Tarkanian Classic – San Diego Standouts, Part 2

<p>San Diego’s trio of teams went 6-6 at the Tarkanian Classic, which has historically been a proving ground for teams to sharpen themselves against their respective level of opponents.</p> <p>San Marcos went 3-1 in the Gold Division, winning the consolation championship. Orange Glen bounced back from two early losses with two straight victories to close out play in the Orleans Select Division. And St. Augustine, the region’s top team, went 1-3 in the tournament’s top field, the Platinum Division.</p> <p>Here are some of the standouts from the teams.</p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="994949" first="Jaden" last="Matingou"], 6-2 2023 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Matingou came out the gates on fire against Liberty in the Saints first round loss, scoring from each level and doing it with a craftiness and confidence that has become all too common this year. He has an advanced floater game, improved shooting from three and finishes through contact much better than you’d expect from a player with such a willowy frame. The next area that will elevate his recruitment is consistency. His effort level fluctuated throughout the weekend, and his play vacillated as a result. </p> <h3>Ian De La Rosa, 6-4 2024 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>One of the better shooters in the Platinum Division, De La Rosa took center stage in the Saints win over Sheldon, when he dropped 25 points to help the Saints overcome serious foul trouble for the victory. He doesn’t need a ton of space to get his shot off, and moves well without the ball to get open. He does a solid job attacking closeouts to set up his pull-up jumper. He needs to improve his handle in the open court and driving to the basket. </p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="971230" first="Max" last="McCall"], 6-4 2022 G, San Marcos</h3> <p>McCall’s stat lines will never wow you from an offensive output perspective, but he does everything else at a prolific rate. He is an excellent rebounding guard, a versatile defender and a willing passer and playmaker off the bounce. You are starting to see him be more assertive attacking the basket for his own offense, a positive sign moving forward. </p> <h3>Anthony Garibay, 5-7 2022 PG, Orange Glen</h3> <p>One of the region’s more underrated true point guards, the compactly built "mighty mouse" is a physical presence on the ball defensively, and an unselfish playmaker off the bounce, whose dribble penetration creates many of the scoring opportunities for his shooters. But he’s at times unselfish to a fault, passing up open looks of his own and forcing passes through narrow windows. </p> <h3>Kai Brown, 5-11 2024 G, St. Augustine</h3> <p>Brown wasn’t expected to be a big contributor for the Saints this year, but a transfer earlier this year and another sit out period transfer have given him an opportunity to earn minutes in the rotation. In Vegas, he made the most of them, exhibiting poise and timely shot making and passing in the team’s games against Liberty and Sheldon. Getting minutes in this setting will only help him moving forward as the team turns its attention to local competition in a rugged Western League. </p>