The Stage Act I: On The Radar

<p>ANAHEIM — The Stage Circuit’s first act of hosting club basketball events in Orange County featured a strong contingent of teams and prospects from the west coast and beyond. The three-day live period event took place at Open Gym Premier in Anaheim and The Draft Sports Complex in Corona with teams from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Canada and North Carolina represented. In this piece we take a look some players who played their way onto the radar of college coaches.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Charlie Hutchison</strong>, Gamepoint -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> The 6-foot-6 wing out of Mission Bay high school in San Diego is a class of 2024 prospect that many west coast programs will track over his next two high school seasons. Hutchison’s calling card is his great shooting touch for his size and position and really competes on the offensive and defensive boards.</span></p> <p class="p1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1057906" first="Cole" last="Ellena"]</strong>, West Coast Select -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Ellena is a talented young big man who possesses the tools you can’t teach at the center position: size, length, soft hands and touch and fundamental footwork. The 6-foot-9 sophomore out of Liberty high school in Las Vegas has a fluid catch and finish ability inside and knows how to establish post position when defenses are fronting or playing behind him. Ellena showed touch with both hands around the basket and passed out of the post well when swarmed or double-teamed. </span></p> <p class="p1"><strong>Elijah Gelin</strong>, Two One Elite -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Gelin is a long, rangy, smooth and athletic wing who boasts a ton of upside in the 2024 class. The 6-foot-6 sophomore out of Windward high school flashed some perimeter ball skills and ability to create shots for himself and teammates off the dribble. While he still has plenty of work ahead of him - especially adding some strength to his frame - Gelin has a lot of natural tools that will turn the heads of college coaches.</span></p> <p class="p1"><strong>Jasper Buck</strong>, Gamepoint -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Buck was one of the more intriguing freshmen performers we saw on the weekend and it was mainly due to his consistent three-point shooting stroke. The 6-foot-1 guard from La Costa Canyon high school in San Diego had a couple of games where he put on a flat-out shooting display, hitting from multiple ranges and spots on the floor. Aside from his shooting, Buck competed well on both ends and showed he can run a team with his high IQ and playmaking abilities.</span></p> <p class="p1"><strong>Michael Coleman, II</strong>, Two One Elite -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Coleman is a heady and tough point guard who knows how to control the pace of a game. At 5-feet-11, the Crossroads high school product has a good combination of speed and physicality that allows him to get paint touches in the half-court setting and create shots for himself and teammates. Coleman also showed that he can knock down the catch-and-shoot three-point shot with consistency.</span></p> <p class="p1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1434809" first="Robert" last="Taylor"]</strong>, Gamepoint -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Taylor, who attends state powerhouse program Corona Centennial, doesn’t get a whole lot of run on his high school team seeing that he plays behind a number Division 1 level prospects. The 5-foot-11 point guard is a sleeper type of prospect in SoCal’s 2023 class based on what we saw him do with Gamepoint at this event. Taylor has good speed in the open court, a high IQ when playmaking for himself and others, and his strong frame and good balance allow him to absorb and finish through contact in the painted area.</span></p>