Things We Learned: Rolling Hills Prep vs. Loyola

<p>WILMINGTON — Saturday’s Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic was yet another installment of one of Southern California’s premier showcase events of the season. Huskies’ coach and longtime SoCal high school hoops figurehead Harvey Kitani, as he always does, put together a strong field and exciting match-ups throughout the eight-game schedule.</p> <p>The host Huskies defeated Loyola, 68-49, behind four double-figure scorers: <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/j-t-tan/">J.T. Tan</a></strong> 16, <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/benny-gealer/">Benny Gealer</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/vaughn-flowers/">Vaughn Flowers</a></strong> 15, <strong>Troy Murphy, Jr.</strong> 10. Below are a few things we learned from this match-up.</p> <p><strong>RHP preparing for future success</strong></p> <p>From his tenure at Fairfax, Coach Kitani is well known for developing a winning program and sustaining that success year-in and year-out and Rolling Hills Prep is shaping up to be the same way, but maybe not on that high of a scale. The Huskies will graduate a good chunk of their top scorers after this season in Tan, Flowers, and Murphy, but RHP is loaded with underclassmen who already play big varsity minutes. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/benny-gealer/">Benny Gealer</a> is one of the best scoring guards in SoCal's sophomore class, while forwards <strong>Kenny Manzi</strong> (freshman) and<strong> Seydi Thiombane</strong> (sophomore) have shown flashes of long-term potential.</p> <p><strong>Where will <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/benny-gealer/">Benny Gealer</a> land on the next rankings update?</strong></p> <p>The 2022 class in Southern California is shaping up to be quite good. With players the likes of Windward's <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kijani-wright/">Kijani Wright</a>, Heritage Christian's <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/skyy-clark/">Skyy Clark</a> and Sierra Canyon's <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/amari-bailey/">Amari Bailey</a> sitting near or at the top, there's limited room inside a highly-competitive top 10. Gealer may not have the look or athleticism that those three mentioned possess, but the 6-foot-1 guard is as productive as they come on the offensive end. He can fill up the scoring column in bunches from multiple levels of the floor and has improved his passing, vision and shot selection this season. Gealer belongs in that top 10 conversation.</p> <p><strong>Loyola guard Jalen Cox showed promise</strong></p> <p>The Cubs are in need of a go-to ball handler and creator to set the table for teammates and run offense when needed. The 6-foot sophomore showed a high basketball IQ, steady handle, ability to push the pace when needed and understood when his team didn't have numbers to attack in transition. Cox doesn't have the scoring punch needed to take the reins completely, but he's trending in that direction.</p>