Diamond In the Rough Showcase: Event Standouts

<p>It was a pretty easy two-hour drive to the beautiful campus of McBride High in Long Beach for Dinos Trigonis’s Diamond in the Rough Showcase, one of several opportunities April 18-20 for unsigned seniors and post grad players to showcase their talent in front of a number of college coaches. </p> <p>Coaches from major junior colleges and several four-year schools attended the event. Here were some of my standouts. </p> <h2>Portal casualties</h2> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6018-crop-984x646-1648775185.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417858" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6018-crop-984x646-1648775185-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="972424" first="Cord" last="Stansberry"], 6-3 G, Shadow Hills</h3> <p>Stansberry quickly reminded everyone in attendance why he once touted offers from Pepperdine, LMU, Rice, Santa Clara and Butler. The sharpshooting playmaker sprayed the competition from all three levels, showed nice burst off the bounce and creative finishing and passing off the bounce. His feel can only be described as elite. The transfer portal has been unkind to unsigned seniors, but if I am a school looking for a lead guard, Stansberry would be an easy call to make. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6006-crop-1613x1059-1648775252.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417861" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6006-crop-1613x1059-1648775252-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="970271" first="Makaih" last="Williams"], 6-2 G, Capo Valley Christian</h3> <p>Another victim of the transfer portal and the extra year of eligibility given to college players due to COVID-19, Williams would have been a surefire late D1 signee in a previous era. His game is effortless, from drives to the basket to the elevation he gets on his jumpshot to his dynamic playmaking in the pick and roll. Another area of his game that seems easy is his athleticism, which calling "explosive" would be an understatement. </p> <h2>Underrated seniors</h2> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6019-crop-960x631-1648775341.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417868" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6019-crop-960x631-1648775341-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="1409384" first="Sage" last="Wayans"], 6-7 F, South Pasadena </h3> <p>Wayans is a junkyard dog type of wing that thrives on the boards on both ends and can finish through contact around the basket. His game’s best attribute is his motor. He’s constantly in motion, competes for every loose ball and rebound and sprints back in defensive transition. His shooting from the perimeter is steadily improving, making him an intriguing 3/4 prospect at the next level. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6012-crop-1801x1183-1648775428.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417871" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6012-crop-1801x1183-1648775428-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <h3>Kris Krause, 6-3 2022 G, Bishop Montgomery</h3> <p>Wayans has hovered under the radar for years behind a number of high-level prospects at the Torrance powerhouse. But this year, he’s blossomed into a very good college prospect in his own right. A long, crafty combo guard who is an efficient scorer and playmaker, Krause doesn’t waste a lot of effort, getting things down in less than two or three dribbles. Defensively, he has active hands and plays hard on the ball. He’s hearing from several Division 2 schools. </p> <h2>Intriguing prospects</h2> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6001-crop-1890x1241-1648775626.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417877" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_6001-crop-1890x1241-1648775626-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <h3>Darron "Boodah" Henry, 5-8 PG, Long Beach Poly</h3> <p>One of the biggest surprises for me was Henry, a dynamic jitterbug point guard who, at his generously listed 5-8, makes an impact on both ends. He’s super shifty, and uses his handles to shake loose of defenders and delivers highlight-level passes to cutters or in drive-and-kick. Additionally, he can stop on a dime and elevate to hit jumpers from midrange and his floater package is elite. While his spot-up shooting is somewhat flat and has little rotation, he hit a number of threes from the college range. He’s the type of player who, due to his size, will likely have to go to JUCO and prove himself, but he’s a tremendous talent. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_5998-e1648775716669.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1417879" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/IMG_5998-e1648775716669-300x239.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="239" /></a></p> <h3>Amari Robinson 6-2 G, Paraclete</h3> <p>A right-hand dominant scorer with a feathery jump shot, Robinson was scoring buckets from every level in his first games of the event. What surprised me was his athleticism, as he was able to finish one of the event’s best highlights, a tomahawk dunk off the drive to cap a big win. He’s super thin and needs to improve his effort level defensively, but the base is there to be a college player at some level. </p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="1409409" first="Isaiah" last="Lewis"], 6-4 G, Taft</h3> <p>Lewis was one of the more athletic combo guards on hand, exploding above the rim on a few plays, while also showing the ability to shoot it from deep and score it off the drive. Sometimes his game can be too flashy, which leads to turnovers. Size, length, athleticism and shooting are all coveted in today’s game, and Lewis should be as a late signee.</p> <h2>Always dependable </h2> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="1409416" first="Nathan" last="Medina"], 6-2 G, Valley Christian</h3> <p>Medina recently committed to Biola University, and it’s clear to see why. The guard is an absolute sharpshooter from deep and is a tough, fundamentally sound combo guard who makes others better. </p> <h3>[player_tooltip player_id="748765" first="Jorge" last="Ochoa"], 6-7 F, Veritas Prep</h3> <p>Ochoa, coming off a strong year on the Grind Session, had heavy legs Friday night, but showed off his knockdown shooting ability and underrated scoring off the bounce, which makes him an intriguing 4 man at the next level. He recently committed to Vermont. </p> <h3>Spivey Word, 6-0 G, Damien</h3> <p>One of the event’s most explosive athletes, Word also showed off his reliable shooting from deep (especially off the catch) and his lockdown on-ball defense, both of which made him a key contributor to a state-champion team. </p>