Best of SoCal Spring Showcase: 2021
LONG BEACH – Their club programs may not compete on any of the three national “athletic attire-sponsored circuits”. But don’t assume that means that Class of 2021 members Jahmai Mashack (PICTURED/Etiwanda) and Brenton Knapper (Colony) can’t hang quite…
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Continue ReadingLONG BEACH – Their club programs may not compete on any of the three national “athletic attire-sponsored circuits”.
But don’t assume that means that Class of 2021 members Jahmai Mashack (PICTURED/Etiwanda) and Brenton Knapper (Colony) can’t hang quite favorably with their counterparts on the Nike/EYBL, adidas Gauntlet and Under Armour levels.
They were among the standouts during the May 18 Pangos Best of SoCal Showcase at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church.
The 6-foot-4 Mashack was one of just three sophomores (with Devin Askew and Wilhelm Breidenbach of Mater Dei) to earn all-CIF Southern Section Open Division honors this past season when Etiwanda eventually lost to Centennial in a State Southern Division I Regional final.
He’s always been all in as a defender and rebounder but his passing, handling and jump-shooting tools have really been honed over the past few months, as he demonstrated aptly during the Class of 2021 Top 20 game at the Best of SoCal Showcase.
Mashack is playing “up” with the Prodigy Elite 17s squad and helped lead it to a title in a Portland Memorial Weekend event.
Knapper, who plays for the Cali Stars 16s Elite, was an all-Southern Section choice after helping lead Colony (paced by Pepperdine-bound Sedrick Altman) to 2A Southern Section and D-II regional titles before it lost to Campolindo in the state final in Sacramento.
His speed on the dribble – and explosiveness to above the rim – is nearly without peer in Southern California in any class.
Two nearly like-sized players – 6-7ish – in Nick Davidson (Mater Dei) and Luke Turner (Rancho Christian) knocked in a lot of deep jumpers and were strong rebounders and “finishers” in the game, as well.
Guard T.J. Wainwright (Santa Monica) was his usual dynamic high-octane self while Daniel Esparza (Sonora) continued to show why he is among the most underrated – but not for long – guards in that SoCal class.