SoCal’s 2023 Breakout Candidates (Pt. 4)

<p>With many states, including California, still struggling to figure out how to play the high school basketball season amid increasing COVID-19 case numbers, we wanted to take a closer look at each class in our region.</p> <p>In this piece, we break down the players in the class of 2023 who would have broken out at this point in the season for their high school teams if it had gone as normally scheduled.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994962" first="Rockwell" last="Reynolds"]</strong>, Santa Margarita - Reynolds turned heads as a freshman due to his defensive prowess. The 6-foot-8 forward/center has great instincts as a rim protector whose length and ability to stay vertical allows him to deter and block shots around the basket and rebound the defensive glass. Reynolds is mobile in transition when changing ends of the floor and showed improving touch around the basket as the 2019-20 season went on. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994928" first="JJ" last="Gray"]</strong>, Fountain Valley - Gray was the marquee player on Fountain Valley’s junior varsity team and an off-season growth spurt to 6-feet-3 make him an intriguing sophomore prospect to keep an eye on. Gray is a smooth and fluid athlete with good length and a high basketball IQ. His most impactful skill is his three-point shooting ability both off the catch and on the move when coming off of screens and the one and two-dribble pull-up.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994973" first="Devin" last="Williams"]</strong>, Corona Centennial - Williams was highly touted heading into his freshman season at Corona high school and put together a strong first season for the Panthers. The 6-foot-8 forward made the move to Centennial last spring and the heightened visibility will only draw more eyes to the high upside of this prospect. Williams is versatile and skilled at the forward spot. He can face-up and hit the 15-17 foot jumper or beat his defender down the floor in transition and finish around the basket with touch with either hand.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994942" first="Ray" last="King"]</strong>, St. John Bosco - We really like the toughness King brings to the floor on both ends, which bodes well for his future playing under coach Matt Dunn. The 5-foot-10 sophomore has a floor general approach with a high basketball IQ and the willingness to distribute to teammates on offense and defend with physicality on the defensive end. </p>