10 observations from Mesquite at Arcadia

On Thursday night I attended the 4A Mesquite Wildcats at 4A Arcadia Titans.   Here were 10 observations from the three games I viewed: #1 Arcadia freshman group have some nice potential to help their varsity in the near future. #2 Three freshman from Arcadia stood out in the freshman game. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/miguel-smith/">[player_tooltip player_id="814529" first="Miguel" last="Smith"]</a> CG 5’11 2023 Arcadia -A strong guard who handles the ball really well and can play on or off the ball. He gets downhill with the best of them in class and scores through contact. His shooting is better when I first saw him and can hit the deep 3. Ethan Foss F 6’3 2023 Arcadia -Strong lefty forward is the younger brother of senior standout Cam Foss. Ethan is bigger at the same stage. He has 3pt range and works inside. He is a good rebounder and shot blocker and plays with a nice physical presence. Ben Gullekson PG 5’10 2023 Arcadia -Pure PG can pass with his left or right hand. He can dissect a defense and make the correct play. He is a decent 3pt shooter and can score it. #3 One soph stood out from Arcadia in the JV game. Evan Clayton SF 6’3 2022 Arcadia -A long forward with nice upside. He takes very few strides to get into the lane plus can shoot it and runs fluidly. He rebounds and blocks shots is his area. #4 One freshman stood out from Mesquite in the freshman game. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/maurice-lakes/">[player_tooltip player_id="814523" first="Maurice" last="Lakes"]</a> SG 5’10 2023 Mesquite -A strong scoring guard handles the ball well and loves getting into the paint. His deep ball was clicking last night and brings immense energy on defense. He rebounds really well for a guard and collects steals in bunches. He scored 35 points with 6 steals. He plays 4 quarters on freshman and two quarters on JV. #5 One freshman stood out from South in the JV game. Cohen J Gonzales PG 5’5 2023 Mesquite -His feel for the game is off the charts. He has volleyball line 3pt range and makes smart reads to teammates. He has a floater game and is super quick with the ball in his hands. His IQ, handle and shooting are higher then most in his class.   Varsity game: #6 Arcadia Senior Cam Fass was home sick in this game and it was felt on the court. Regardless if they are the #1 team in 4A or not, they will need all their studs to win it all. They missed his size and skill. #7 Mesquite doesn’t play with much size but the ones that do are serviceable to help their stud group of guards to possibly make a deep playoff run. #8 Arcadia does have many things to like for them to make a deep run with two 6’5+ forwards, shooters, two veteran senior PG’s and 9 overall seniors. #9 Calmese is a tough handle. He has an unorthodox game and it’s working.   #10 Here were the Varsity standouts: Mesquite 62 Arcadia 51 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/owen-shaw/">[player_tooltip player_id="703834" first="Owen" last="Shaw"]</a> F 6’6 2021 Arcadia -A highly skilled face-up 4-man with some nice pop. he has a soft touch and has 3pt range plus hits from mid. He can post up inside and score it but prefers to shoot it or rip through and go. He rebounds well with his bounce, body and athleticism. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/max-majerle/">[player_tooltip player_id="809673" first="Max" last="Majerle"]</a> SG 6’4 2021 Arcadia -A tough competitor with deep 3pt range. The lefty seems to play with a chip on his shoulder and has that air of confidence. He puts his nose in for rebounds and plays with a good motor. He is a good driver with a nice handle and is making smart reads to teammates. He defends in the passing lanes and is an above the rim dunker. [player_tooltip player_id="809715" first="Keiran" last="Carr"] SG 6’2 2021 Arcadia -A skilled shooter with one of the fastest shooting releases. He has recently grown at least two inches and has good length. He has nice range on his 3pt stroke and he rebounds well despite being a little thinner. He has good upside and is younger than most in his class. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nathan-calmese/">[player_tooltip player_id="701246" first="Nathan" last="Calmese"]</a> CG/PG 6’1 2022 Mesquite -One of the smoothest sophs in state. He seems to glide around the court. He makes difficult shots look easy in traffic and plays at his own pace. He has one of the best floater games in the class. He hesitates and changes speeds to get the defenders off balance on almost every possession. His quickness with the ball doesn’t waver with either hand and he seems to be a step quicker then everyone on defense. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ricky-hernandez/">[player_tooltip player_id="804810" first="Ricky" last="Hernandez"]</a> SG 6’0 2020 Mesquite -A highly skilled and effective scoring guard. He has a shifty handle to make plays for himself or others. He loves the floater game and can drive to the cup if he gets a step on his defender. He is best off the catch from the 3pt line and had a big 25 point game outburst with making many important FT’s down the stretch to essentially ice the game. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-wollangk/">[player_tooltip player_id="804791" first="Jordan" last="Wollangk"]</a> PG 5’10 2020 Mesquite -A tough pure PG who is a great competitor. He leads the smaller team in rebounds and assists most nights. He can hit the 3pt shot plus can get into the teeth of the defense with his stronger football upper body strength. You won’t see too many players compete harder than Wollangk.