Saguaro Holiday Classic: Newcomers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday December 15th I attended the <strong>Saguaro Holiday Classic</strong> in Scottsdale. It had a nice blend of 8 schools of two West Side teams with Verrado/Apollo, three in Scottsdale with SCA/Sagu/Horizon, two East Valley with Maricopa/Gilbert Christian and one out of state team with New Trier/IL.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were the standouts from the four games I viewed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">We start off with the <strong>Newcomers:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298901' first='Elijah' last='White'] Apollo (Pictured)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long point guard gets downhill and reads the play. He is quick in the passing lanes to collect steals in bunches. He can catch and shoot from the three and cuts to the basket for some easy points. He knows how to change speeds and hesitates well. He rebounds well with his size for position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298914' first='Gavin' last='Hart'] Horizon&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard with skill. He is a true dimer with pocket passes, slip passes and plays with good pace to his game. He can rise up and shoot the three and from mid-range.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298915' first='Dimitri' last='Nibbs'] Maricopa&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic defensive guard is a fun watch. He collected a few steals that led to dunks on the break. He has a good handle and can euro step to the basket. He is very athletic to block shots off the glass and springs up quickly off the ground to grab boards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298916' first='Quynnton' last='Weatherspoon'] Saguaro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough wing who will defend. He runs the court and has surprising athleticism and speed to out race the opposing teams and can play above or near the rim on the break. He is very athletic to rebound in and out of his area. He scores most of his points in transition.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298905' first='Jorden' last='Etheridge'] Verrado</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized point guard already starts for the West Valley team. He is fast in the open court and pushes it. He is a true PG to find teammates. He gives hard ball fakes and will burst by. He can turn the corner on many defenders with his speed and a tight handle.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298910' first='Amari' last='Fletcher'] Verrado&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and lean wing forward. He rebounds well and can push it up the court. He can catch and shoot from the three point line and will block some shots with his length.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298912' first='Gabriel' last='Gustafson'] Verrado</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lefty sharp shooter can catch and shoot from the three plus slither into the lane and get passed his defenders. He is active in the passing lanes to collect steals and is a very good passer who works well off the pick and roll game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298913' first='Trae' last='Kaye'] Saguaro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The specialist of the team gets the ball out of his hands quickly. He will rattle in triples one by one when left open. He is undersized but has a stronger frame to handle contact. He makes smart decisions with the ball and is a sneaky good passer.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298904' first='Mikey' last='Shepston'] Saguaro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A freshman scoring guard rebounds the ball really well with a strong frame and build. He loves rising up from mid-range and can score it inside. He block shots inside and competes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->