When I first started taking photos seriously, Quinton Adlesh was the best player on the team I covered the most. Following his career to Columbia and then back to USC as a grad transfer this year has been really fun. Chris Sylvester and I talked with the grad transfer senior on a team that was going to make the NCAA Tournament this season about what the past few weeks have been like for him. 

Ben Covington takes the ball to the basket on Friday night. By Owen Main

Mission Prep had Oaks Chrstian in their sights. Once down by 20 in the first half, the Royals cut the deficit to five on a three-pointer by junior Quinton Adlesh. Brandon Jones, Patrick Laird, Kerney Lane and Kyle Stewart had clawed their way back into the game against the longer, faster Lions.

Oaks Christian was in the middle of a scoring drought. Adlesh’s three-pointer with over four minutes remaining sent the crowd into a frenzy. The gym was as loud as it would be all night.

Then Kenny Smith, Jr. did his thing. The Oaks Christian junior and son of former NBA player and slam-dunk champion Kenny Smith drove left, pulled-up from 15-feet, and hit the biggest shot of the night. The crowd temporarily hushed and, for the first time, Mission started to play a little desperately, and Oaks Christian was able to get the stops they needed to seal the game.

Kenny Smith, Jr. was a huge key to Oaks Christian’s first-half run that saw them lead by 20 points. By Owen Main

Mission, who hasn’t lost a game to a San Luis Obispo County team since (what seems like) the Eisenhower administration, was the last boys team left in the county. Oaks Christian will move-on to the 4-AA final next week.

The match-up also featured two players on opposite teams who might be future teammates. Aleksandr Abrams, the Oaks Christian center, verbally committed to play at Cal Poly earlier this season. Mission Prep’s Adlesh has one official offer so far — also from Cal Poly.

Toughest thing on the world to look in the eyes of our seniors.Love you guys and thank you.Appreciate all the support from the crowd #TeamMP

— Quinton Adlesh (@QuintonAdlesh) March 1, 2014

Photos by Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Cameron Walker is one of the most gifted high school scorers this county has ever seen… and he’s a junior. By Owen Main

Three of the area’s top players squared-off in back-to-back-to-back games on Wednesday night in the “Challenge” round of the Mission Prep Christmas classic. Here’s a quick break-down and photos from three of Wednesday night’s games.

Photos by Owen Main

Cameron Walker – Righetti

Walker is a physical beast. The junior had 30 points in the challenge game on Thursday and looked pretty tired after the overtime victory. In the days when the Lakers had Shaquille O’Neal, I used to call every possession that Shaq didn’t touch the ball a bad one.

I probably feel the same way about any team Walker is on at this level. I’m pretty sure Walker has grown since I saw him last year. The team Righetti played looked pretty solid as well, but they just didn’t have an answer for the offensive juggernaut that Walker was all game long. Someone said to me it was the “quietest 30 points they’ve ever seen.” Walker makes his free throws and consistently gets himself good shots. Look for him to lead the Warriors to a really good season this year.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

2) Robbie Berwick – Atascadero

Robbie Berwick is the reigning Tribune SLO County Player of the year. The senior guard committed to Florida State during the fall and will be playing in the ACC next year.

Friday night’s game against perennial power Campbell Hall was the second game I’ve seen him play this year. Two things strike me about Berwick. First, he plays will high levels of intensity on both ends of the floor. He is responsible for scoring the ball, but he plays defense and rebounds as well on an undersized Greyhounds team. Second, the elevation Berwick consistently gets on his jumper is a unique thing. Many high school and college players don’t jump that high on their 3-point shots. Berwick’s elevation allows him to get a shot off anytime he wants.

Berwick’s team is really fun to watch, too. Coach Matt Knudsen has a small team, but they play effectively by putting pressure on opposing defenses and shooting the 3-pointer very effectively. Their style was enough to beat Campbell Hall on Wednesday night.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

3) Quinton Adlesh – Mission Prep

Like Walker, Adlesh is also a junior. Also similar to Walker, the point guard from Mission Prep has also grown over the past year. In the nightcap on Wednesday, Adlesh’s Royals gave themselves a chance to win against a pretty solid all-around team in Crespi.

Adlesh showed why several Division 1 schools have shown interest and why Cal Poly has already made an offer. His court game and vision are very good. Physically, he’s gone from a sophomore who looked like a really strong and potentially undersized college guard to a right-sized guard who doesn’t have to dominate the ball all the time. Balancing clutch shooting at appropriate times with getting teammates involved has to be a tough thing for a player like Adlesh, but it seems like he’s figuring it out pretty quickly and Mission will once again be a very good team this season.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Mission Prep junior Quinton Adlesh takes the ball to the basket against Atascadero on Friday night. By Owen Main

In a showdown between two teams featuring the top two players in San Luis Obispo County, Mission Prep beat Atascadero 74-65 on Friday night at the Arroyo Grande Optimist Tournament.

Robbie Berwick of Atascadero (attending Florida State next season) scored a game-high 27 points, including 17 in the second half. Quinton Adlesh, a Mission Prep junior, sscored 16 first half points to give the Royals 34-20 halftime advantage. Mission would push its lead all the way up to 20 in the third quarter before Atascadero made a run to get the game within six points a few times in the fourth quarter.

Adlesh and Berwick showed why they are both future Division 1 college basketball players, but it was the play of Adlesh’s supporting cast that made the difference. Senior Ben Covington guarded Berwick as well as you can, forcing him to early long-range shots with hands in his face. Covington also nailed a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter as Mission separated themselves on the scoreboard.

Freshman Kyle Stewart also had a very good game for Mission, knocking down some clutch shots in the second half as Mission improved to 3-0 on the young season.

Atascadero is now 2-1 this season.

Photos by Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]