Port City vs Cap City Cougars: Player Evaluations

Here is a report on the prospects from session II from the Hoop Review evaluation workout on Saturday 19 at Slam Academy in Hayward. The session was a matchup between Port City from Stockton and the Cap City Cougars from Sacramento. Port City 6’1 CG Ben Almaraz of Lincoln HS 2021 Almaraz is a confident combo guard who believes in his ability to get things done and approaches every possession that way. He handles and passes it well and is capable of playing on and or off the ball. He will get out and run the floor on every possession. He has an effective floater at the end of the break. In the half court Almaraz moves well without the ball and he is a fairly good 3-point shooter. He is a capable defender, but he needs to be more aggressive at that end of the floor. Put Almaraz on the class of 2021 radar and check him out. 6’1 PG Beau Blackman of Lincoln HS 2021 Blackman is an athletic and energetic one man who does a nice job fitting into a team. He will push the fast break on a pretty consistent basis. He handles the ball with confidence and makes pretty good decisions and he is a pretty good passer who is unselfish. He has a nice first step and gets to the basket on the drive. Blackman is a competent defender who has the athleticism to create havoc for the opponent. He keeps things simple and does not make a lot of mistakes. That is something college coaches do appreciate.   6’6 W [player_tooltip player_id="947816" first="Miles" last="Byrd"] of Lincoln HS 2022 Byrd is a long and athletic wing with skills who can be a real problem for the opponent. He can really run the floor and can make a lot of plays in transition. His bread and butter may be the transition pull-up shot. Byrd can bounce it and break drown the defender on the drive but is a little tentative finishing versus contact. He has the length and athleticism to guard anyone on the perimeter and to also be a competent rebounder. He is showing signs of being more vocal on the court which he really needs to do. Developing more strength is his primary need as he prepares for the next level. Byrd has high major Division I potential and is receiving interest at that level.   6’1 CG Malik Cotta of Lincoln HS 2021 Cotta is a strong and fairly athletic combo guard with a well- rounded game. He does a lot of different things to impact the game. He’s a confident ball handler who makes plays in transition pretty consistently for himself and others and has a nice pull up at the end of the break. Cotta shoots the ball with a lot of confidence and he is a solid driver who can get to the hoop and finish. He is a capable rebounder and is willing defender who can make a difference other than offensively. Cotta is a solid 2021 prospect who will make a positive impression on college coaches. 6’1 SG Gavin Martinez of Lincoln HS 2022 There is a saying that if you can do one thing really well then you can play. Gavin Martinez does one thing really well- he shoots the lights out of the ball. He is a major league shooter who is very effective at catch and shoot. He probably can increase his ability to shoot off the dribble. Martinez is a decent ball handler who can pull up ok in the half court. And he moves without it fairly well and also shows a decent floater shot. He does need to show his merit at the defensive end. If that happens you will have a double-edge sword who will impress a lot of college coaches.   6’1 SG Deven Sarabia of Lincoln HS 2021   Sarabia is a hard-working two guard who impacts the game at both ends of the floor. His versatility is a definite asset to the team. He can handle the ball, has a solid floater and can post-up some on the offensive end. Sarabia works very hard on defense and he is a capable rebounder. You can count on him in these areas. He is a steady performer and a vital cog that coaches will realize when they watch him. 6’3 G/W [player_tooltip player_id="766849" first="Andre" last="Warren"] of Lincoln HS 2022 Warren is a skilled and competitive guard/wing who is highly efficient and productive. He is really versatile at the defensive end with the ability to score every way possible. He handles and passes the ball well and does a nice job finishing in transition. Warren is an excellent driver, a fairly good 3-point shooter and he can post up some. He is a capable rebounder and defender who makes a consistent effort in these areas. Warren is a solid prospect with Division I potential.   Cap City Cougars 6’4 SG Jonah Alvarez of Capital Christian HS 2021 Alverez is an active two guard who has a pretty complete all-around game offensively. There isn’t much he can’t do at that end of the floor. He’s a competent ball handler who passes it well. He has a solid mid-range pull-up game in the half court and he moves well without the ball. Alvarez can shoot it and he has 3-point range. He has a solid floater and he gets to the basket on the drive with a sneaky first step. He’s a decent defender who could show a little more aggressiveness in this area. Alvarez is a Bonafede prospect in the 2021 class that college coaches need to put on their radar 6’3 SG [player_tooltip player_id="766874" first="Anthony" last="Garcia"] of Capital Christian HS 2022 Garcia is a fairly athletic shooting guard who plays with a lot of energy and runs the floor very well. He’s a solid ball handler who can make plays for himself and others. He does a nice job fitting into a team concept and not over-doing it individually. Garcia is a competitive defender who does get after it at that end. And he finds way to come up with rebounds. This is a player who give a team a spark at both ends of the floor. Coaches will value that when they watch him.     6’8 C [player_tooltip player_id="775810" first="Chico" last="Lewis"] of Capital Christian HS 2021 Lewis is a long and fairly athletic five man who has some lift and can run floor well. He is a little on the thin side and could help himself to develop some bulk/strength. He handles the ball a little and can get to the basket on the short drive from the high post area. Lewis moves ok without the ball and he can post up some, but he needs to finish better in traffic. He can hit a shot from the mid- range area. He has the length and athleticism to get to rebounds at both ends.. This is a kid who has some upside and is an attractive prospect for college coaches.   6’5 G/W [player_tooltip player_id="958295" first="Sione" last="Lose"] of Capital Christian HS 2021 Lose is a fairly athletic guard/wing with long arms who has an impressive all-around skill set. He’s a confident ball handler who plays some at the point guard with efficiency. He is a very good passer and he can make plays in transition. He is also has a solid pull-up game in the half court. Lose can shot the ball with 3 range, he has a nice first step and can break down defender on the drive. He can defend on ball and he can rebound pretty consistently. Lose is thin and need to develop bulk/strength to prepare for the next level. And he will definitely play at the next level. He has Division I potential and should be checked out by coaches at that level.   6’5 PF CJ Mc Millan of Capital HS 2021 Mc Millan is a big-body four man who takes up space and is hard to guard on the inside. He is a real good passer who sees the court and can find the open man. He is a decent ball-handler who can get to the basket on the one-bounce drive. Mc Millan’s bread and butter are his port-up game. He is a presence inside and finds way to score. He is fundamentally sound and does a nice job blocking out and rebounding (in his box). His biggest need at this point is to develop more conditioning. Mc Millan is a solid 2021 prospect and college coaches need to get on him.   5’10 PG Mehki Morris of Capital HS 2021 Morris is a strong and athletic point guard with a pretty solid all-around game. He is a good ball handler who pushes the fast break consistently and does a nice job making plays in transition. He can run a team and he’s a good passer who can get the ball to the open man in the right situation. Morris is a solid driver/penetrator with a fairly good first step. He is an ok set shooter with long range who takes good shots. For the most part he makes good decisions and does not force things He is a capable on-ball defender who can pressure the opponent and make things difficult for him. Morris will play college basketball- it is just a question of what level he ends up at.   5’11 PG [player_tooltip player_id="775785" first="Kenechi" last="Onuaguluchi"] of Capital Christian HS 2021 Onuaguluchi is an athletic one-man who does a nice job running a team. And he is completely comfortable with that role. He smartly never ties to “do his own thing”. He is a confident ball handler who does make pretty good decisions. And he is a very willing and able passer. Onuaguluchi is a capable driver/penetrator who can get in the lane and make plays. He has a solid floater, but his perimeter shot does need some works. He is a capable on-ball defender and can rebound some from the guard position. He will be intriguing to coaches when they watch him play.