Magic Memorial Day Festival: 17u Stock Raisers

Orange, Ca. — The four-day Compton Magic Memorial Day Festival featured more than 100 teams which competed among 11 divisions across the 17u, 16u and 15u levels.

The majority of our time was spent at Orange Lutheran high school where all four courts turned out game after game over the course of each day.

The host Compton Magic program dominated its way to the 17u BattleZONE championship over Team Bradley, while Dream Vision took home the 16u title over Compton Magic and Team Lillard earned the 15u championship with a win over Coastal Elite.

Here are the six players who raised their stock with their performance over the weekend.

Stock Raisers

Nick Blake, Las Vegas Knicks

What most will write about after watching Blake play centers mostly around his size, length, athleticism and ability to spread the floor from 3-point range. While all of those things are great basketball traits, what earned him a spot on this list is the fact that he's always performing well in big moments. The 6-foot-4 wing was the main reason the Knicks upset Dream Vision in Saturday night's entertaining BattleCup quarterfinal as he made key defensive plays, threw down a beastly momentum-changing dunk, and hit a deep 3-pointer late in the game to help the Knicks separate for good.

Isaiah Hill, Compton Magic

Hill is the steadying force among the star-laden Compton Magic roster. He's a reliable ball handler and decision maker, and showed Sunday that he has the ability to be a go-to scorer. Hill opened the BattleZONE Platinum Division championship by knocking down a handful of 3-pointers and smooth mid-range jump shots that led to CM burying Team Bradley quickly. What makes Hill such an intriguing prospect is his tenacious on-ball defense.

Aaron Murphy, Lakeshow

Murphy, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward out of Modesto Christian, used his energy, activity and sheer willingness to play harder than everyone else to lead Lakeshow 17u to the BattleZONE Bronze Division title. Murphy is one of those glue-type guys who outworks opponents on the offensive and defensive glass, can guard multiple positions and finishes with power around the basket.

Kyle Owens, Pump-N-Run

The Crespi High-product has always been on the radar as an “upside” guy due to his size, length and all-around skill set, but Owens not only produced game-in and game-out this weekend, but also displayed improved touch from 3-point range. The 6-foot-6 forward thrived in the short corner off of catch-and-shoot opportunities, making teams pay for leaving him open on drive-and-kick situations.

Jon Scherer, Cali Rebels

Scherer is one of the top 3-point shooters in the Orange County area and he was knocking down the deep ball at a consistent clip all weekend. The 6-foot-5 Saddleback Valley Christian shooting guard has always been a high percentage shooter with his feet set and time and space, but his ability to nullify a hard close-out to his shooting hand and drain the one dribble side-step shot kept defenses honest and opened up the floor for the rest of his teammates.

Giordan Williams, Pump-N-Run

Williams, a Long Beach Poly standout, established him as one of the better perimeter defenders in SoCal this past high school season, but has used the spring club session to show that he's been in the gym working on his 3-point shot. The 6-foot-3 guard canned six trey's in an opening night BattleCup win over Gamepoint and Pump-N-Run needed every single one of them in that close two-point victory.