The 2025 Pangos Frosh/Soph Camp series got underway with the West being the first of four stops across the country. This camp wasn’t deep, but the two all-star game were as well played as any at the regional underclass-oriented camp that began over 20 years ago in the West. The 2028 and 2029 classes in the West were well represented at McBride (Long Beach, Calif.), with a pair of big men standing out from the pack.
Each year at the Pangos Frosh/Soph Camps, some of the nations’ best young talent is on display as they begin their journey of participating in elite grassroots events. The fall calendar for high school teams in Southern California has taken on a life of its own and many of the elite high school players in the region did have fall league commitments to attend to during the camp and that did affect the overall numbers.
What it didn’t affect, however, was the effort of the elites who decided to show up and that was culminated with the refreshing display during the camp’s two Cream of the Crop All-Star games reserved for the most productive campers. Some campers did have to miss one of the three camp games in order to fulfill fall league duties, but those that played with supreme effort on both ends of the floor were rewarded. When the dust settled among 129 campers from nine states, it was the most consistent performer who was rewarded for his impact on each camp game with the Most Outstanding Player award.
That player was 6-foot-9 sophomore (2028) P.J. Parker of McClatchey (Sacramento, Calif.). Parker (pictured middle) attended the camp as a freshman in 2024 and was ranked No. 34 based on performance. That specific rankings position can be argued, but what can’t be is the fact Parker came into this camp at least two inches bigger and with more determination. He was quite frank with his mindset and goals coming into this year’s frosh/soph camp. Combine that with his improved skill level and approach, and you have a performance that can, quite frankly, earn him top billing in any credible scout’s ranking.
“I decided to make everyone wake up and to come from nothing, I’m now here,” Parker told Ballislife.
The here is Sacramento, where sometimes kids don’t have it easy growing up and can get overlooked at camps or for national rankings. Parker expanded on what motivated him.
“I wasn’t known as the best kid [in my area] growing up and I had to overcome a lot of challenges. I also wanted to show people you can do whatever you want to in life and to never take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Parker’s much improved game included more strength (he admittedly has trouble gaining weight) and a variety of moves around the basket. His ability to keep the ball high on the catch and finish with a variety of half hooks, up-and-under moves, or simply with two-hand power flushes, plus the same zeal on defense, made him the most impressive performer over two days and evoked images of Kevin McHale during his heyday with the 1980s Celtics dynasty. When you consider he was the efficient and productive camper who didn’t need the ball fed to him (in terms of volume) to make a positive impact, by a rather large margin, it was easy to see why camp director Dinos Trigonis and the assorted scouts voted him camp MOP. Parker finished the Cream of the Crop Top 30 Game with eight points and two blocked shots.
Right behind Parker in terms of most impressive and dominant big man in attendance was 6-foot-10 2029 (freshman) Mamadou Issa Sow of CIA Bella Vista (Scottsdale, Ariz.). The Senegal native via Canada did have one lack-luster game in which he wasn’t challenged vertically or around the rim, but when a foe did present some competition, Issa Sow (pictured left) stepped up, big-time.
Sow runs the floor well, is an excellent passer on the move facing the basket or on the block, and can finish with quick and authoritative moves around the basket. Sow had a spirited matchup with 6-foot-8 2028 power forward Oumar Dabo of San Gabriel Academy (Calif.) and did plenty of positive work against a big man who rebounds like former Florida Gator Donnell Harvey. They weren’t able to match up a second time, or pair up, in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 Game because of Dabo’s high school commitments because if they did, Dabo would have likely been mentioned in the same breath with Parker and the event’s top freshman.
All-Star Games Put a Capper on Event
Sow was named White team MVP after his club defeated the Black jersey-wearing unit, 103-96, as he finished with team-highs of 15 points (7-of-8 shooting), five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. On the Black club, 6-2 2029 guard Phillip Reed of Palisades (Calif.), a program whose students currently attend class at the old Sears building in nearby Santa Monica because of the devastating fire that destroyed plenty of the campus in January, was named MVP after putting his stamp on the game by scoring the first five points and playing with a ferocity that made nearly everyone chosen for the game step up the intensity. Reed, who plays the game with the instincts of a college football defensive back (albeit with jump-shooting ability), finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and five steals, the later two game-highs.
There has been terrific Cream of the Crop games over the years at the Pangos Fr/Soph series of camps, most notably the Texas vs. Everybody affair at the 2017 All-South camp that featured further No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham, but it would be hard to recall a better set of well-played all-star games at the same event. It might have been the best set of Cream of the Crop games ever played.
Perhaps the only athlete equal to Phillips from the guard position was 6-foot 2029 Bre’vynn Johnson of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) and when he hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer the White club led Black, 56-47. The black unit put up a valiant effort, but it was the White’s defense down the stretch that was the difference in the 103-96 victory. Clinging to a 97-92 lead with three minutes remaining, the White’s team defense went up another notch and even Issa Sow got into the act, diving to recover a loose ball near mid-court that capped a terrific effort by all the participants.
One of the most skilled wing in attendance, 6-foot-7 2028 Troy Arthon of Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.), added 13 points for the winning White club. Also making a big impact for the victors, while juggling fall league games for Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.), was 6-foot 2029 Quali Giran, who finished with 10 points. He and 6-foot-1 2028 Tayshaun Bozeman of Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) were arguably the most explosive lead guards in attendance. Nobody could successfully stay in front of Bozeman off the dribble throughout camp, as he chipped in four points and three assist for the Black.
Also playing well for the Black club was 6-foot-4 2028 shooting guard Aaron McMorran II of Desert Pines (Las Vegas, Nev.). With his unique motion and quick trigger, McMorran frustrated each defender he went up against, and he finished the Cream of the Crop Top 30 Game with a team-high 16 points. Two of the better wings in attendance, Terrence Byrd, a 6-foot-6 2028 from Sandra Day O’Connor (Pheonix, Ariz.) and Carter Parker, a 6-foot-4 2028 from Vasquez (Acton, Calif.) each netted 12 points for the Black club.
Three Top 60s Moved Up
The Cream of the Crop Top 60 Game was so well-played, Trigonis decided to move up three deserving performer to the top game. Incredibly, 6-foot-2 2028 Chace Patterson of St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) netted 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the victorious White unit in the top game after netting 17 points in the Black’s 91-86 victory over the White in the Top 60 game. Patterson was one of the best slashing scorers in attendance and used the all-star games to evaluate his standing among the campers perhaps more than any other participant.
Also scoring 17 points for the winning Black Club in the Top 60 game was 6-foot guard Miles Cooper of College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.). Cooper hasn’t met a shot he won’t take, and in the same token, can’t make, and it was his scoring burst during a 9-0 run to begin the second half that gave the black club a 51-41 lead after it led by a point at halftime. The lead ballooned to as big as 19 points, but incredibly the White club took a 72-70 lead on a layup by 6-foot-5 2028 Lucca Maher of Burlingame (Calif.) before the Black club re-gained control. The winning club got the cushion it needed on the last basket of the game, a layup by Patterson.
Maher scored 14 points for the White, as it was led in that department by 5-foot-11 2028 spark plug DaShaun Harris of Democracy Prep (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 15 points.
Cooper joined Patterson with 17 points. The third player moved up to the top game was 6-foot-5 2028 Jack Loevner of Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.). He finished the Top 60 game with 11 points, three assists, two steals and a terrific effort on both ends.
Two players we wanted to single out for their play who weren’t selected to either Cream of the Corp All-Star Game are 6-2 2028 Damitrius “Zaire” Nelson of Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) and 6-foot-1 Josiah Wilson of Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.).
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
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