SoCal Final Live Period: Day 2 standouts
Day 2 of the final live period saw me visit Anaheim for Opening Night of The Stage before heading to Cerritos College for some action at the Dinos Trigonis-fronted Terrific 24. Several players stood out. Here’s my take: So-Cal Final…
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Continue ReadingDay 2 of the final live period saw me visit Anaheim for Opening Night of The Stage before heading to Cerritos College for some action at the Dinos Trigonis-fronted Terrific 24.
Several players stood out. Here’s my take:
So-Cal Final Live Period: Day 2 Standouts
Aram Soqui, 6-4 2025 G, Veritas
Event: The Stage Act 5
Soqui, a native of Tijuana, stood out in Veritas’ blowout pool game win. A slender build with solid length and deep range on his jump shot, Soqui is a well rounded scorer and slasher (right hand dominant) who can get into the paint and finish through contact, despite his relatively thin build.
Gavin Guinn, 6-2 2025 G, Veritas
Guinn had a big weekend at The Stage, and it started with his play on opening night of The Stage. A lead guard with good size, Guinn doesn’t get sped up, makes solid reads in pick and roll and is an excellent midrange shooter who comes off the pick-and-roll looking to get to that area and stick jump shots.
Derrion Manson, 6-2 2024 G, San Diego Hornets
Event: Terrific 24
Manson exploded in the second half against LA Rockfish, scoring at will in the paint en route to 25 points in the win. Manson lives in the paint (changes speeds out of pick and roll to get there), and does a good job finishing once he gets there. A big area of improvement from spring to summer is he’s more balanced when he gets into the key (playing off two feet) and the lefty shooter can finish with either hand around the rim. Also, Manson did an excellent job
Zak Abdalla, 6-1 2025 G, Las Vegas Knicks 16u
Event: The Stage Act 5
The Knicks lost the game to a very good Gamepoint team, but Abdalla put together an impressive effort. A crafty scoring guard, Abdalla’s change of pace and handle allowed him to shake free of defenders and hit shots from three levels.
Jaden Riley, 6-0 2025 G, Las Vegas Knicks 16u
Event: The Stage Act 5
Riley was yet another rising sophomore playing up on 16u, and heated up during a stretch in the second half when he hit 4 triples from well beyond the college three. An undersized scoring guard, me moves well off of pin down screens and curls to get open and quickly gets his feet set. He also does a good job of scoring with the jump shot out of pick and roll. Next step for Riley will be to add that final level of scoring in the paint, which will come with more confidence with the handle and strength.
Brycen Mackenzie, 6-2 2024 PG, Gamepoint Elite
Mackenzie will likely get a mention from me in my live-period wrap up, but we’ll start here with his solid first game performance against the Knicks, in which he got his team off to a big lead it wouldn’t relinquish. A strong lead guard with improving burst and excellent feel, Mackenzie started the game attacking the Knicks defense and getting into the paint and finishing with floaters, mid-range pull ups and strong finishes through contact. When he wasn’t scoring, he was drawing the defense and finding shooters on the wing with crisp, on-target passes.