California Live '25: Central Cali’s Standout Wings/Combo 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 wings and combo 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 nine standout wings and combo guards, which will be followed by a look at the top shooters in the final article from the California Live event.    Anderson has been a key piece for the Bears the past few seasons, but his role as a scorer was more prevalent throughout play in June, capped off with a solid showing at the scholastic live tournament in SoCal. The 6-foot-4 wing/forward has good handles to create space off the dribble, gets good lift on the mid-range jumper, moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and gets downhill with the physical build to absorb and finish through contact at the basket. Anderson is a versatile defender that can guard the 1 through 4 spots effectively, does a good job on the boards with the ability to push the ball up the court, and can generate steals on the perimeter to get the ball out in transition. With Conner Sheets heading to play college ball, Anderson is one of a few players that will need to step up scoring the ball this coming season, and he has shown the ability to do so.     Felder has been one of the best pure scorers in the Section since his freshman year, and is coming off back-to-back league MVPs in Fresno's CMAC league. The 6-foot-3 combo guard displayed his scoring prowess at the California Live tournament, where he capped off the 3-day weekend scoring 27 points against Palo Alto and averaged over 16 points per game overall. Felder keeps the ball on a string and moves fluidly with the ball in his hands, he has a variety of moves to create space from his defender for open looks off the dribble, from the low-crossover to the wrap around the back crossover, and has one of the smoothest jump shots in the Section. Felder moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, gets into his shooting stance before the ball gets to him, and has limitless range with the 3-ball. Felder has good bounce to be a solid positional rebounder, which allows him to push the pace of play in the open court and pressure the defense. His range from behind the arc forces defenders to pick him up well beyond the 3-point line, and with his moves and handle, he has a variety of options once he gets by his initial defender. Felder has nice touch on the floater down the lane, a quick pull-up jumper, and the athleticism to go at the rim in the half-court setting. Felder has active hands on defense and when he is locked in on the defensive end, he is a good on-ball defender that can turn defense to offense. Felder plays with a calm demeanor but do not let that fool you, as he can catch fire quickly and score in volume.     Gish had a really good junior season and was part of the Broncos big three last season, along with fellow rising junior McKae Amundsen and recent grad and FPU commit Loukas Jones. This past June, Gish established himself as one of the top two scoring options for Clovis North, as he would average 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game with a personal high of 27 points against Sheldon of Sacramento at California Live. The 6-foot-6 wing/guard has the handles to get space from his defender, the moves to create shots off the bounce, has the size and length to shoot over most perimeter defenders, and the handle and quickness to get by interior players. Gish has good shooting mechanics, can score effectively from 3-levels with range on the 3-ball, and has improved his footwork and post-moves to score in the paint, with nice touch on the turn around baby hook shot. Defensively, Gish has the length and height to guard bigs and protect the rim, as well as the lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players, with the wingspan to contain and generate steals that lead to scoring opportunities in the open court. What makes Gish difficult to defend is his fluid off-ball movement to get open looks from the perimeter, where he is one of the more accurate shooters off the catch in the Section. Gish is a prospect to keep an eye on, as he has D1 potential and can do a variety of things that impact multiple aspects of the game.     Johnson led the Drillers in scoring this past season and has continued to expand his overall scoring arsenal, as was evident by his play in June, and in particular at the recent scholastic live period event in SoCal. The 6-foot-3 wing/guard has a solid handle, makes good use of the crossover and hesitation moves to create space from his defender, gets good lift on his jumper, and has improved his efficiency from the 3-point line to be a true 3-level scoring threat. Johnson is at his best when he is hunting the mid-range shot, as he has the moves to weave through to defense, and is nearly automatic from the elbows with the jumper. Johnson moves well off the ball, has a good understanding of spacing to get open looks off the catch, and looks to attack the basket when his defender over pursues, with a nice touch on finishes around the basket. Johnson is solid on the boards, improving as a perimeter defender with a long wingspan, and will be one of the top scorers in the Section this coming season.     Killebrew is coming off a breakout sophomore season with some big scoring outputs, and he has continued to show he is more than capable of leading the Eagles in scoring this coming season with some impressive outings in the month of June, in particular at California Live. The 6-foot-5 wing/guard is a 3-level scoring threat with the handle and moves to create his own shots off the dribble, the court vision to find open teammates from the top of the key, and the versatility to defend nearly every position on the court. Killebrew has good footwork and body control to connect on the mid-range shot in various ways, whether it be a pull-up, the spin move to fade away, or the side-step jumper. When Killebrew is getting to the mid-range jumper, this opens up his full scoring package. Killebrew is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch and shoot, has the bounce to finish in creative ways around the basket, as well as looking to throw it down on the baseline drive. Defensively, he has the wingspan and the lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players, the height and athleticism to guard bigger players in the paint, and is an underrated rim protector and weak side shot blocker. Killebrew has the build and skill set that college coaches are intrigued by with his ability to impact both ends of the court, and currently holds offers from Cal Baptists and San Marcos.     After an up and down freshman season, Olanrewaju showed significant growth and development in his game throughout the month of June, and that level of play was on full display for the Panthers at California Live. The 6-foot-4 wing/forward opened up the event connecting on 5 threes to help lead his team to one of the marquee upsets of the tournament, defeating the preseason nationally ranked Sunnyslope Vikings from Arizona. Olanrewaju does a great job on the boards, has good timing off the ground to get routine put backs and second chance points, has the size and length to defend interior players, as well as the foot-speed to close out or switch off and stay in front of perimeter players, and serves as a solid weak-side rim protector. Olanrewaju has enough handle to create off the perimeter, has good form on the jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and showcased improved off ball movement to get to the open spot, as well as confidence shooting the 3-ball off the catch. He does a good job of playing within his skill set at the moment and does not force himself into bad shots and positioning. With older brother Julius Olanrewaju and Abram Potts now off to college, the younger Olanrewaju will be relied upon much more this season in all facets of the game, and he has shown he is up to the task.     Pondexter has continued to develop his overall game, which was evident in the month of June, capped off by a solid showing at the scholastic live tournament in SoCal. The 6-foot-3 wing/slasher is an elite athlete with bounce, has improved his accuracy from the 3-point line, is active on the glass with enough handle to push the ball up the court, and can take flight in transition, as well as in the half-court setting off the lob. Pondexter is a tough on-ball defender with the quickness to stay in front of his opponent, and the fast hands to poke the ball out and create turnovers. Pondexter can also alter shots around the basket or on the perimeter, and is showing better off ball movement in the half-court setting to get open and easy buckets. He will be a key piece for the Golden Eagles this coming season, as he and fellow rising senior, Jace Kellogg, will be the only seniors of notoriety to lead the young Clovis West squad.     Price played a vital role for the Knights last season and was often tasked with defending the oppositions best perimeter player, en route to the team winning the D1 Central Section title. The 6-foot-1 combo guard played stellar basketball throughout the month of June at both scholastic live period events in Arizona and California, which he carried into Peach Jam play (the EYBL Championships) for Team Why Not 16s last week. Price has an elite handle on the ball, shifty moves with the crossover or hard pound dribble hesitation to create space from his defender, gets good lift on the jump shot, and has great body control when in the air for shots around the basket or the perimeter. Price can knockdown the jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, he moves well off the ball for open looks off the catch, and has the court vision to make some impressive reads in tight windows off the dribble drive. Defensively, Price is a lock-down on-ball defender with the strength and active hands to rip his opponent with frequency and get in the open court for easy buckets. Price plays with a fast pace, but under control, which makes him tough to contain, and his ability to connect on tough, off-balance shots shows why he will likely be the Knights 2nd leading scorer behind his older brother Julius. Price is one of the more slept on players nationally, but his play at Peach Jam and what is expected this coming season should change that narrative.     Sweeney had an impressive month of June that was highlighted by his level of play at the recent California Live tournament, where he was one of the main scoring options for the Bears. The 6-foot-4 wing/guard was not a featured player last year for Buchanan, so I was not aware of how good he was until I watched him at the scholastic live event. Sweeney moves well off the ball, is accurate with the jumper off the catch, does a solid job on the boards with the handle to push the ball up the court, and showed the court vision to find open teammates coming off screens, as the Bears offense features constant movement and off ball screens to get players open. Sweeney will be someone that the Bears can rely on to fill in the scoring gap from recent graduate, and last year's TRAC MVP Conner Sheets, and his play at the end of June showed he can be one of those guys this coming season.

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 wings and combo 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 nine standout wings and combo guards, which will be followed by a look at the top shooters in the final article from the California Live event.