Battle At The Bay: Senior Standouts (Pt. 1)

<p>SAN DIEGO — The Battle at the Bay showcase event organized by Mission Bay head coach Marshawn Cherry is always loaded with matchups among some of the best teams and prospects in all of San Diego. The 4th edition went off without a hitch over the weekend and lived up to its billing as one of the top in-season events in SoCal high school basketball. In this piece we take a look at some of the senior standouts from the event.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="971229" first="Camden" last="McCormick"]</strong>, Francis Parker - McCormick put together one of the more impressive individual offensive performances in a loss to Torrey Pines. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has a great scoring feel off the bounce with his ability to break down defenders in isolation and get to the basket for easy layups or create space on the perimeter and knock down a three-point shot. The lefty finished with a team high 28 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748739" first="Devon" last="Arlington"]</strong>, San Marcos - Arlington had an impressive all-around performance in a battle of top 10 teams in San Diego. The 6-foot-3 Yale-bound point guard finished with 18 points and seven assists as the Knights defeated San Ysidro 67-61. Arlington did a nice job of orchestrating his team’s offense and controlling the pace of the game, but it was the last few minutes of a close game where his impact was felt the most. Arlington knocked down key free throws and made a couple of huge defensive stops to secure the victory. </p> <p><strong>Eden Pinn</strong>, Torrey Pines - Pinn set the tone inside early for the Falcons as he crashed the boards for six first quarter rebounds. The 6-foot-6 forward compliments the rest of the Torrey Pines roster well as he doesn’t command the ball and touches to be effective. Pinn’s activity on the boards and willingness to do the dirty work makes up his presence on the floor.</p> <p><strong>Franlys Valenzuela</strong>, San Ysidro - Valenzuela is one of the more intriguing big man prospects in SoCal. The 6-foot-9 center is mobile, athletic, plays with a high motor and has some tools that a college program could build on. Valenzuela finished with 18 points a handful of blocked shots and one impressive dunk through traffic in the loss to San Marcos and also showed good hands and vertical explosiveness around the basket.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="971189" first="Jayden" last="White"]</strong>, Mission Hills - White is one of the top unsigned senior prospects in the San Diego area. At 6-feet-7 with fluid athleticism and an emerging perimeter skill-set, the left-hander has the physical tools and a skill potential that, at the right fit and program, could make him a very good 4/3 man at the next level. White scored 17 points in a win over San Diego and flashed shooting touch out to 17-feet in addition to his ability to run the floor and finish in transition.</p> <p><strong>KJ Gonzalez</strong>, Mater Dei Catholic - The one thing I always appreciate about watching Gonzalez play is he’s a gamer. He always brings his best effort and makes it clear he wants to do anything possible to win. His 15 points weren’t enough to overcome a good Mission Bay team, but Gonzalez showed his ability to run a team, make perimeter jumpers off the bounce and use his burst and strength to get into the paint and to the rim for high percentage finishes.</p>