Top Performances: Rio Rancho Youth Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Note: The games pictured are the only games I attended, and the players on this list are based on their performances in these games</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295235' first='Jayden' last='Johnson'] - Class of 2024 - Forward - Rio Rancho High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming off a strong campaign where Johnson led the Rams to a bid in the 2023 Class 5A New Mexico State Playoffs, and was elected to the Class 5A District 1 All-District First Team, he quickly asserted his dominance against Valencia High. Johnson attacked the basket early and often, creating numerous offensive opportunities. His ferocious defensive presence led to a tournament-high 7 steals, with 10 of his 14 points coming off of forced turnovers. Johnson showed clinical precision driving the ball from a half-court set, accumulating a 50% field goal percentage. When combined with his 4 assists, Johnson put together an all-around performance, showing he's&nbsp; one to watch as he continues to show himself as a top prospect in New Mexico's Class of 2024.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1685452' first='Jerry' last='Archuleta'] - Class of 2024 - Guard - Rio Rancho High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Archuleta showed himself to be instrumental in facilitating the many-faceted attack of Rio Rancho's offense. He scored 13 points on 5/12 shooting from the field, going 2/3 from 3-point range, and making one of his two free throws attempts. With 6 rebounds, Archuleta led the team along with [player_tooltip player_id='1679999' first='Josiah' last='Marfil'], who also captured 6 boards. Archuleta's two steals rounded out his solid performance. With the departure of Class of ‘23 guards Mikey Wood and [player_tooltip player_id='1547734' first='Jamal' last='Bynum'], if this level of play continues, Archuleta should look to carve out a larger role in the Rio Rancho system.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687824' first='Jasode' last='Harris'] - Class of 2025 - Guard - Belen High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a nice breakout performance for Harris, who shot the lights out with 15 points on 5/7 from 3 point range. Belen suffered a tough loss to the “Super Seniors”, but Harris was a large part of their near-comeback that resulted in a tie with 1 minute left in the 2nd half. Costly turnovers towards the end proved to be Belen's downfall, but the combination of Harris and Belen guard [player_tooltip player_id='1680006' first='Jordi' last='Rojo'] proved to be a lethal outside shooting threat, giving Belen offensive firepower on which they can build.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2141488' first='Nathan' last='Saavedra'] - Class of 2024 - Forward - Hope Christian High School&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing on an undersized Hope Christian team, Saavedra ruled the paint for the Huskies, who had arguably the toughest draw of the tournament, playing both Valley and Manzano High School. Averaging 10.5 PPG on 67% FG, 6 RPG, 1.5 BPG and 1.0 SPG&nbsp; in two games played, he continually attacked the boards, leading the team in both defensive and offensive rebounds, stifling fast break opportunities, and not allowing the opposition to gain momentum.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Xavier Otero - Class of 2024 - Guard - Hope Christian High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Otero brings great energy for the Huskies, and was arguably the best offensive player on the court for his two games. A contributing member of their Class 4A playoff run which found them in the 4A New Mexico State Championship, he put up 16.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 2.0 SPG in two games. A well-balanced player that consistently scores, Otero shot 12/24 from the field. Hustling on both sides of the ball, he will continue to be a consistent contributor for the Huskies moving forward, who can not only score the ball, but run the offense as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Julian Ortiz - Class of 2024 - Guard - Cibola High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ortiz is a shifty combo guard that can play the 1 or the 2. With a remarkable ability to collapse defenses and glide past defenders, Ortiz is a constant scoring threat that consistently gets to the free throw line. He scored 16 points on 57% FG along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals, including one that sealed the victory for Cibola in overtime against the “Super Seniors”. Not one to fold in crunchtime, Ortiz will continue to hold down the Cougars offensively in a stacked backcourt that looks to improve upon last season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1680000' first='Tyler' last='Kozlowski'], Guard, Class of ‘24, Valley - </strong>16 points (6/18 FG)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687821' first='Jesus' last='Licon'], Guard, Class of ‘25, SAHQ </strong>- 16 points (5/16 FG) 2 steals 2 blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2147587' first='Isaiah' last='Weinrich'], Center, Class of ‘25, Cibola </strong>- 6 points 8 rebounds 3 steals 2 blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image --> <figure class="wp-block-image"><img alt="" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->