California Live: Stock Raisers (Pt. 2)
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IRVINE — Southern California played host to more than 160 boys high school basketball programs over the weekend for the inaugural California Live scholastic event. Those teams were given the opportunity to play in front of more than 190 college…
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Continue ReadingIRVINE — Southern California played host to more than 160 boys high school basketball programs over the weekend for the inaugural California Live scholastic event. Those teams were given the opportunity to play in front of more than 190 college coaches over the course of three days. I spent most of my time watching games at the Irvine and Tustin High sites and below are players I saw who boosted their stock in front of two and four-year coaches.
Dillan Shaw Dillan Shaw 6'7" | PF Heritage Christian | 2025 State #163 Nation CA-S , Heritage Christian
Shaw was one of the prospects who picked up a handful of offers after his performance over the weekend. At 6-feet-7, the rising junior is a smooth shooting combo forward who can stretch the floor to the three-point line off the catch and get to a pull-up mid-range jumper with a high release and consistent follow through. What I liked out of Shaw at California Live was his emphasis on rebounding, pushing the ball up the floor and finding open teammates.
Douglas Langford Douglas Langford 6'8" | PF St. Pius X-St. Matthias | 2025 State #314 Nation CA-S , St. Pius
Langford secured himself a handful of Division 1 offers and the reason behind those was his willingness to be a physical inside presence on both ends of the floor. The mobile 6-foot-8 forward is a bruiser down low on the offensive end where he uses his strength to power through contact and score at the rim. Defensively, the junior-to-be doesn’t allow anything easy at the rim for the opposing team and works hard to clean the defensive glass.
Elias Obenyah Elias Obenyah 6'4" | CG Salesian Prep | 2026 State CA-N , Salesian
Obenyah, just a sophomore, was a huge reason why Salesian was able to take down Harvard-Westlake for the SoCal Chevy bracket championship. The 6-foot-2 rising sophomore scored 15 efficient points, which included limited shot attempts and limited dribbles to get there. Obenyah was a great mover without the ball – either on back cuts or face cuts – and was quick to transfer catch to finish at the rim. His speed and quickness allowed him to beat defenders off the dribble to get to the rim.
Gavin Ripp Gavin Ripp 6'8" | PF Archbishop Mitty | 2024 State CA-N , Archbishop Mitty
Ripp played his way into a potential Division 1 four man conversation this weekend. The 6-foot-7 forward did a little bit of everything for Mitty and led his team to a Chevy Silverado championship win over Montgomery of San Diego. Ripp can stretch the floor to the three-point line, score with his back to the basket, and make plays for himself and teammates in face-up situations.
Jase Butler Jase Butler 6'4" | PG Branson (Ross, CA) | 2024 State #120 Nation CA-N , Branson
If a high IQ playmaker with good size and the ability to play both on or off the ball is what you are looking for, Butler fits that bill. The 6-foot-4 combo guard was one of the better passers and pace controllers I saw over the course of the event and his innate unselfishness makes guys want to play alongside him at the high school level and that will carry over to the next level, as well. Butler, a senior-to-be, is a capable three-point shooter off the catch who can also get downhill and to the rim in transition.
JJ Sanchez JJ Sanchez 6'4" | CG Montgomery | 2025 State CA-S , Montgomery
Sanchez is one of the more crafty playmakers in all of SoCal high school basketball. The 6-foot-5 rising junior is of the “positionless” mold of basketball where his skill-set and basketball IQ allow him to play every spot on the floor when needed. Sanchez helped lead Montgomery to an appearance in the Chevy Silverado championship game while pulling off a couple of upsets along the way. Sanchez has elite vision and passing instincts to go along with a versatile scoring package.