The Holiday Classic: Best National Div. Guards

<p>SAN DIEGO — We were able to spend a day down at The Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines high school watching some top high school programs from Southern California, Northern California and states as far east as New York compete in what is always a strong post-Holiday tournament. In this piece we take a look at the best guards we saw.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1502809' first='Aidan' last='Fowler'] | 2024 | JSerra</h4>   <p>As always expected, Fowler competed on both ends of the floor, made winning plays and got in his fair share of points (16) in the Lions' loss to a good Faith Family squad. The 5-foot-11 guard had his pull-up jump shot-making on display from three-point and mid-range levels of the floor.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Brian Webster | 2026 | O'Dea (WA)</h4>   <p>Webster has really good feel for the game and presence on the floor for a sophomore. The 6-foot-3 off-guard picks his spots well when attacking off the bounce and is a player who consistently gets paint touches in half-court offense and kicks to open teammates. Webster also has smooth and fundamental shooting mechanics both off the catch and off the dribble.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1502798' first='Cameron' last='McNamee'] | 2024 | Santa Margarita</h4>   <p>McNamee is one of the smoothest shooters in the state and his five three-pointers en route to 15 points in a blow out win over Waxahachie of Texas solidified that. The 6-foot-5 senior, who is headed to Dartmouth, is a shot-ready guy who understands how to give teammates the best angle for drive and kick passes, he has a quick release that requires little time and space to get his shot off and the lift he gets on his shot, combined with his size, makes him a guy who is difficult to close out to.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1903778' first='Cody' last='Shen'] | 2025 | Torrey Pines</h4>   <p>Shen put together an impressive floor game in the host Falcons' win over Seattle O'Dea. The 6-footer is a high IQ distributor, connector and runs the Torrey Pines offensive with efficiency but, in the game we saw, he showed that he can be a guy who fills up the scoring column, as well. Shen finished with 21 points which included perimeter jumpers and drives and finishes at the rim.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">DeMarco Johnson | 2025 | Santa Margarita</h4>   <p>Johnson looked very comfortable in the Eagles' starting lineup despite enrolling in school and joining the team just a week or so prior to this event. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is a long, wiry, explosive and athletic playmaker in transition and half-court offense who can knock down perimeter jumpers with ease or attack the rim and finish with power or finesse in the lane. One thing that Johnson brings that Santa Margarita lacked: he has a chance to be a shut-down perimeter defender of an opponents top scorer.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1502799' first='Ian' last='De La Rosa'] | 2024 | St. Augustine</h4>   <p>De La Rosa sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of top guards in San Diego (and Southern California as a whole) because he quietly goes about his business without a ton of flash to his game. What the 6-foot-3 senior does, however, is produce. De La Rosa scored 26 points in the Saints win over St. Francis of New York and impacted the game in a variety of other ways, including his playmaking and defensive presence. </p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1738844' first='Isaac' last='Williams'] | 2024 | Faith Family (TX)</h4>   <p>I really liked Williams' all-around game and think Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got a steal of a player committed to them. The 6-foot-1 combo guard is a strong and athletic downhill driver whose physicality and ability to finish through contact makes him an effective paint scorer. Williams also showed a smooth pull-up jumper from the mid-range area of the floor.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956616' first='Jaden' last='Bailes'] | 2026| St. Augustine</h4>   <p>Bailes lit it up from three-point range in St. Augustine's win over St. Francis of NY. The 6-foot sophomore knocked down six triples - many of them well behind the high school three-point arc - en route to 26 points. Bailes also flashed his ability to get paint touches off the bounce, which resulted in him drawing contact and getting to the free throw line where he was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Vere Anthony | 2025 | St. Francis (NY)</h4>   <p>Anthony is a super crafty and creative ball-handler with a quick first step off the bounce. The 5-foot-11 combo guard has the ability to stop and pop jumpers on a dime and gets into the lane and to the rim with his hesitation and change of speeds. Anthony had a team-high 19 points in the game that we watched.</p>

SAN DIEGO — We were able to spend a day down at The Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines high school watching some top high school programs from Southern California, Northern California and states as far east as New York compete in what is always a strong post-Holiday tournament. In this piece we take a look at the best guards we saw.