California Live '25: Central Cali’s Standout Lead Guards

Southern California - The last weekend of the month of June featured the 3rd Annual California Scholastic Live Period Tournament held at OGP Ladera, an 8-court facility in Ladera Ranch, as well as San Juan Hills High School. The tournament featured over 150 high schools from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Washington with some of the top teams in the country, as well as some of the nation's top prospects, squaring off in front of college coaches from all divisions, as well as JUCO coaches. This article focuses on the top lead guards from teams located in the Central Section of California, an area that has a lot of hidden gems and overlooked talent. There is no ranked order to the players listed below, but are listed in alphabetical order. Below we will look at eight standout lead guards, which will be followed by a look at the top wing/guard and shooters in following articles.     Amundsen had an impressive Summer of basketball throughout the month of June with his high school team, which carried over into 3SSB play for the talented Jalen Green Elite 17 squad. At the California Live tournament at the end of June in particular, Amundsen led the Broncos in scoring at nearly 23 points per game, along with 6 assists and 4 steals, playing in one of the top divisions at the event. The 5-foot-9 guard is crafty with the ball in his hands, as he has the moves and handles to shake his defender, and create space to get his jumper off from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble with accuracy. Amundsen uses his efficiency as a shooter to force defenders to over commit, which opens up lanes for Amundsen to attack, where he has the court vision to find open teammates or finish with creativity over size around the basket. Amundsen is a pesky on-ball defender that gets into his opponents dribbling space, has quick hands to poke the ball out, and has the timing to jump passing lanes and turn defense to transition points. Amundsen will be the driving force for the Broncos going into his senior season, and will be relied upon to be one of the team's top two premier scorers, which he has shown the ability to do at Section 7 in Arizona, as well as at the scholastic live tournament in California. He holds an offer from Idaho State and I would expect that more will take interest after the Summer he has had.     Coleman has been one of the top lead guards in the Central Section since his freshman year, but has taken his game to new heights over the past few seasons, as was evident on the opening day of the California Live tournament with games of 38 points and 28 points. The 6-foot-3 lead guard keeps the ball on a string as he overlooks the half court set-up, makes nice use of the crossover and the hesitation moves to freeze his defender, gets downhill routinely and lives in the paint, has a strong build to absorb contact through the finish at the basket, has touch on the floater down the lane, can stop on a dime for the pull-up jumper, and has continued to improve his efficiency from beyond the arc. Coleman has the moves and handles to create his own shots off the dribble, has the court vision to make the right reads when attacking the basket, and is a solid on-ball defender that can lock-up his opponent when he turns it up on the defensive end. Coleman is part of a really good back court trio that will look to win a 3rd straight league title this coming season and a run in the postseason, as Coleman will lead the way as the primary ball handler for the Knights of Bullard.      Kellogg was the team's leading scorer last season as a junior, and he continued to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring throughout the month of June, which was capped off by an impressive showing at California Live before heading to the 3SSB circuit with Jalen Green Elite 17s. The 6-foot guard has elite handles, dribbles with a purpose to set up the offense or go into attack mode, has a quick crossover to create separation from his defender, and one of the fastest bursts of speed off the dribble in the Section, which gives him options as he leaves most defenders in the dust. Kellogg can stop on a dime to get to his jumper, where he gets great lift to rise up and shoot over most defenders. He plays with a nice change of pace to keep his defender guessing, and once on the attack he is a creative finisher at the basket or with the floater. Kellogg is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, is an above average rebounder for his position, has the footwork and agility to play tough on-ball defense, and uses his instincts and quick hands to rip the ball for steals and easy points in the open court. Kellogg has good court vision and has really improved as a play maker to complement his ability to score the ball from 3-levels. Kellogg will be tasked with leading the young Clovis West squad this coming season, and his ability to control the pace of play and impact both ends will help get the younger guys up to speed.     Patton showed last season that he is capable of running the offense and can control the flow of the game plan, which allowed the team's leading scorer and recent graduate Conner Sheets the luxury of playing off the ball more. This allowed Buchanan to be a more balanced team that earned a spot in the D1 Section Championship game, and Patton had his lead guard skills on display at the recent scholastic live event in SoCal. The 5-foot-9 prototypical point guard keeps the ball on a string and his head up to see what the defense is showing, he keeps his dribble low and stays in attack mode to get into the teeth of the defense, and has the court vision to find players cutting off the ball or off screens with the accuracy to get the ball to teammates in a shooting stance. Patton moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, is an effective shooter from the perimeter, and is a creative finisher around the basket. Patton will be relied upon to keep the offense flowing, as there is no clear cut scorer for the Bears going into next season, and he will be called upon to make sure the hot hand gets the ball.        Price had a strong showing in the month of June in both Arizona and California Scholastic Live Period events, as he has taken the mantle as the primary scorer for the Knights with Tounde Yessoufou now at Baylor. Price, who has been the two-option his entire high school career, showed he is more than capable of carrying the scoring load for St. Joseph at the California Live tournament at the end of June. The 6-foot-3 lead guard has a strong handle on the ball, keeps it on a string to survey the floor in the half-court setting, makes great use of the crossover to get his defender off-balance, has a burst of speed off the dribble that is hard to contain, and has the physical build to finish through contact at the basket. Price has the moves to create space from his defender on the perimeter, is an excellent shooter off the dribble or the catch, is accurate from the 3-point line, and gets good lift on the mid-range jumper. Price is a true 3-level scorer, but also has great court vision to find open teammates when on the attack. Price is a really good on-ball defender, with active hands and good footwork to stay in front of most opposing guards, and can turn defense into offense quickly. Price had a big quarterfinal game at Peach Jam (EYBL Championships) this last week for Team Why Not 17s, going for 16 points and some clutch buckets down the stretch to lift his team into the semifinals. He currently holds offers from Washington, Minnesota, and UCLA, but is likely to see more offers coming after a great month of June and a successful Summer Session of EYBL play and is the top overall prospect in the Central Section regardless of class.     Shehee had a stellar freshman season for the re-surging Drillers program and was one of the top freshmen in the Central Section this past season, and he showcased why at the recent California Live tournament at the end of June. The 5-foot-9 guard has dynamic handles, shifty moves to freeze his defender, plays with good poise and control to survey the floor and find holes in the defense, with great court vision to find teammates in tight windows, or wide open when he attacks the core of the defense, and is a prototypical point guard. Defensively, Shehee has good lateral movement and footwork to stay on his opponent, has quick hands to poke the ball or jump passing lanes to create turnovers, and communicates well to help keep his teammates in the proper defensive position. Although Shehee has the IQ and play making skills of a traditional point guard, he has the moves and efficiency to score the ball from the perimeter, as well as being a creative finisher at the rim over size in the paint. Shehee will likely be absent from most of the Fall basketball events, as he is also a real good football player, but he will be a key piece of the Driller basketball program once he is back on the court.     Sidhu had a big month of June for the Panthers, and, on top of being one of the primary scorers, he has now been tasked with leading the offense as the primary ball handler. At California Live, the 6-foot-4 guard showed improved efficiency as a play maker with the court vision to find open teammates when attacking the basket, as well as in the pick and roll with fellow rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='2830146' first='Parker' last='Spees']. Sidhu is a good positional rebounder with the handles to push the ball off the glass, and the feel to find players up the court to catch the defense off guard. As Sidhu continues to improve as a quality play maker, he also displayed his shot making ability. Sidhu has solid handles and shifty moves to get open looks off the dribble, has really become comfortable and accurate with the step-back jump shot that extends to the 3-point line, and has a quick first step to get to the basket with the bounce to rise up or finish with creativity at the basket. Sidhu will be relied upon to be the lead guard this coming season and from what I have seen this Summer, he is primed and ready for the assignment.      Smith is a smooth and shifty lead guard that has seen his minutes and role for the Eagles expand drastically throughout the month of June, in particular at the scholastic live events in California and Arizona. Bakersfield Christian featured two 4-year varsity players in its back court last season, which limited the amount of time and impact that Smith had as a freshman. What was evident at California Live is that Smith seems to be the player best fitted to be the primary ball handler for the Eagles this coming season, along with rising junior Caiden Jackson. The 6-foot-1 guard plays with a smooth flow to his game, has the handles to rock his defender off balance, the moves to get by his opponent once he sees an opening, gets to his shot spots with good lift on the jumper, has a good release on his shot from the mid-range to the 3-point line with accuracy, and makes good use of the crossover or hard pound dribble to open up the court where he can attack the basket with touch on the floater down the lane or creativity on finishers around the basket. Smith showed improved efficiency as a play maker, as he routinely found the open teammate with the hot hand when the defense would collapse on him off the dribble drive. Smith is a solid on-ball defender, reads passing lanes well to jump or tip the ball and get out into transition. Smith will be a key piece for the Eagles this season, as it has the roster to be one of the best teams in the Section.

Southern California - The last weekend of the month of June featured the 3rd Annual California Scholastic Live Period Tournament held at OGP Ladera, an 8-court facility in Ladera Ranch, as well as San Juan Hills High School. The tournament featured over 150 high schools from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Washington with some of the top teams in the country, as well as some of the nation's top prospects, squaring off in front of college coaches from all divisions, as well as JUCO coaches. This article focuses on the top lead guards from teams located in the Central Section of California, an area that has a lot of hidden gems and overlooked talent. There is no ranked order to the players listed below, but are listed in alphabetical order. Below we will look at eight standout lead guards, which will be followed by a look at the top wing/guard and shooters in following articles.