Top 5 Games At The Cedar City Showcase 2
Bruce Williams
In this article:
The Cedar City Showcase is the premier grassroots event of this weekend. Featuring 16 local teams, and 25 games, the evaluation event offers a great opportunity for players to showcase their talents. The two-day event begins on Saturday at 3 pm and concludes on Sunday evening. In this article we breakdown some of the most anticipated matchups at the event.
- Hard 2 Guard v LV Shooters 17U - Could be the premier game of the weekend. H2G is bringing one of the top PGs on the West Coast in [player_tooltip player_id="859646" first="Tavionte" last="Jackson"], the shooters have one of the top rising 2022 players in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="859644" first="Dontrell" last="Johnson"], add in [player_tooltip player_id="1110135" first="Kiree" last="Huie"] and [player_tooltip player_id="858152" first="Jaycob" last="McBath"] and the Shooters bring a loaded squad. H2G’s 17U team dominated last summer, and now face their first test of the new year. In addition to Jackson, they have [player_tooltip player_id="1044827" first="Anthony" last="Pittman"] to lock up the perimeter, the rebounding and rim protection of [player_tooltip player_id="859656" first="Lorenzo" last="Moore"], and the defensive versatility off [player_tooltip player_id="1020764" first="Donte" last="Turner"].
- Team Rogue v Elko - The rubber match of this 3 game series is can’t miss basketball. Elko won up in St George in December, and TR returned the favor last month in Cedar. Now they play the tiebreaker. Faith brings Eastern Washington commit, [player_tooltip player_id="927128" first="Coleman" last="Lemke"], while Elko counters with top 10 c/o 2022 stud [player_tooltip player_id="859645" first="Michael" last="Klekas"]. The game may come down to the play of [player_tooltip player_id="858174" first="Jackson" last="Williams"], and [player_tooltip player_id="985598" first="Sean" last="Klekas"]. Williams is a rangy versatile defender, who finds ways to score, while Klekas is a heady PG and team leader.
- OTTG v Hard 2 Guard - It will be a tough night of competition for H2G. Their matchup against OTTG is dripping with intrigue. These teams know each other well and are mirror images. The staffs have worked together, and the players know each other well. The [player_tooltip player_id="859641" first="Damion" last="Byrd"] [player_tooltip player_id="859646" first="Tavionte" last="Jackson"] matchup should be exciting, [player_tooltip player_id="1044822" first="Naurese" last="Meno"] battling with [player_tooltip player_id="1020764" first="Donte" last="Turner"], while playing against his his high school coaches team will be fun and [player_tooltip player_id="927149" first="Brandon" last="Ruiz"] and [player_tooltip player_id="859656" first="Lorenzo" last="Moore"] banging down low should grab attention. Keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id="999101" first="Christian" last="Ware"] in this one as he could be the unsung hero.
- Redcats v LVXF - LVXF has a fast and athletic team. The Redcats have several small school players. I’m looking in the backcourt for this one, specifically, how do [player_tooltip player_id="927138" first="Lucas" last="Walker"] and [player_tooltip player_id="927166" first="Kobe" last="Kelley"] handle the defensive pressure of [player_tooltip player_id="927130" first="Craig" last="Comanche"]? I’m looking inside as well as the Redcats will have to find a matchup for 6’7 [player_tooltip player_id="1053246" first="Chase" last="Jackson"]. The likely candidate for the Redcats is 6’4 [player_tooltip player_id="927156" first="Cody" last="Zile"], however c/o 2024 stud [player_tooltip player_id="986965" first="Robert" last="Blandanburg"] who stands at 6’6 should also spend some time on him.
- Loyalty VP v Team Rogue Freshmen - I’m looking forward to seeing the young guys. This one should be interesting. I don’t know much about the TR freshmen, but historically they run a disciplined system Loyalty features many of the top players in the c/o 2024 and 2025, including 6’6 Chris Nwuli, 6’6 [player_tooltip player_id="986958" first="Anthony" last="Nwuli"], and 6’5 c/o 2024 small forward [player_tooltip player_id="1129386" first="Pharaoh" last="Compton"]. I’m interested in seeing if the young players can keep their own discipline against a TR squad that will be jacked up to play them.
