Fear the Hop: Top Underclassmen/Newcomers

Gregg Rosenberg December 13, 2021 @ 09:14 AM

On Wednesday, November 24th I attended the Fear the Hop Tournament at Mesa HS in Mesa, AZ.   Here were the results of the eight games I viewed: Westwood 42 Agua Fria 39   Westview 65 Shadow Mountain 37   Dysart 78 Apache Junction 14   Hamilton 60 Mesquite 57   Kellis 82 Washington 61   McClintock 83 Boulder Creek 69   Mesa 63 Buena 52   Desert Mountain 65 Campo Verde 61   Here were some of the underclassmen/newcomers that stood out: Underclassmen: [player_tooltip player_id="994680" first="Jai" last="Anthoni Bearden"] Kellis (Pictured left) A long defensive forward is a plus athlete and plays hard. He rebounds in and out of his area and is developing as a nice passer. He did a rare windmill dunk on the break. [player_tooltip player_id="1124550" first="Cohen" last="Ferguson"] Campo Verde A thick and stronger build/framed guard is a catch 3pt shooter. He loves using runners and floaters. He uses his strength to absorb contact and score it. He makes good decisions and plays within the offense. He can pull-up off the dribble from mid-range. [player_tooltip player_id="1217315" first="Tayvion" last="Wilson"] Kellis (Pictured right) A quick undersized scoring lead guard. He has deep range and gets his shot off in a blink of an eye. He dribbles it well with his right or left hand and throws quick passes to teammates. He plays the game with good pace and from the neck up.   Newcomers: [player_tooltip player_id="1334837" first="Jaxon" last="Johnson"] Westwood A highly skilled undersized scoring guard. He can shoot it from mid to the 3pt line and he utilizes the floater game. He is best off the catch but can create a little for himself with a decent handle. He scored 18 points including a game winning mid-range jumper. [player_tooltip player_id="1334836" first="Desean" last="Strong"] McClintock A big wide shoulder post player rebounds, runs the court and sets strong picks. The lefty can score it from elbow and in and has a polished dominant hand hook shot. His physicality in the middle allows the rest of the team to go to their natural positions. [player_tooltip player_id="1334830" first="Nigel" last="Anderson"] Dysart A younger brother of [player_tooltip player_id="1220369" first="Darius" last="Anderson"] is good down low with strong hands. He scores it easily inside with his length. He is active on the glass and will take long strides to the basket plus is a fluid athlete. He moves his feet quickly to defend and is a good athlete to dunk it. He will challenge his opponents to block shots. [player_tooltip player_id="1334831" first="Kye" last="Brown"] Dysart A long and strong four-man can face-up a little and score it inside. He is a little raw but shows promise. He has a decent FT touch. He has stronger wider shoulders to bang inside and will block shots near the basket. [player_tooltip player_id="1334824" first="Josiah" last="Hollomon"] Shadow Mountain A long and muscular freshman forward who moves well up the court. He is a little rough around the edges, but he can score it near the rim. He has a few moves he can use and handles it decently in the open court. He rebounds well in his area and shows upside for the Matadors.