Western State South Conference Preview
The Western State South Conference was a solid conference in the 2019-2020 season. West Los Angeles, Citrus, Santa Monica, Antelope Valley and Los Angeles Valley all made the post season. When the season was all said and done, Los Angeles Valley was one of the last teams standing as Covid 19 ended the season prematurely. The Monarchs went the furthest as Los Angeles Valley was set to take on Fresno in Lemoore. Half of the teams made the post season and it will be a very competitive conferences in the state with a lot of solid basketball teams coming into the new season.
2021-2022 Signal The Light Basketball Western State South Conference Preview
West Los Angeles (21-9, 9-5): The Wildcats had a solid 2019-2020 campaign in which West Los Angeles won 21 games and finished in fourth place in the Western State South Conference. The Wildcats picked up a first round victory over Mt. San Jacinto as a 17 seed but lost in the 2nd round against Santiago Canyon on the road in their 2019-2020 season.
The Wildcats come into the new season with four players returning from their 2019-2020 season in which West Los Angeles won 21 games and made the post season. “5-9” Dyllan Young returns to the Wildcats after posting 8.5 points and 3.7 assists in his freshman season for West Los Angeles. “6-5” Karlin Brown, “6-3” Joseph Anderson, “6-6” Nick Williams will all return for the Wildcats after seeing limited action as a freshman. West Los Angeles comes into the new season as one of the top teams in the state with some solid newcomers that are already on the radar of four year programs around the nation. Leading the list of sophomore newcomers is “6-3” Roy Clarke as he is a candidate for conference player of the year. Clarke is coming in as a transfer from Seward County College and will make an immediate impact for the Wildcats. “6-5” Kalique Mitchell will be another transfer that will have an impact for the Wildcats. The sophomore averaged 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds at Mt. San Antonio College in his freshman season. “6-6” Kobe Craig (Whatcom College transfer) will be another player to watch for the Wildcats this upcoming season. “6-6” Gavin Davis (Narbonne HS), “6-2” Justin Williams, and “6-5” Matthew Mayes (Westchester HS) are three freshman that are expected to have an immediate impact for the Wildcats. All three players are receiving division 1 interest and will be players to watch this upcoming season. “6-9” Elijah Charles (Inglewood HS) will add depth to the front court. “6-5” Khalifah Muhammed (Belevue West HS), “6-3” David Huggins (Westchester HS), “6-0” Benjamin Ramirez (Beverly Hills HS) are other freshman that will look to contribute this season. West Los Angeles is loaded with talent and will be a team that could make a deep post season run. The Wildcats are one of our favorites to compete for the Western State South Conference championship for the upcoming 2021-2022 season.
Citrus (20-10, 11-3): The Owls are coming off a 2019-2020 season in which the Glendora based school won 20 games. Citrus picked up a 12 seed in the postseason after sharing the conference championship with Los Angeles Valley. The Owls picked up a first round victory against Palomar but lost to Riverside in the 2nd round of the post season in 2019-2020.
The Owls return two players off their 2019-2020 team that won 20 games and made the post season. “6-5” Leonard Turner returns for his sophomore season after averaging 11.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in his first season. Turner will be a standout this season for the Owls in his sophomore campaign. “6-5′ left hander Jamal Frenchwood will return for his sophomore season as well for the Owls after averaging 3.2 points per contest as a freshman. “6-3” Chris Harper is a sophomore that will bring shooting to the team and “5-10′ Francis Doogani is another player that will stretch for floor and provide sophomore experience to the Owls. “6-0” CJ Reed (Sacred Heart HS) will be a player to watch this season for Citrus as the freshman guard is a point guard that four year schools should have on their radar. “6-1” Anthony Tello (Cypress HS), “6-1” Endigo Coleman (Newark Memorial HS), “6-3” Hayden Dykstra (Glendora HS), “6-3” Chris Chiles (Cosumnes Oaks HS), and “6-2′ Dylon Davis (Paloma Valley HS) will all be freshman that will look to contribute this season for Citrus. Looking into the upcoming season, the Owls are one of those teams that win games and play hard at both ends of the floor. Citrus will be right in the mix of the things when it is all said and done. We expect Citrus to have another solid season and finish in the upper half of the conference and expect to see them in the post season.
Santa Monica (21-9, 10-4): The Corsairs had a successful 21 win campaign in the 2019-2020 season. Santa Monica ended up as a four seed going into the post season after finishing in 2nd place in the Western State South Conference. In the post season, Santa Monica picked up a 2nd round victory against Irvine Valley but lost at home against Riverside for a place at the Elite Eight.
The Corsairs will come into the new season with a lot of talent on their roster after winning 21 games in 2019-2020. Santa Monica does not return any players from their team that made the sweet sixteen. Leading the list of newcomers is “6-6” Frank Phillips transfer Daiquan Copeland. The point who is getting interest from several four year schools will be a player to watch this upcoming season. “6-2” Eli Degrate, “6-6” Maxwell Moses (Ottawa University transfer), “6-2” Anthony Jaramillo (South Mountain College) and “6-0” Jarrell Williams are all sophomores that will look to contribute this season. “6-4” Cam Cohn is a freshman that will look to have an impact this season as the wing will be a standout for the Corsairs. “6-8” Amar Brown (Veritas Prep), “6-6” Alex Villi (Fresno Pacific Transfer), “6-9” Quinn Collins (Redondo Union HS), “5-11” Chianti Clay (Hillcrest Prep), D’Andre Dues (Balboa Prep), “6-9” Daniel Akitoby (Rocktop Academy) are all expected to contribute for the Corsairs for the 2021-2022 season. Santa Monica has a lot of talent and will be a team to watch for the upcoming season. The Corsairs have some solid four year prospects on their roster and will be in the mix of things in the Western State South Conference. We expect the Corsairs to compete for a conference championship with a chance to make a solid post season run for the upcoming 2021-2022 season.
Los Angeles Valley (25-5, 11-3): The Monarchs made a statement last season after finishing atop the Western State South Conference and posting a 25 win season. Los Angeles Valley was seeded 3rd going into the post season and picked up wins against San Bernardino and San Diego City College and found themselves in the Elite Eight. The Monarchs were scheduled to play Fresno City College at the Elite Eight but Covid 19 shut down the state championship tournament in Lemoore to end the 2019-2020 season.
The Monarchs return two players from the 2019-2020 team that made it to the Elite Eight. “6-8” Leandre Mcintyre returns for his sophomore season after averaging 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. The left hander will look to have another solid season for Los Angeles Valley. “6-2” Jonas Holt returns to the Monarchs after averaging 4.6 points per contest in his first season. ‘6-8’ Maxx Hazley will be an impact newcomer for the Monarchs as the big man will be a solid addition to Los Angeles Valley. “6-4” Andre Parris (Loyola HS), “6-2” Gilbert Camacho Jr. (Valencia HS), “6-4” Oleksandr Lut (Eastern University), “6-4” Ralph Max (Palm Desert HS) will look to contribute this season for the Monarchs. Los Angeles Valley will look to have another successful season in the Western State South Conference. The conference is loaded and we expect the Monarchs to take a drop in the standings and finish in the middle of the pack for the 2021-2022 season.
Antelope Valley (13-16, 8-6): The Marauders had a disappointing season in 2019-2020 winning 13 games. Antelope Valley went 5-10 in non conference action but finished 5th place in conference action after going 8-6 in 2019-2020 season. The Marauders picked up some good wins over Fresno, Citrus and West Los Angeles and picked up a post season bid as the 18th seed. Antelope Valley faced Saddleback on the road in the first round but suffered a 75-67 loss which ended their 2019-2020 season.
The Marauders will look to make another post season push for the upcoming 2021-2022 season. Antelope Valley will not return a single player from their 2019-2020 season but look to be an improved team that will be fairly competitive this upcoming season. “6-2” Emani Scott, “6-7” Virgil Mahoney and “6-7” Da’Jour Lewis are three sophomores expected to have an impact this season for Antleope Valley. “6-8” Chigozie Achara (Alemany HS), “6-0” Jonathan Daniels (Alemany HS), “6-7” Joshua Assiff (Valencia HS) “6-9” Donovan Avery (Highland HS), and the talented left hander “6-0” Jordan Roach (Lancaster HS) will all be freshman that are expected to see minutes and contribute this season for the Marauders. Looking into the season, Antelope Valley is one of those teams that could sneak up and make a mark in the standings. Antelope Valley finished 5th in 2019-2020 and we expect the Marauders to be right around that mark again in the competitive Western State South Conference 2021-2022 season.
College of the Canyons (9-17, 2-12): The Cougars will look to have an improved season after winning 9 games in 2019-2020. Canyons finished off the season in 7th place and missed the post season after posting two wins in conference action.
The Cougars will have a brand new team coming into the 2021-2022 season as Canyons does not return a single player from their 9 win team. “6-8” Erik Grajales will be the only sophomore listed on the roster and comes to Canyons from Northwest Tech Community College. Canyons will have a ton of freshman that will be expected to contribute this upcoming season. “6-6” Aaron Reyes (Sylmar HS) is a player that we expect to have a standout season for the Cougars. The versatile forward will bring rebounding and a scoring option to Canyons. “6-3” Aaron Henderson (Chatsworth HS), “6-4” Jimmy Galgano (Cleveland HS), “6-7” Corwin Smith (Burroughs HS), “6-4” Caden Arnold (Palisades HS), Quincy Arms (Hollywood HS), and Dillon Barrientos are all freshman that will look to contribute this season for Cougars. Looking into the season, the Cougars will be a young team that will look to improve for the upcoming season. How fast the Cougars grow up will determine how successful their season will go? We expect the Cougars to take lumps early but Canyons will be a competitive team that will be in the middle of the pack this season.
Glendale (6-22, 1-13): The Vaqueros come into the season looking to be an improved team after posting six wins. Glendale won one game in conference, missed the post season and finished in eighth place in the Western State South Conference in 2019-2020.
The Vaqueros won six games in 2019-2020 but Glendale will return a lot of pieces and a lot of experience for the upcoming season. Glendale will welcome back eight players ( 2 scored in double figures) off that team and it will not surprise me if the Vaqueros make a jump in the standings. Leading the list of returners is “6-1” Joel Finney, the guard averaged 16.1 points per contest in his first season. “6-4” Christian Finney averaged 11.8 points and also averaged a team high 7.3 rebounds as a freshman. “6-2” Jalen White (7.2 points), “6-3” Brooklin Sharpe (6.6 points), “6-6” Andre Scott (4.9 points), “6-0” Alex Ramos, “5-10” Dianta McDowell, “5-10” Jayden Couch are all coming back to the squad as well. “6-2” Julian Dixon (Price HS), “6-4” Joshua Lee (Price HS), “6-2” Jarred Jones (Warren HS), “6-0” Julian DeJesus (TMG Prep), and “6-2” Paolo Bedikian (Lebanon) will all be freshman that will contribute. Experience could be crucial as it should lead up to continuity of playing together in the upcoming season. The Vaqueros return back a lot of pieces and with that being said, we should see Glendale make a move in the upward direction this season in the Western State South Conference standings.
Bakersfield (16-12, 4-10): The Renegades went into conference with a 12-2 record in the 2019-2020 season. Bakersfield stumbled in conference, lost 10 of 14 games and finished in 6th place and missed the post season.
The Renegades return three players off their 16 win season from 2019-2020. Leading the list of returners is “6-3” Tyrell Coleman as the sophomore standout averaged 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest as a freshman. “6-2” Jorden Andrews and “6-7” Tony Counts will be two other sophomores that will add sophomore experience. “6-6” Deandre Pemberton will be a sophomore that will add size this season. “6-4” Elijah Carter, “6-0” Joshua Lewis are two other sophomores that will provide experience. “6-6” Lednl Henderson (Bakersfield Christian HS), “6-5” Rahmel Davis (McArthur HS), “6-2” Eloy Medina (West Mesa HS), “5-10” Isiah Dockery (Hope Christian HS), and “6-2” Sean Fry (McKinney HS) will all be freshman that will look to have solid first seasons for the Renegades. Going into the season, Bakersfield will look to stay competitive and have a solid season. We expect the Renegades to be competitive but finish outside the upper half of the conference in the upcoming 2021-2022 season.
