Battlezone Showcase: 2023 Standouts (Pt. 2)

<p>CORONA — The annual Battlezone event hosted by Corona Centennial changed its format from tournament style to showcase style, but still featured high level match-ups and individual talent as we’ve come to expect from Coach Josh Giles and his Huskies’ staff. In this piece we take our second look at the standout performers from the 2023 class.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="997945" first="Jaidyn" last="Simpson"]</strong>, Colony - Simpson is an extremely versatile wing who impacts both ends of the court. At 6-feet-3 with a strong frame and good athleticism in traffic and in the open court, the junior can get out and fill lanes in transition for dunks or high percentage finishes, but can also operate on the perimeter in the half-court setting with catch-and-shoot three-pointers and physical drives and finishes in the paint.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>JV Brown</strong>, Rolling Hills Prep - Brown is kind of an unsung hero for a Rolling Hills Prep team that features the star trio of [player_tooltip player_id="748749" first="Benny" last="Gealer"], [player_tooltip player_id="994948" first="Kenny" last="Manzi"] and Seydi Thiombane. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard has a smooth lefty stroke and, if given time and space from deep, the opponent is more than likely going to take the ball out of the net. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994948" first="Kenny" last="Manzi"]</strong>, Rolling Hills Prep - Manzi is a big time interior scorer and offensive and defensive rebounder who stays within himself and plays to his strengths. The 6-foot-8 junior is an adept finisher with either hand, has a variety of face-up and back to the basket moves in his arsenal, and can step out and hit the 13-17 foot face-up shot.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Kristian Gonzalez</strong>, Chula Vista Mater Dei - Kristian is one piece of the Gonzalez brother tandem at Mater Dei and he stood out in this event with his smooth shooting stroke. Gonzalez finished with an efficient 16 points as he hit a number of pull-up and three-point shots from various spots on the floor. Gonzalez knows how to get to the spots on the floor where he’s comfortable and rises up quick for jumpers off the bounce.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Robert Russ</strong>, Great Oak - Russ was a spark plug off the bench in Great Oak’s win over Santiago. The 5-foot-10 point guard is a physical downhill driver who uses his strong frame to absorb and finish through contact in the painted area. Russ has a quick and strong first step that he uses to work his way into the lane where he makes good decisions on when to hit an open shooter or look to score himself.</span></p>