had to sit out a period of the season as a transfer, it prevented Sierra Canyon from possibly having three picks last year. This season, outside of Rancho Christian’s Mobley Brothers, no team deserved two while the two-time defending CIF Open Champs did deserve three in the tradition of some past elite teams (2016 Chino Hills, 2005 L.A. Westchester, 1988 L.A. Crenshaw, etc.). With his ending to the season, the son of former NBA No. 1 Draft pick Kenyon Martin forced his way onto the first team. Martin made 14-of-15 shots and had 30 points in the SoCal Open final win over state No. 2 Mater Dei and had game-highs of 23 points (on 10-of-17 shooting) and 12 rebounds in the Trailblazers’ blowout win over Sheldon of Sacramento. Martin was the key cog in last year’s title run in terms of rebounding and inside work and even though he had more help in that department this season, the jumping jack still averaged 17 ppg, 12 rpg and 3.5 rpg. Martin is still undecided for college.
Evan Mobley slams one home for Rancho Christian during Hoophall Classic on Monday in Massachusetts. Photo: @HoophallClassic / Twitter.com.
C - Evan Mobley (Rancho Christian, Temecula)
7-0 Jr.
For awhile, the younger of the Mobley brothers was one of the front-runners for Mr. Basketball USA National Player of the Year. Even though he won’t likely be the eventual winner, it should tell you something about his talent level. Of course, the statewide and local honors have rolled in for the agile 7-footer who took his game to another level this season after playing more of a secondary role as a young varsity player. Mobley was named Gatorade State Player of the Year, Riverside Press-Enterprise Player of the Year and to the L.A. Times 10-man all-star squad over his older brother Isaiah. The Mr. Basketball finalist was named State Junior of the Year over Green after averaging 19.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 4.7 bpg, and 3.3 spg for a 25-6 team that finished FAB 50 ranked. While he can be a dominating big man at times, Mobley also draws rave reviews for his all-around skill level and approach to the game in terms of learning and patience. It’s almost a given he’ll attend USC after his senior season, as his father Eric (a former La Mesa Helix standout) is an assistant coach and his older brother is headed there this fall.
F - Isaiah Mobley (Rancho Christian, Temecula) 6-9 Sr.
Although his younger brother captured more of the local honors for the No. 4 ranked team in the state, Isaiah was just as important in the Eagles’ success against a daunting national schedule. The co-MVP of the Southeastern League along with his brother, Isaiah moves up from the third team after averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game. As a junior, he was named Riverside Press-Enterprise Player of the Year, but actually averaged more points and rebounds this season when his younger brother took top honors. Mobley was the only Californian named to the McDonald’s All-American team, and is the first ever selection from the greater Temecula Valley region of Southwest Riverside County. He’ll conclude his high school career May 4 participating in the Ballislife All-American Game in Long Beach.
C - Onyeka Okongwu (Chino Hills) 6-9 Sr.
Our Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year choice was a close call once again. One of the biggest questions we asked during the deliberations: “Where would Chino Hills be without the Big O and how realistic is it that any other candidate could replace what he did for that team?” Last year it was the Big O over Salesian’s James Akinjo, who turned out to be the Big East Freshman of the Year at Georgetown. This year he got the nod by the slightest of margins over Sierra Canyon’s Cassius Stanley, so maybe that’s a good omen for one of the state’s best leapers. Onyeka is headed to USC, where he’ll join Isaiah Mobley and if the duo returns for a second season, they could be joined by Evan Mobley in 2020-21. All three were starters on the Compton Magic travel ball program that won a mythical national title last summer with Lucas and Harvard-Westlake’s Johnny Juzang, who missed the Elite team partly because of injury (but was still all-state for juniors), as its other two starters. Okonwgu’s exploits have been well-documented on this website, like 27 ppg, 11 rpg, 4.3 bpg, 1.3 spg for the CIF D1 champs and Wooden Award winner for CIFSS D1 programs, but what is less-known is the humble and timely nature in which he responds to media requests and others that want a piece of his time.
G - Cassius Stanley (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 6-5 Sr.
As we stated last season, in the CIF Open Division era, the eventual champion will probably have more than one person on our elite team going forward. The Trailblazers ended up with three (see the second team for writeup of third player) and it likely would have been three players last year, too, if this high-flying wing guard didn’t have to sit out after transferring from Harvard-Westlake. Stanley has long been one of the best leapers we’ve seen come through the state and perhaps the best since 1985 all-stater Jumpin’ Joey Johnson of Wilmington Banning, but it’s his improvement in all facets of the game that makes him the unofficial Mr. Basketball runner-up to Okongwu. In fact, the Big O was as genuinely as complimentary of Cassius as any player in recent memory we’ve asked about the other top candidates. An improved jump shot, combined with improved decision-making and slowing down the game led to a monster season. The four-year standout who came into high school with great fanfare averaged 19 ppg, 6 rpg, and 3 apg for a team that won its second consecutive CIF Open crown and finished No. 9 in the FAB 50. Stanley’s Mr. Basketball candidacy was also bolstered by earning player of the year honors on the all-CIFSS Open Division team, from the L.A. Daily News and SoCal Varsity which covers the vast circulation area of the L.A. News Group, in addition to being the Wooden Award winner for CIFSS Open teams. Having just picked Duke at a school press conference this week, Stanley will join Okongwu and Ellis at the Ballislife All-American Game.
Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
