Nike Extravaganza: Under-the-Radar Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SANTA ANA — We spent the day inside the Meruelo Athletic Center at Mater Dei high school for the 29th installment of the Nike Extravaganza. While there was plenty of ranked teams and players in action Saturday, we wanted to highlight some under-the-radar guards who played well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Josh Engleberg | 2024 | Harvard-Westlake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harvard-Westlake doesn't go to its bench much deeper than two players but when a spark was needed Saturday against Foothill, Engleberg was the guy who provided it. The 6-foot-1 guard scored 13 points off the bench including 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point range. Engleberg helped ignite a second half effort that saw the Wolverines turn a tie game at the break into a 20-point victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Kodai Fujii | 2024 | Aliso Niguel</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fujii is considered one of the better three-point shooters in Orange County and he showed why Saturday in a 58-54 win over St. Margaret's. The 5-foot-9 senior was 4-for-6 from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 16 points. Fujii has deep and consistent range off the catch and his quick trigger allows him to get his shot off with limited time and space.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2102471' first='Korin' last='Hull'] | 2024 | JSerra</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When playing alongside the caliber of players as [player_tooltip player_id='1502779' first='Sebastian' last='Rancik'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1502809' first='Aidan' last='Fowler'] it's sometimes easy to get lost in the shuffle. Hull is a prospect who has become indispensable for the Lions due to his shooting prowess off the catch from three-point range and his willingness to do the little things to help his team win. Hull tallied eight points in JSerra's 54-48 win over St. Augustine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Liam Gray | 2025 | Los Alamitos</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gray put together a tremendous performance in the Griffins near-upset victory over Mater Dei. The 5-foot-10 point guard finished with a team-high 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting and 3-for-6 from three-point range. Gray does a little bit of everything but his ability to get by defenders off the bounce and finish with crafty left or right-handed layups around the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Russell Frye | 2024 | St. Margaret's</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Frye fits the "jack of all trades" mold in that he's not only one of St. Margaret's bigger and more physical players but he's also the primary ball handler and playmaker. The 6-foot-4 guard finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the Tartans four-point loss to Aliso Niguel.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Samori Guyness | 2025 | Los Alamitos</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guyness is an intriguing prospect in SoCal's junior class who will see a bump into our next update of the 2025 rankings. The wiry 6-foot-1 guard is an athletic slasher and finisher in transition who can also beat defenders on straight-line drives to get to the rim in half-court offense. Guyness' quick-twitch reaction time and ability to recover when beat makes him a highly effective high school defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->