Chaparral at Casteel: JV Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monday December 11th I attended the 5A matchup of the <strong>Chaparral Firebirds</strong> traveling to Queen Creek to take on the <strong>Casteel Colts</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before the varsity tipped off I checked out the Junior Varsity game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Casteel JV team won.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the Junior Varsity Standouts:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295693' first='Maddox' last='Lazor'] Casteel (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger power forward with a high feel to make plays. He is a plus athlete to rebound and block shots. He has a pretty shot to hit perimeter jumpers from mid to the three. He will post up from the high post and dribble drive to the basket with an advanced handle and has a cerebral approach to the game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295722' first='Colter' last='Christenson'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A newcomer for me is a versatile wing. He cuts to score and seems to always find open space in the defense. He is a good passer up the court and made one impressive wrap around pass. He has good footwork in the post with counter moves, hook shots and he is a plus rebounder.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295723' first='Charlie' last='Sharp'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charlie buckets can score it from all three levels. He can euro step down the lane, hit the mid-range jumper and shoot the three off the catch. He runs the floor well and often cuts for points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295724' first='Griffin' last='Schow'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A real point guard find players quickly down the court and he can drive and kick it straight into a teammates shooting pocket. He is a catch three point shooter with a quick release.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295694' first='Ben' last='Gruver'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A high IQ point guard with good feel for the game. He can handle the ball with either hand just as effectively. He uses a burst to get into the lane and can stop and pop and hit mid-range jumpers. He has quick hands on defense and will move the ball as it never sticks in his hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295695' first='Matt' last='Crowder'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long scoring guard with good quickness and open court speed. He loves to give a hard ball fake and get downhill with a nice handle. He is a good rebounder for a guard and gets on the glass well.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2280481' first='Cam' last='Connell'] Chaparral</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A decent sized wing with good awareness. He can blow by his defender to the rim with a sneaky burst. He can hit the catch three and pull-up off the dribble. He handles contact well in the paint and he is a good passer into the post.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295696' first='Brandon' last='Mendoza'] Chaparral&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized point guard with a tight handle. He has a nice burst to get past his defenders and has advanced court vision to thread the needle. He can score on layups and floaters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nic Springer SG 5'8 2026 Chaparral</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized scoring guard can hit the catch three and takes contact well and will score thru it. He handles it well enough to get to the rim versus a defender and will cash in at the free throw line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->