Feast Week: 2026 CG Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanksgiving week I attended five tournaments and one stand alone game for exactly 24 games and 48 different teams. The events I watched were&nbsp;<strong>Phoenix Union Coyote Classic</strong>&nbsp;at Central HS,&nbsp;<strong>Beyond Basketball Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament</strong>&nbsp;at Moon Valley,&nbsp;<strong>Millennium at Sandra Day O'Connor, Fear The Hop Tournament</strong>&nbsp;at Mesa HS,&nbsp;<strong>Sentinel Holiday Classic</strong>&nbsp;at Seton Catholic and Horizon Honors and lastly the&nbsp;<strong>LV8 Invitational</strong>&nbsp;at Chandler-Gilbert CC.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some 2026 CG Standouts</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1583466' first='Jaelon' last='Germany'] San Tan Charter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring combo lead guard is a three level scorer. He can grab a steal and get downhill quickly with his size. He has a nice pull-up and can crossover into a jumper and has a nice first step to get to the rim. He will also drive and kick it to a teammate and sees the court well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2275986' first='KJ' last='Fauske'] Seton Catholic (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled combo guard can shoot it of the catch better than most. He will give a hard ball fake and get to the basket with good pace. He can catch and shoot from the three point line with an ultimate quick release. He really showed off his passing skills in this outing. He scored 15 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1956214' first='Brandon' last='Nickels'] Mica Mountain</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard is a natural shooter. He can hit the deep three off the catch with a super quick release and has a nice runner game. He also has quick hands on defense to collect steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2280453' first='Iyzaya' last='Soto'] McClintock</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard with high skill level and good feel. He has deep three point range and can rattle them off plus he will burst by his opponents to score it close to the basket and put backs off the glass. He takes immense pressure off of Frye and McManaway. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1780589' first='Shawn' last='Hernandez'] Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A sharp shooting combo guard plays on or off the ball. He is best off of it so he can fire away and shoot it off the catch from mid to the three point line. He scored 14 points. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1768204' first='Luke' last='Larrabee'] Rancho Solano Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard with a super quick shooting release and real range from the three point line. He changes speed to get the defense off of him and so he can free himself up to get his shot off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2318334' first='Karson' last='Reid'] Williams Field</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard who plays off of Diggs well. He can hit the catch three with a quick release and uses the floater game to score. He has a sneaky quick first step to get to the basket or free throw line.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338408' first='Kolby' last='Hoyer'] Eastmark&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard is one of the three good guards that can score. He fills it up with floaters, he is a natural driver who can split defenders easily with some speed and a burst with the ball. He plays off of two-feet most of the time and finds teammates in stride. He can hit the three and has a stronger upper body to handle the contact inside the paint. He also has good court vision. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734005' first='Grady' last='Crandall'] Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the strongest combo guards in the class. He has a mans body and comes with some skill. He is very good to score it in transition and he will shoot it from the three point line off the catch.&nbsp;He scored 11 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->