Classic at Damien: Best Duo’s (Pt. 2)

<p><span class="s1">LA VERNE — The 5th annual Classic at Damien post-Christmas tournament is one of the best venues to watch many of the top teams and players in the state. This year’s event was no different, and despite some late and in-tournament drops, we were still able to get a good look at a ton of prospects from SoCal and beyond. In this piece we take a look at the best one-two punches from the tournament.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Jazz Garnder</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748742" first="CJ" last="Bellamy"]</strong>, Los Altos - Out of all the tandem’s we’ve written about from the Damien tournament, none have a bigger size differential than Gardner and Bellamy. Gardner is a skilled, inside-out scoring 7-foot center who possesses ball skills, passing IQ and great touch around the basket and out to the three-point line. Bellamy is a feisty and quick 5-foot-8 point guard with an aggressive scoring mentality and a lethal pull-up jumper.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="921076" first="Jack" last="Payne"]</strong> and <strong>Liam Campbell</strong>, Owyhee (ID) - Payne and Campbell took the event by storm as the two Idaho-based guards each brought a different "theme" to the court, if you will. For Payne it was all about his freakish vertical leaping ability and high motor play on both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-5 Colorado State-bound senior had a number of highlight-reel dunks throughout the week, but made his impact on the game by rebounding, defending, and just flat-out playing hard. Campbell was one of the better perimeter scorers in the event. The 6-foot-5 sophomore, who was at Harvard-Westlake as a freshman, knocks down jumpers from a variety of spots and in a variety of ways. Campbell was really good when isolating at the top of the key and getting his defender off-balance to create space for a jumper.</span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="996386" first="Jimmy" last="Baker"] and [player_tooltip player_id="994972" first="Curtis" last="Williams"], Etiwanda - Baker is the engine that runs the Etiwanda offense and defense and Williams is the guy who makes it all look nice. Baker is an elite on-ball and team defender who makes opposing point guards work to get into any sort of offense and uses that momentum to push the pace in transition, get into the lane, and set up teammates - mostly Williams. The 6-foot-6 wing is a smooth shooting junior whose offensive efficiency is key for the Eagles to win big games. Williams can hit the catch-and-shoot three, the pull-up jumper and get to the rim off the dribble to score at the rim.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>JoJo Hunter</strong> and <strong>Mike Davis, Jr.</strong>, San Joaquin Memorial - Hunter has come a long way from his days as a young athletic slasher and finisher and has turned into a legitimate big point guard at 6-foot-5. The Fresno State-bound guard continued his high level playmaking from the Tarkanian Classic and helped lead San Joaquin Memorial into the Gold Division semis with his passing and elite pull-up jump shot. Davis, a 6-foot-7 junior, flashed his high-rate rebounding and willingness to play physical inside for paint buckets. Davis is one to watch in California’s 2023 class.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Vyctorius Miller</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954242" first="Koat" last="Keat"]</strong>, Crean Lutheran - For what Keat lacks in perimeter scoring, Miller certainly makes up for with his smooth jump shot and crafty pull-up jumper and finishing ability around the basket. The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard has supplanted himself as a national level recruit in the 2024 class and his performances at Damien on solidified that. Keat is an unselfish 6-foot-8 playmaker, rebounder and energy guy who has ball skills and a great basketball IQ. </span></p>