The Bay Area 2012 class is loaded

A look at the Bay Area Class of 2012

So where in the Bay Area is the ‘new’ Drew Gordon? Who is coming up that will remind fans of Modesto Christian’s Reeves Nelson? Is there a Damon Powell jump-alike on the horizon?

Well, there won’t be any of that diaper-dandy gibberish in the following. Instead it will be a sober look at the 2012-ers, the freshmen of promise. That’s right, it’s freshman who are being featured, meaning some will blossom, a portion will remain shackled to that promise of potential and even a few will disappear from view as the seasons roll by -- sort of like life in general.

Ryant Diew, the 15/U Bay Area Hoosiers and 14/U Oakland Rebels club teams coach, is one person very familiar with the youthful prospects around the Bay Area and beyond. It is his opinion that the 2012 class will be the greatest ever in the Bay Area.

We ran a few names by him but he certainly alerted us to quite a number of other kids to watch. Here are Diew’s takes on the various freshman:

• Jamaree Strickland, 6-foot-9, McClymonds High - "Jamaree is the fastest learning player I’ve ever seen. Three years ago, as a 5-foot-11 sixth-grader, he could barely make the ball reach the basket. Now he runs the floor well, is an excellent scorer with excellent touch on his shot". Strickland is a member of the NCAA First Team program which consists of 45 of the nation’s top frosh.
  


• Freddie Tagaloa, 6-foot-8, Salesian High - "He is a good player who is massive. Freddie has a nose for the ball but needs to get aggressive." Tagaloa came off the bench in this, his first varsity season at Salesian.
  


• Brandon Ashley, 6-foot-8, Bishop O’Dowd High - "Brandon is probably the most talented frosh. He’s a good shot blocker, he handles the ball well and runs the floor effortlessly."
  


• David Andoh, 6-foot-6, Archbishop Mitty High - "David is another NCAA First team program member and the brother of Enoch Andoh who is a freshman playing basketball on scholarship at Bucknell. He is explosive, gets off the floor quickly and is an excellent shotblocker. We call him a man-rebounder because he can board outside his area and the ball ‘pops’ when he gets his hands on it. David will be a high major recruit and has pro potential."
  


• Richard Longruss, 6-foot-6, Bishop O’Dowd High - "Richard is another super talent and a long 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7. He handles well and is the best shotblocker I’ve ever seen at his age. He played out of position a lot but that’s because he can play the 1, 2, 3 and 4 spots and he typically guarded the opponent’s toughest player."
  


• Maceo Bell, 6-foot-4, McClymonds High - "He is the second coming of Damon Powell with his ability to jump out of the gym. Last year as eighth graders in The Rumble in The Bay tournament, we were playing against a 16/U team from Fairfield. Fairfield began to play real physical to try and intimidate our kids but Maceo dunked on a lob pass and that ended that."
  


• Delvon Nisby, 6-foot-4, Oakland High guard - "Offensively, Devon appears to have no weaknesses. He can jump with the best, shoots with range and handles the ball equally well."
  


• Corey Haynes, 6-foot-4, McClymonds High - "He has the best dropstep of anyone in his class and he plays real physical. He’ll defend and rebound for you."
  


• Glenn Baral, 6-foot-3, St. Mary’s High (Berkeley) - "Baral is the third member of the NCAA First team program. His shooting range is tops and he will go through or over a defender after backing him down. He also has the potential to be an absolute scoring machine. A definite Pac-10 type player."
  


• Langston Walker, 6-foot-3, Berkeley High - "He’s a warrior who is pretty skilled and keeps improving. Langston is a great athlete and competitor who backs down to no one."
  


• Lawrence Otis, 6-foot-2, McClymonds High - "One of the best passers in the class, with excellent court vision." His brother is Frank Otis, now at Southern Methodist.
  


• Casey Norris, 5-foot-10, Newark Memorial High - "Casey is a very good shooting guard."
  


• Charles Smith, 5-foot-9, Oakland High - "Charles is one of the best shooters in this class and he defends like crazy. He knows how to play."
  


• Rodney Cook, 5-foot-8, Bethel High - "His basketball IQ is off the charts and he’s an explosive slasher and an excellent defender who is absolutely fearless."
  


• Dom Artis, 5-foot-7, Salesian High - "I love this kid, he’s a warrior who doesn’t back down. Anthony Eggleton, a well known trainee in this area, says by far that Dom is his hardest worker." Artis was starter at the point for Salesian this recently concluded season.
  


• Isaiah Taylor, 5-foot-7, St. Mary’s (Berkeley) - "He dribbles like a Globetrotter and can make every shot imaginable. Isaiah is very talented skills-wise and just needs to get stronger." His cousin is Armondo Surratt, the former Oakland Tech star who played at Miami and USF.
  

Here’s Diew again : "Someone on one of the message boards posted that there will be 20 major D-1 talents in the 2012 class with about 10 mid-major kids. I agree with that observation."

Diew also mentioned two other kids, Cam Stewart, 6-foot-7, Valley Christian High and Rodrigo Pulicemo, 6-foot-4, Burlingame High as players to be included on the list but he hadn’t seen them play as yet.

So there you have it, a first look at the top 2012 talent in the Bay Area.