Replacing Departed Senior Stars

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These senior stars are off to college. Which means that new guys will need to step up for their teams next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1268866' first='CJ' last='Shaw'], [player_tooltip player_id='1665140' first='Zacarrion' last='Jackson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1420496' first='Isaiah' last='Trotter'] - [player_tooltip player_id='1465681' first='Curtis' last='Coleman'], [player_tooltip player_id='1638995' first='Aries' last='Denson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1668933' first='Phil' last='Gordon'] (Mojave) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Replacing the Gatorade Player Of The Year, the new Feather River guard, and the agile big man will be no easy task. They combined for 42.8 PPG this past season and also combined for 7.9 steals per game. It will now be Coleman, Denson, and Gordon's show and they will need to work cohesively to generate the offense that Shaw used to run. They will also need to create turnovers as the senior duo used to, but they are capable due to their speed and athleticism. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1253129' first='Mason' last='Abittan'], [player_tooltip player_id='1335934' first='Lantz' last='Stephenson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2515172' first='Jalen' last='St. Clair'] - [player_tooltip player_id='2374256' first='Clark' last='Elliott'] and Gianni McGhee (Coronado)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With [player_tooltip player_id='1253129' first='Mason' last='Abittan'] off to UNLV and [player_tooltip player_id='1335934' first='Lantz' last='Stephenson'] off to Salt Lake Community College, the Cougars will need to find a couple of new leading scorers. As well as a point guard to replace the former floor general, [player_tooltip player_id='2515172' first='Jalen' last='St. Clair']. At the moment, both [player_tooltip player_id='2374256' first='Clark' last='Elliott'] and Gianni McGhee appear ready to take on those duties. [player_tooltip player_id='2374256' first='Clark' last='Elliott'] has been consistent with his shooting so far this AAU season, and McGhee has the craftiness to set up teammates for easy buckets. We may get our first glimpse of what this duo is really capable of at Section 7 next month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1266705' first='Jevon' last='Yapi'] and EJ DaCuma - [player_tooltip player_id='2633812' first='Tristian' last='Porter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1965124' first='Jayvion' last='Wall'] (Sierra Vista)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eastern Florida commit, [player_tooltip player_id='1266705' first='Jevon' last='Yapi'] did a great job of distributing the rock and scoring for Sierra Vista this past season. EJ DaCuma also lit it up for the Mountain Lions and he had some big time performances for them. Although there is big shoes to fill in the backcourt, both Porter and Wall have the skill and talent to bring Sierra Vista wins next year. Porter is a very smooth and efficient scorer. While Wall is quite deceptive and highly athletic. This is another duo that we will likely get to catch at Section 7 next month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1253136' first='Tayshaun' last='Jackson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2281634' first='Mychal' last='Walker'] - Jahki Jones, [player_tooltip player_id='2468405' first='Amari' last='Hinds'], Ja'Cory Boyce, [player_tooltip player_id='1765906' first='Hunter' last='Iverson'] (Las Vegas)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Replacing [player_tooltip player_id='1253136' first='Tayshaun' last='Jackson']'s leadership and scoring will be very tough. He entered every game with a competitive attitude, which rubbed off on his teammates. Walker also brought the team juice with his plays on both offense and defense. In order to keep things moving right ahead, the Wildcats will look to Jones (2026) and Hinds (2027) to play with energy and create open looks. Both can score as well, but the Wildcats have Boyce (2027) and Iverson (2026) too. Who might increase their scoring averages by more than a few points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1486090' first='Tremmell' last='Darden Jr']. and [player_tooltip player_id='1253130' first='Sebastian' last='Knox'] - [player_tooltip player_id='2053686' first='Cassius' last='Britt'], [player_tooltip player_id='1945840' first='Ien' last='Kirkland'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2637247' first='Noah' last='Darden'] (Arbor View)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two seniors were a dynamic duo throughout the 2024-2025 season. Darden consistently got to the cup and played hard nose defense. Knox made tough buckets and wasn't a guy you wanted to let get going. Next year the Aggies will need Britt, Kirkland, and Darden to take on those duties. Britt may become more of main guy next year, as he can do damage from beyond the arc. Kirkland may have the ball even more, and I can see him getting downhill due to his explosive lower body. Then the Aggies have Tremmell's brother Noah, who is a talented 2028 prospect that is on the rise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Look for a part two in the coming days, where I feature other players that will have much bigger roles on their respective teams next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->