Puma Newcomers/2027 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On July 11th-14th I attended the&nbsp;<strong>Puma circuit</strong>&nbsp;at the big facility of the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa/AZ.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were 5 local programs I watched with Apex Athletix, AZ Venom, Factory, Jump Athletics and Team Supreme.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some of the standout newcomers plus 2027's </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2492665' first='Anthony' last='Granger'] Phhoenix Prep (Southern Ties 17) (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A junior forward is one of the longer kids in the gym. He is hyper athletic and works from mid and in plus is a star on the break. He scores with runners, half hook shots, put backs around the rim with a good motor to rebound and is a high level finisher.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2282925' first='Jacob' last='Hunter'] Liberty (Factory 16)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A three level shooting guard makes it look easy in stretches. He scores with pull-ups from mid-range, catch threes or off the dribble threes and slick drives with his size and handle for position. He has no issues playing up a level on 16U.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1950104' first='Jonathan' last='Mercado'] Chandler (Team Supreme 16 Black)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong undersized scoring lead guard can score. He has a big bag with tough pull-ups, hard takes and catch threes. He gets downhill with a deceptively quick first step and uses his thicker frame to score thru the contact. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2386958' first='Isaiah' last='Gill'] Canyon del Oro (Apex Athletix)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard is very quick with speed. He scores on quick drives, cuts without the ball and speed dribbles to blow past his defenders plus euro steps. His on-ball defense is very good but he is a true facilitator. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2491766' first='Isaiah' last='Romero'] Mountain View Marana (Apex Athletix)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick undersized point guard is wired to score. He handles the ball well and will fill it up. He can catch and shoot from the three point line with a quick release. He can also pull-up off the dribble from mid to the three and gets hot very quickly.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2491771' first='Mykell' last='Stacy'] Verrado (Team Supreme 16 Black)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rising junior guard is an athletic scoring guard. He can hit the catch three, get downhill to the basket and score in the paint after his burst. He is athletic to defend on the ball with his long arms and twitch. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2492676' first='Omar' last='Rasual'] Salpointe Catholic (Apex Athletix)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A power forward is a physical presence in the paint. He is the under the rim type but uses body and girth to rebound and score. He shields defenders off using his frame and brings his hard hat to every game. He rebounds well with his girth and size.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2491776' first='Tanner' last='Bice'] Brophy Prep (Jump Athletic 16 Black)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long guard can score with catch threes and drives to the basket. He is a very good passer with up the court passes perfectly in stride.  He is deceptively quick to get to the basket with a nice handle and shows upside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2426224' first='Evan' last='Golembieski'] Cienega (Apex Athletix)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger sized combo guard can make plays for teammates plus score. He can score with the floater game, he has sneaky quick drives to the basket and handles contact well with his height and stronger frame. He shows a good basketball IQ and should have a good year in Tucson. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->