The Holiday Classic: All Tourney First-Team

<p>The Torrey Pines Holiday Classic annually ranks as one of the best post-Christmas tournaments in the entire country. Boasting a laundry list of alumni who have graduated to the NBA, the five-division tournament is loaded with prospects at every level. </p>   <p>This year's National Division saw St. John's, a team from Washington DC that boasts a number of high-level prospects, edge out San Diego's top team, St. Augustine, in the championship game. </p>   <p>Who were the best players in the field. Here's my take:</p>   <h2>MVP: Donovan Freeman, 6-9 2024 F, St. John's (DC)</h2>   <p>If there was a "build a player" option in HS player, the finished product might look close to Freeman, a sleekly built utility forward with elite length, athleticism and physical upside. Freeman had an impact on both sides of the ball. His length was disruptive in the Cadets zone trap, and he rebounded the ball prolifically on both sides of the glass. A capable slasher and solid finisher, Freeman showed flashes of ball skills that will translate well to the wing at the next level. </p>   <h2>Daquan Davis, 6-1 2024 G, St. John's (DC)</h2>   <p>There are very few guards on hand this weekend that had Davis' explosiveness, both as a scorer and as an athlete. One 90-second stretch was all he needed to display it all: he found an open three over the top of a high ball screen from well beyond the college three, then he stole an inbound and off of one dribble put down an emphatic dunk, and, off of an offensive rebound, attacked the paint and finished through contact. A highly touted prospect with multiple Division 1 offers, it's easy to see why. </p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='992479' first='Jurian' last='Dixon'], 6-4 2023 G, St. Augustine</h2>   <p>At this point, Dixon has checked off all of the boxes that many perceived as reasons why he was still unsigned at this point. At this tournament, he showcased his elite shot making ability from all three levels, and plays above the rim in transition. Underrated as a passer and playmaker, he often was the team's secondary ball handler to point guard Lolo Rudolph. A solid rebounding guard with great size at the 1/2 position, I think the area where he's finally turning the corner is his effort level on defense. He's as good of an unsigned prospect as there is on the West Coast - possibly beyond. </p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='950790' first='Ryan' last='Beasley'], 5-11 2023 G, Dougherty Valley </h2>   <p>The University of San Francisco signee made the tournament his personal playground, scoring at a clip we haven't seen since Jaylen Hands shattered Stephon Marbury's tournament record in 2016. Beasley doesn't have elite metrics, but he's a strong, fast and confident scorer who can get buckets in every way imaginable - through contact, pulling up from midrange, scoring from deep in the pick and roll and knocking down shots off the catch. He also gets to the foul line at a great rate for a point guard. San Francisco appears to have gotten a big steal. </p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='1502779' first='Sebastian' last='Rancik'], 6-9 2024 WF, JSerra Catholic</h2>   <p>No junior on hand boosted their stock, in my opinion, as much as Rancik, who is more of a guard than he is a big - a scary thought for the Slovakian prospect who is nearing 6-10. With elite ball skills, deft court vision and passing, and an unselfish approach to offense, Rancik is a matchup nightmare at the high school level. As a scorer, he can finish in traffic in the paint, has a nice midrange pull-up and, while streaky, showed he can knock down shots from the college three off the dribble and catch. </p>   <h2>Jacob Cofie, 6-9 2024 PF, Eastside Catholic (WA)</h2>   <p>One of two Pacific Northwest bigs who elevated their stock in the national division, Cofie is a polished offensive four man who can score it facing up and with his back to the basket. I was particularly impressed with his ability to read double teams and find open shooters on the perimeter and his willingness to advance the ball in transition with his head up, surveying all the options. He at times can be upright when attacking off the bounce, which leads to turnovers when secondary defenders get under him. Overall, there's very few prospects in 2024 with his combination of post acumen, perimeter shooting and size. </p>   <h2>Miles Goodman, 6-9 2024 F/C, O'Dea Catholic (WA)</h2>   <p>The National Consolation bracket champs have a budding star in the middle in Goodman, a baby-faced big who is just scratching the surface of his potential as a rim-running, rim protecting center. He showed flashes of forceful finishing around the basket and excellent hedging and recovering in ball screen action. </p>   <p></p>   <p></p>   <p></p>

The Torrey Pines Holiday Classic annually ranks as one of the best post-Christmas tournaments in the entire country. Boasting a laundry list of alumni who have graduated to the NBA, the five-division tournament is loaded with prospects at every level.