Bosco MLK Classic: First Five

<p>BELLFLOWER — St. John Bosco hosted its annual MLK Day showcase which featured a strong collection of teams from Southern California and Northern California that made up the seven game slate. Due to scheduling conflicts, we were only able to attend the last two games of the event and here are our first five performers by position.</p> <p><strong>Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="972408" first="Chance" last="Stephens"]</strong>, Riverside Poly - The sharpshooting guard didn’t get off to a quick start, but he took over the game offensively when it mattered. The 6-foot-3 Rhode Island-bound guard scored a game-high 25 points, including six 3-pointers, and scored 16 of those in the deciding second half. Stephens took advantage of the deep range on his shot as Fairmont defenders fell asleep and were late to close-outs.</p> <p><strong>Guard: Myles Che</strong>, Fairmont Prep - Che spearheaded a spirited effort by the Huskies after leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="954258" first="Chol" last="Deng"] exited the game in the first half after a hard fall. The 6-foot-1 point guard ran the show well for Fairmont, scoring 21 points to go along with eight assists. Che flashed his high IQ decision-making, pinpoint passing ability and consistent three-point jump shot.</p> <p><strong>Guard: Jacob Horton</strong>, Foothill - While Foothill received contributions from a number of players, it seemed like Horton was the catalyst for the Knights throughout the game. The 5-foot-10 combo guard scored a team-high 15 points, and while the baskets were key to the Foothill victory over Los Altos, it was Horton’s effort and energy that made the biggest difference. It seemed like whenever the senior went to the bench for a break Los Altos was able to creep closer. Horton’s constant pressure on the rim opened up shots for teammates and his activity on the defensive end made it difficult for the Los Altos guards to get comfortable.</p> <p><strong>Wing: [player_tooltip player_id="972530" first="Payden" last="White"]</strong>, Riverside Poly - White is a jack-of-all-trades type of prospect who did a nice job of identifying what his team needed him to do. He caught a finished a couple of momentum changing lobs for dunks and hit some timely mid-range jumpers. White is a valuable high school (and next level) player because he’s so versatile. He can play on or off the ball with his playmaking skills, rebounds in and out of his area and can guard multiple positions.</p> <p><strong>Center: [player_tooltip player_id="992478" first="Jazz" last="Gardner"]</strong>, Los Altos - There’s not much a high school defense can do to stop the 7-foot junior. With his combination of size, ball skills, shooting ability and overall skill, he can score whenever he wants and wherever he wants. The scrappy Foothill defense was able to frustrate Gardner, but he still finished with 19 points and tallied five blocked shots in the losing effort.</p>