Central Cali Prospects Jr/Sr Showcase: Standout Guards

Last Sunday, August 24th, Central Cali Prospects hosted its 5th Annual Junior/Senior Showcase, an event that has featured some of the top upperclassmen in the Section the past 4 years, and this year's event was the best one yet as far as depth of talent, size, skill, and next level prospects. The showcase was held at Bakersfield High School, in Central California, and featured 60 players from various areas throughout the Section, such as Santa Maria, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford, Visalia, Reedley, Kingsburg, and Lemoore. Players were placed on preset rosters and made up five teams, using NBA team names as follows: Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Suns, and Kings. Each team, or player, played in two showcase games, which was set up in a 5 game format. The event also featured a recruitment discussion with JUCO players, to provide participants with information and knowledge of what the current recruiting environment is like. This article looks at 7 standout guards from the Junior/Senior Showcase, and provides their scoring and rebounding statistics, as well as a brief summary of their skill sets. This article will be followed by another piece that looks at 6 more standout guards from the event. The players are not listed in a ranked order, but alphabetically. I begin with the lead guard from Hanford, [player_tooltip player_id='2273494' first='Zander' last='Jensen'].      Jensen is a physical and skilled lead guard that has the size and precision to make plays for others, and can score in volume from various spots on the floor. Jensen had a solid first game of 8 points and 6 assists, but heated up for his second game and finished with 19 points and some impressive dunks at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Jensen has a strong handle on the ball, keeps the dribble alive with the court vision to make reads from the top of the key, as well as finding open teammates off the drive and kick pass, and can defend multiple positions on the defensive end. As a scorer, Jensen can put the ball in the basket from 3-levels, uses the hesitation, the between cross, and quick crossover to create space from his defender, has the strength to absorb contact on finishes at the basket, gets good lift with touch on the mid-range jumper, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch. Jensen gets into his defender's body to use the spin move to evade his opponent, has great body control on the fadeaway jumper, and is a good positional rebounder, which allows him to get out and push the tempo in the open court.      Kubit is a sharp shooting combo guard that can score in volume, and showed continued growth in his overall offensive skill set at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Kubit had a slow start to the event scoring the ball, but lived up to his reputation in the second half with a pair of threes. Kubit kept the hot hand in his second game, as he would score 14 points and connect on 4 threes with his last one coming from near the volleyball line. Kubit has solid handles, uses the crossover and toss cross to create space from his defender, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and has limitless range and accuracy with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch and shoot. Kubit got to the mid-range shot a couple of times, with a quick release on the stop-and-pop jumper, as well as timely use of the pump fake to get his defender off the ground, and open up lanes to attack with the ability to finish with creativity on shots around the basket. Kubit is poised for a big season for the Golden Eagles, and he continues to be one of the top shooters in the Central Section.      Morinini is a combo guard that is known for his 3-point shooting, but displayed the expansion of his scoring arsenal at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Morinini, one of the Section's best shooters from beyond the arc, scored the ball from the mid-range to the basket with only 1 three on the day, as he put up 12 points and 8 rebounds in his first game, followed by 11 points in his second game. Morinini keeps the dribble alive to survey and probe the defense, has the court vision to make the right read to open teammates off the drive and kick out pass, and showed improvement as a playmaker. Morinini uses the crossover and the hesitation to get his defender off balance, gets good lift with form on the mid-range jumper off the dribble, and is a crafty finisher around the basket over size in the paint. Morinini moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and can fill it up from the 3-point line with good range.      Pedro is a true shooting guard that can score in volume with accuracy on the 3-ball. Pedro displayed his elite perimeter shooting at the Junior/Senior Showcase with games of 6 points and 9 points, all coming off shots beyond the arc. Pedro moves fluidly off the ball, gets to the open spot and squares his body to be ready for the catch and shoot opportunities, and can change the flow of the game in favor of his team when he starts letting the ball fly from deep. Pedro has good handles, uses the crossover to create space from his defender, and connects on the 3-ball off the dribble with accuracy. He is a crafty finisher when on the attack and has touch on the floater.      Powell is a strong and skilled lead guard that can make plays for his teammates, as well as get his own buckets. Powell had a strong showing last year, and this year was no different, as he would score 15 points and snag 5 rebounds in his first game, and wrapped up the event with an 18 point outing at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Powell keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has the court vision and makes good decisions with the ball to find open teammates cutting off the ball, and is a good positional rebounder, which allows him to get out in the open court and push the pace of play. Powell uses the crossover, the hesitation, and the behind the back cross to get his defender off balance, has a nice burst of speed off the dribble, and has touch on the floater, or finish with tough up and under lay-ups to evade length in the paint. Powell is accurate with the 3-ball off the bounce or off the catch, has active hands and quick feet to disrupt his defenders dribbling space, looks to poke the ball out, and turn defense to offense routinely for transition buckets.      Silverstrom is a combo guard that impacts the game in countless ways, and is one of the top perimeter defenders in the Section. Silverstrom displayed his defensive prowess in both games, and compiled an impressive double-double in his second game at the Junior/Senior Showcase, going for 12 points and 11 rebounds. Silverstrom has great lateral quickness and active hands to be a top tier lock-up on-ball defender, has the court awareness and timing to jump passing lanes and tip the ball out for the steal, and has the bounce to alter shots on the perimeter, as well as timing to alter shots from the weak side in the paint. Silverstrom has good handles, uses the crossover and behind the back cross to get by his defender, has nice touch on the floater, is able to score through contact at the basket, and gets nice lift with accuracy on the mid-range jumper. Silverstrom moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and can create his own shots off the dribble. He is an above average positional rebounder that looks to push the pace of play up the court.      Willis is a skilled and versatile combo guard that can run the offense, or create his own scoring opportunities. Willis is coming off a productive Summer with Team Rampage, and recently took home the MVP honors at the Beach City Hoops Senior Showcase event the week before the Junior/Senior Showcase, and he continued to play at a high level. Willis had games of 18 points with 3 threes, followed by a near double-double of 14 points and 9 rebounds. Willis keeps the dribble alive, has the court vision and play making to pick the defense apart, and can break the defense down when attacking off the perimeter with the ability to find players off the drive and kick pass. Willis uses the hesitation, the between cross, and the wide crossover to create space from his defender, gets good lift with a quick release on the mid-range jumper, and continues to improve his efficiency from the 3-point line off the dribble or the catch. Willis uses the ball screen effectively to get ideal match-ups off the switch, has a good burst of speed off the dribble to get his defender off balance, and is a crafty finisher over size, with nice touch on the floater. He is at his best when he is hunting the jumper from the elbows and shoots it with confidence.

Last Sunday, August 24th, Central Cali Prospects hosted its 5th Annual Junior/Senior Showcase, an event that has featured some of the top upperclassmen in the Section the past 4 years, and this year's event was the best one yet as far as depth of talent, size, skill, and next level prospects. The showcase was held at Bakersfield High School, in Central California, and featured 60 players from various areas throughout the Section, such as Santa Maria, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford, Visalia, Reedley, Kingsburg, and Lemoore. Players were placed on preset rosters and made up five teams, using NBA team names as follows: Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Suns, and Kings. Each team, or player, played in two showcase games, which was set up in a 5 game format. The event also featured a recruitment discussion with JUCO players, to provide participants with information and knowledge of what the current recruiting environment is like. This article looks at 7 standout guards from the Junior/Senior Showcase, and provides their scoring and rebounding statistics, as well as a brief summary of their skill sets. This article will be followed by another piece that looks at 6 more standout guards from the event. The players are not listed in a ranked order, but alphabetically. I begin with the lead guard from Hanford, Zander Jensen Zander Jensen 6'4" | SG Hanford | 2027 CA-N .