Battle at Bella Vista: Senior Standouts

Gregg Rosenberg October 25, 2021 @ 09:19 AM

On October 1st I attended the Monarch Sports 2nd annual Battle at Bella Vista at Cactus Shadows HS in Cave Creek,AZ. I watched 3 games which featured 5 teams: Sunnyslope, Bella Vista Prep National, Bella Vista Prep CAA, Millennium and Horizon.   Here were some of the senior standouts viewed: [player_tooltip player_id="826998" first="Elijah" last="Saunders"] Sunnyslope A powerful forward who seemingly showed off during the weekend. He made shots from deep with range, posted up inside and powered his way to the basket and leaped up high above the crowd for rebounds. This may be his best skill. He rebounds with two hands and uses his strong build/frame to corral the ball in traffic. He creates his own shot and the San Diego State commit is a true mismatch with almost everyone in the AIA. [player_tooltip player_id="827007" first="Oakland" last="Fort"] Sunnyslope (Pictured) A dynamic lead guard who shot the ball at a high level. He comes with real range and he always out races his opponents in the open court. He can make plays but is asked to score the ball to compliment Saunders. The NAU commit is more confident with his shooting, which should help him in tougher games. The duo of Saunders and Fort will try and get back to the 6A Finals. [player_tooltip player_id="973910" first="Luke" last="Kearney"] Bella Vista Prep National A face-up who transferred to the Bella Vista Grind Session team. He has good size for a forward and has a sweet shooting stroke to the 3pt line. He crashes the glass for offensive rebounds and can drive to the basket and score it inside on runners and hook shots. [player_tooltip player_id="1018516" first="Josiah" last="Sanders"] Bella Vista Prep National A big bodied power forward has leaned down and looks a little more athletic. The strong lefty had one of the dunks of the evening over an opponent and he plays hard in the paint to rebound. He can face-up from elbow and in and gives them some muscle. [player_tooltip player_id="1055860" first="Micah" last="Wilkerson"] Bella Vista Prep CAA A high flying wing plays above the rim on the break. He grabs out of area rebounds with his motor, and he can straight line drive to the cup. He makes catch-3's and brings high energy to the team. [player_tooltip player_id="1135488" first="Reginald" last="Mickens-Orr"] Millennium A smart scoring guard can shoot it from mid to the 3pt line plus slither in the lane and score it in traffic. He is wiry strong to score it though contact. His ability to slash and shoot it makes the defense guessing where he will end up. [player_tooltip player_id="1035643" first="Cashuel" last="Scott"] Bella Vista Prep CAA A physical strong combo guard makes plays for others but will definitely score it this season. He can get downhill with his upper body strength plus hit the 3 with confidence. [player_tooltip player_id="933540" first="Croix" last="Sweeney"] Horizon A sturdy framed forward can score it from inside and out. He can defend inside versus bigger players and will defend in space. He uses his thicker frame to score in the paint and has a nice shooting stroke from the perimeter. He is a good passer and he is the glue of the Huskies this season.