BYGLA Battle at the Beach Front Court Prospects
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LOS ANGELES, CA – As the fall season approaches, teams are gearing up for the regular season. On Saturday evening, several of Southern California’s top talent came to play and gave us a preview of what is to come. Prep…
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Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES, CA – As the fall season approaches, teams are gearing up for the regular season. On Saturday evening, several of Southern California’s top talent came to play and gave us a preview of what is to come. Prep Hoops takes a look at some of the top front court performances at the event:
Mouhamed Kandji
Mouhamed Kandji
Kandji had a great performance and displayed his versatility and ability to play 3 positions. The 6’7″ front court player for St. Monica Prep utilized his athleticism and speed and ran from rim to rim and did the majority of his damage with finishes around the basket. His teammates often found him for lobs and on cuts en route to a 23 point performance. Kandji also displays wing ability as he has a decent handle and good foot speed. He moves his feet well, does a great job of staying in front of his man, and makes good weakside reads and helps. Kandji is an intriguing prospect that will garner more recognition as the season goes on.
Juslin Bodo
Juslin Bodo
Bodo, as we all know is an athletic rim running lob threat. The D1 prospect is just as good as we last saw him and continues to get better. He displayed better coordination and improved agility. Bodo had a 2 minute run where he absolutely dominated the game with a rim rocking alleyoop slam, followed by a poster slam on his 6’9″ defender, and then a steal and spin and another thunderous dunk. Bodo’s footwork is impressive as he seems to have added a drop step and spin in the paint. As he adds more to his repertoire his stock will just keep going up.
Chappell is your modern day stretch big man who’s skillset is perfect for many of today’s playbooks. Chappell loves to face up and do damage from midrange and long range. He has a soft touch, can hit from the corners or his favorite spot which seems to be the top of the key. Chappell finished with 16 points to lead Crossroads in the win over Washington Prep. He always keeps his head up and also does a good job throwing lead and entry passes as well which is an underrated asset these days. Chappell has a lot of potential to be a big pick and pop threat and should excel in college offenses that operate with a shooting and passing big.
Highlights
Marcelo Mazzini
Marcelo Mazzini
Mazzini is a fundamental textbook player who does a lot of the little things for his team. He sets screens, cuts hard, boxes out, and hustles. He shows the ability to hit the outside shot and also stretch the floor. There is potential for Mazzini to develop into a pick and pop threat as he does a good job of moving his feet and keeping his head up after setting screens. He has grit to his game and displays toughness and isn’t afraid of contact. Mazzini has the ability to catch on and contribute at the D3 and NAIA levels.
Although he finished the game with only 6 points, it was Gumwel’s defense and effort that did the talking and he was key to Rancho Christian’s upset victory over a national ranked Southern California Academy team. Gumwel played almost the whole game and had to guard the SCA front court rotation of Juslin Bodo, Drew Fielder, Devin Curtis Devin Curtis 6’10” | PF Heritage Christian | 2023 CA-S , all D1 prospects. Gumwel did an excellent job protecting the rim, altering shots, and being a presence in the paint on defense. He ran the floor, boxed out, and put his body on the line and kept his arms up. Lorenzo Romar and Pepperdine are getting a good one in Gumwel.