The Stage: Act I NorCal Standouts

<p>April 8-10 there were multiple Live Period events taking place in Los Angeles, CA. WCE Hoop Review, The Stage: Act 1 to name a few. Prep Hoops NorCal was able to get up on the Stage for a short time to see a few NorCal teams and it’s players on Saturday at Open Gym Premier. Here’s our rundown on the standouts we saw while there.</p> <p><em><strong>Cortevious Taylor 6’5 2024 SF, PF of SF Rebels 16 (Independence HS)</strong></em></p> <p>A big strong player with good movement and a bit of a mean streak on the court. He’s a rising prospect in the 2024 NorCal class. He was a force in the paint, showing balance, and strength, sometimes in a dominating factor in the post area. He's comfortable working on the perimeter and can hit 3's. He was effective from the high post, and posting on the low block. In the game we saw, down the stretch he was put in isolation mode repeatedly using his dribble drive handles, and strength to force his way to the paint for buckets. He’s on the Wright’s Watch list.</p> <p><em><strong>Derek Hogue-Smith 6’2 2024 PG of Team California 16U (MCClleand HS)</strong></em></p> <p>The athletic lefty has explosive hops as he attacks the rim with intentions of dunking on somebody. He has good hang time finishing with either hand around the basket. His handles will take him anywhere he wants to go. He showed good guard play in pick and roll, Isolation situations proved to be too much for any one defender. He’ll finish with dunks in transition. He’s a rising prospect. He’s on the Wright’s watch list.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="950910" first="Logan" last="Steuben"] 6’8 2023 PF of PHPS 17U (Inderkum HS)</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Steuben</strong> </em>is one of the top rebounders in NorCal. If you want a player who’s a relentless rebounder, he is a prospect who deserves a look. His offense is coming around, he’s an excellent passer, and his post work is improving at a good pace. He’s a smart player who brings good intensity for his work of rebounding and defending. He runs the court hard filling lanes. With any improvements in his offensive skill set, he’s a DI prospect.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1380756" first="Jalen" last="Glenn"] 6’5 2023 SG of PHPS 17U (Inderkum HS)</strong></em></p> <p>He’s a smooth operator with good length and an all around good skill set. He can handle up top, create his own opportunities, and pass to involve others. He’s effective in transition, but at the end of the day he’s a scoring guard who can get his points with jump shots from mid-range all the way out to the 3-point line. He’s long will defend on the perimeter, and help rebounding.</p> <p><em><strong>Jacob Soleman 6'6 2024 SF of SF Rebels 16U (Sage Ridge HS)</strong></em></p> <p>The lefty was impressive as he deliberately worked his way to the bucket dancing along the baseline, with his dribble, and footwork finishing with strong moves, and reverses around the basket. He can hit the short corner jumper. He's a deliberate scorer working in the post with a jump hook and paint jumper.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>