Season Preview: Sierra Vista

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Practice How You Play</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I stopped by one of the Sierra Vista Intramurals a couple of weeks ago to meet their staff and some of their players. I was a big fan of their drill selection and tempo. From the beginning, each guy seemed to be locked in. Their first couple of drills involved both skill work and competition. You could see the players engaged and having fun. After they wrapped up their skill work, they got into some team drills and then a scrimmage. For the scrimmage, it was the older guys versus the younger guys. Each team had their runs in the scrimmage, and it was great to see some guys getting fired up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Border League</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The enthusiasm and competitiveness that I saw in the Intramurals was also evident of their play in the Border League. I was able to catch their games against Bishop O'Connell and Redemption Christian Academy. In their game against Bishop O'Connell, they played with a lot of fight and played a great game overall. I noticed that just about all of their players have some shooting ability and that makes it difficult to key on their key contributors. Bishop O'Connell won by 10 but it was a close game until the very end. Then in their game against Redemption Christian Academy, they were only seconds away from winning after [player_tooltip player_id='1281369' first='Xavion' last='Staton'] had a put back for 2. But Yeison Liberato of RCA came up the court and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give RCA the win. Although they lost those two games, I was impressed by both performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Back Court</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1266705"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671fb39e03b65"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Yapi has shown out at the Varsity Fall League and The Border League. The savvy point guard has next level court vision and knows where his teammates are even if he doesn't seem to be looking at them. His high IQ allows him to make smart split second decisions. I was also impressed by his shooting and how aggressive he was some of his takes to the basket at The Border League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1267555"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671fb39e03bb7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">EJ DaCuma shot well in The Border League games against Bishop O'Connell and Redemption Christian Academy. He is consistent from behind the 3-point line and keeps the floor spaced for his "Blue Hoops" squad. If needed, DaCuma can also drive to the rim thanks to his shiftiness. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Front Court</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1253131"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671fb39e03bf8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1253131' first='Colton' last='Knoll'] is the do it all guy for Sierra Vista. He utilizes his athleticism on offense to get second chance points for his team. But he is also a decent shot maker and makes off ball cuts. On defense, Knoll makes his opponent work all game long and forces turnovers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1281369"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671fb39e03c71"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1281369' first='Xavion' last='Staton'] is a brick wall around the rim. His defense is as good as it gets and helps his Sierra Vista squad tremendously. In The Border League, I saw him doing some scoring as well. Staton has some good touch in the paint, and also gets to the line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2414890"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-671fb39e03c35"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2414890' first='KJ' last='Hunter'] is a 3 and D type of player. He knows how to play off of his teammates, and often takes good open looks on offense. I also like the way that Hunter plays defense. He uses his frame to his advantage and can make his opponents take bad shots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Key Contributors and Role Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1965124' first='Jayvion' last='Wall'] - G - Strong shooter who can also get to the rim</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1965069' first='Aiden' last='Reed'] - PF/C - Lengthy forward with a knack for shot blocking</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1579547' first='Ethan' last='Nelson'] - F - Versatile forward who can stretch the floor</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1253133' first='Mark' last='Beeten']- G - Smart guard who can hunt shots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Darius Ruffin - G - Athletic and can make plays on both ends of the court</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2145751' first='Noah' last='Brosier'] - G - Likely the bounciest guy on the team and he can also play some defense</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brendan Taylor - G - Sophomore on the rise with a good looking shot</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tristian Pearson - G - Underrated freshman who can really score</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Season Outlook</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sierra Vista looks like a very strong team this year. They have a stacked starting line up that can really get it going on offense. In addition to their strong starting 5, their bench guys provide scoring, defense, and rebounding. If guys can "star" in their roles, I believe they have a very good chance of returning to state and winning it all.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>From A Recruiting Standpoint</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a number of guys who are uncommitted and worth taking a look at. As I mentioned earlier in this article, just about all of these guys can shoot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->