Earl Watson guards impress at WCE tourney Wednesday
CLAREMONT, Ca. – The first day of the West Coast Elite Summer Classic demonstrated one thing quite succinctly:
There is an exceptional group of guards in the Southern California Class of 2020.
Three of them were on display – on one team – Wednesday evening at Pomona-Pitzer College in front of a 100-plus NCAA Division I-affiliated coaches.
The trio is a part of a gifted Earl Watson Elite 2020 UAA squad coached by Justin Downer of Riverside Poly High.
Many of those recruiters in attendance were head coaches, including Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State), Dana Altman (Oregon), Wyking Jones (Cal), Herb Sendek (Santa Clara), Marty Wilson (Pepperdine), Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s) and Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton).
Here’s a look at five of the standout SoCal guards on display Wednesday, listed alphabetically:
Lamont Butler (EWE 2020 UAA/Riverside Poly/6-1/2020)
The slick and quick Butler had a strong freshman season and followed that up with an impressive spring campaign with his EWE squad. He showed all of his leadership and playmaking tools Wednesday night, while often pitching passes to a couple of other backcourt standouts from his class.
D.J. Davis (Team Eleate/Corona Centennial/6-0/2020)
Davis teams on Team Eleate with the most powerful – and, perhaps, the best – shooting guard in the West in Cal-committed Matt Bradley (who is moving from San Bernardino to Wasatch Academy in Utah for his senior season). Davis has an oh-so-quick release and seemingly limitless range on his jump shot.
Ryan Evans (EWE 2020 UAA/Santa Margarita/6-2/2020)
Evans is one of the reasons that Santa Margarita is expected to challenge Mater Dei for Trinity League and best-in-Orange County honors during the coming season. His range and accuracy were on display Wednesday night and he’s going to be one of the best jump shooters in SoCal for the next three years.
Spencer Freedman (Big Red/Santa Ana Mater Dei/6-1/2018)
The best playmaker and floor general in California showed exactly why he is both of those things Wednesday night even as his Big Red (made of exclusively of Mater Dei players) was upset by Utah-based Exum Elite Wednesday night. He committed to Harvard last month.
Clark Slajchert (EWE 2020 UAA/Oak Park/6-1/2020)
Slajchert scored with ridiculous ease Wednesday night, via it by deep or mid-range jump shots or slick moves to the glass. He was the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Freshman of the Year last after helping his team get to the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. He also helped his squad pull off a State regional D-I stunner in the first round when he hit a 3 at the buzzer to beat McDonald’s All-American guard Jaylen Hands and El Cajon Foothills Christian.