Basketball: Williams of San Juan Capistrano JSerra opens some eyes

After hours of procrastinating, I finally decided to jump in my ride and head to Hawthorne on Saturday afternoon to check out all the action at the 11th annual Fullcourt Press All-West Camp. It was a good decision, considering all the talent in attendance at The Hangar.

As expected, Jeremy Tyler from San Diego stole the show. Ocean View's Anthony Brown was a pleasant surprise, along with Thurman Woods of Compton Dominguez. But we'll have more on both those guys later because I want to talk about Alec Williams, a senior from San Juan Capistrano JSerra.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound forward flexed his muscle underneath the basket and showed the ability to get out in transition and finish strongly at the rim. He committed to San Diego State recently and it appears the Aztecs might have a keeper in Williams, who is only going to get better.

-- Sean Ceglinsky

Boys' soccer: Top youth player lives up to the hype

Chris Agorsor, Gatorade's boys' soccer national player of the year, was everything he was billed as and more as he scored four dazzling goals. Agorsor's Baltimore Bays thus downed the Chicago Magic, 4-1, on Sunday in the Development Academy finals at the Home Depot Center.

The talismanic teenager is fast and showed great field awareness, moving around when he did not have the ball to put himself in great position to receive passes. He also showed terrific dribbling skills, and because of his ability to stop and go defenders were having a hard time just staying close to him.

Football: Edison wins its own tournament

Edison defeated Valencia, 39-18, to win its seven-on-seven passing tournament. Junior quarterback Matt Viles appeared to lock up the starting job this fall for Edison.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Corona Centennial gets top transfer

Brandon Brown, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound junior linebacker who played last season at Norco, has transferred to Corona Centennial.

He played Saturday for Centennial in the Edison passing tournament. He'll be playing next to USC-bound linebacker Vontaze Burfict. There isn't a school in Southern California that can match Centennial in the linebacker department.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Oaks Christian's Coyle commits to Arizona State

Well, that didn't take long... Remember this blog, the one that hit the Internet less than two weeks ago about Chris Coyle having the potential to be the next Oaks Christian athlete to make an impact at the Division I level? Turns out, we were right on the money with that assessment.

According to these quotes, the 6-foot-3 senior tight end committed to Arizona State on Saturday morning, choosing the Sun Devils despite having scholarship offers from several schools, including Boise State, Washington State and UCLA, which put a deal on the table Thursday.

He's the second pass-catching big man from the Southland to make an early decision about his future. Morrell Presley, heading to USC, was the first. Could Marlion Barnett be next? Perhaps Sterling Carter, or maybe Terrence Miller? One thing is clear: Coyle is off the board.   

-- Sean Ceglinsky 

Boys' soccer: Breaking down controversy with Development Academy

The U.S. Soccer Federation's Development Academy kicks off today at the Home Depot Center, and high school soccer coaches still haven't forgotten what the U.S. Soccer Federation did to them. What did they do? Read on.

Football: Pressure is on Darden to be the man at Dominguez

At 5 feet 8 and 170 pounds, Marcus Darden is a bit undersized to be considered a big-time Division I running back prospect. Slight of stature would be another way to describe his appearance. But his contributions for Compton Dominguez last season were anything but small, and those efforts did not go unnoticed.

In a limited role as a junior, he nearly averaged a first down every time he touched the ball, rushing for 9.16 yards per carry. He scored 16 touchdowns too. Darden is expected to be the featured back once things get started in September, and there will be plenty of colleges interested to see how he does with the increased workload.

Arizona, Colorado, Fresno State and Mississippi have scholarship offers on the table, and he visited UCLA earlier this summer. Boise State and Minnesota have been in contact with him as well. Darden, however, aspires to play for Cal, according to these quotes, and things could end up working out if he lives up to the growing expectations.

-- Sean Ceglinsky 

Football: Clarkson insists he doesn't support transferring

Steve Clarkson, the private quarterback coach based in the Southland, insists that he doesn't encourage his clients to transfer schools. 

"I'm still an advocate for staying at your home school," he said Friday.

Clarkson is in the spotlight because his latest high-profile student, Nick Montana, transferred from Concord De La Salle to Oaks Christian. He said Montana is his first client in some five years to switch schools.

The movement of players transferring will be one of the issues Clarkson discusses Tuesday during a radio appearance on KLAC (AM 570) at 2 p.m.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Bruins put best foot forward to land offensive linemen

With Richard Brehaut essentially signed, sealed and delivered, having orally committed to UCLA back in May, Rick Neuheisel and the rest of the coaching staff have refocused their efforts to protect the future of the 6-foot-2 quarterback from Los Osos by going out and recruiting several high-profile offensive linemen.

Stanley Hasiak is one of the targets, and according to these quotes, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound senior from Kapolei (Hawaii), was impressed with the Bruins after a recent visit to Westwood. This report indicates UCLA is also in the running for John Martinez, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior from Salt Lake City Cottonwood.

Caylin Hauptmann is another candidate. The 6-foot-3, 300-plus pound senior from Beverly Hills has been in contact with several Pac-10 Conference programs, including Oregon and Washington. It's worth noting that Texas is in the mix and Syracuse recently offered, but the Bruins still appear to be at the top of his wish list.

-- Sean Ceglinsky

Football: Upland's Irabor chooses Arizona State

Upland defensive back Osahon Irabor has committed to Arizona State. He picked up an offer from UCLA earlier this week, but the Sun Devils had been the leading candidate, and he ended the recruiting process.

-- Eric Sondheimer