San Diego Tip-Off Challenge: Event Surprises

<p>Montgomery Head Coach Ed Martin has created something special with the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge. The past two years, he’s leveraged the presence of Sierra Canyon and several of San Diego’s top teams to bring out big crowds and create an atmosphere that is great for the city.</p> <p>The three day event (of which, I only attended two days) gave us some surprising performances. Here, we highlight some of those players who opened our eyes. </p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="971232" first="Marc" last="Begin"], 6-3 2022 G, La Jolla Country Day</h3> <p>Not guard has physically transformed over the past two years as much as Begin, who has grown and filled out his frame. Now, you’re starting to see his body catch up with his always strong skill set. A right-hand dominant guard who is crafty and has underrated burst, he took over the game in the fourth quarter against San Diego, hitting shots from three, scoring through traffic and getting to the foul line at a prolific rate. He gives the Torreys an alpha they can go to during crunch time and ensures they shouldn’t skip a beat from last year, when they were one of the region’s early surprises. </p> <h3>Boston Bonifay, 6-7 2022 F, Cathedral Catholic</h3> <p>Bonifay waited his turn behind the Dons experienced front court last season, but looks prime for a breakout senior campaign. The big man has solid hands, is an excellent finisher in pick-and-roll, and carves out space and pursues rebounds aggressively inside and outside of the area. He’s a blue-collar player on a team that needs an interior presence. </p> <h3>Jordan Cooper, 6-6 2022 F, Mission Bay</h3> <p>Cooper's defensive presence and rebounding on both ends were part of the reason the Bucs were able to stay in the game until the fourth quarter defensive blitz. He's come a long way as an interior scorer, too. When he keeps it simple (finish pick-and-rolls, put back offensive boards without dribbles, sets screens), he's very effective. Junior colleges should be all over him. </p> <h3>Alden Elliason, 6-1 2022 G, Valhalla</h3> <p>Elliason is a late-blooming scoring guard who had a breakout performance against Mission Bay, scoring 31 points and putting on a dazzling shooting performance. He doesn’t need a lot of space and shoots it with supreme confidence off the catch, especially on the right side of the court. He’s not the best ball handler against pressure, but in the half court he can score on drives of two dribbles or fewer. </p> <h3>Calvert Esho, 6-5 2022 F, Valhalla</h3> <p>Esho is an undersized five man whose skill set translates to the four at the next level. He can handle the ball and attack bigger defenders off the bounce, and when left open can knock down open shots out to the college three. He plays the five out of necessity for his team, but a junior college would be getting a competitor and a player who can make the transition to the perimeter with some work. </p> <h3>Andrew Garcia, 5-6 2024 G, Cathedral Catholic</h3> <p>Garcia was a fan favorite in the Dons upset of San Ysidro, giving his team a lift in his limited minutes by doing the little things. He made solid passes and created off the bounce for teammates, he pursued offensive rebounds and boxed out players despite being the smallest guy on the court by 5 inches, and he played incredible on-ball defense (low center of gravity allowed him to get under ball handlers in the half court). As far as undersized guards go, he might be one of the best in San Diego. </p> <h3>Josh Macagapal, 5-9 2022 G, Mission Bay</h3> <p>Macagapal’s defense on the ball and in the Buccaneers 2-2-1 trap keyed the fourth-quarter comeback, as Valhalla was unable to get into any semblance of an offense. He’s an agitator on the ball, whose quick hands and his aggression allow him to create live-ball turnovers. He’s improving slowly but surely on the offensive end, knocking down timely baskets and making fewer turnovers as a lead guard. </p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="994934" first="Miles" last="Harris"], 5-11 2023 G, San Diego</h3> <p>Harris, who up until this point of his career has been a reluctant scorer, looked much more comfortable scoring off the dribble and hitting midrange pull-up jumpers off of dribble penetration. Defensively, he made huge plays down the stretch, forcing [player_tooltip player_id="971232" first="Marc" last="Begin"] into a critical turnover in the final seconds to seal the victory. This bodes well for the junior moving forward. </p>