Central Cali Prospects Jr/Sr Showcase: Standout Wing/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 8 standout wing/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 pieces looking at standout guards (combo guards, lead guards, etc) and best shooters from the event. The players are not listed in a ranked order, but alphabetically. I begin with the improved scoring threat and all-around impact guy, Keshawn Black.    Black is a physical and skilled wing that can operate in the post, as well as create from the perimeter. Black had a solid showing at the Junior/Senior Showcase, going for 8 points in his first game, but settled in nicely for a near double-double in his second game with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Black relentlessly crashes the boards, has nice touch on the putback or the ability to push the ball off the glass, has the strength to defend bigger players in the paint, and the agility and footwork to step out and keep perimeter defenders in front of him, and is an underrated rim protector, especially from the weak side. Black has good handles, makes good use of the crossover to get by his defender, looks to attack the basket with the strength to finish through contact around the basket, and gets into his defender's body to use the spin move to evade his opponent, with nice touch on shots around the basket. Black runs the floor well in the open court, understanding spacing, can connect on the mid-range jumper with regularity off the dribble, and makes good reads from the high-post to open teammates moving off the ball.     Carter is a lengthy and athletic wing/guard that impacts the game on the both ends of the court, and excels in transition. Carter had two games of 6 points each, with 6 and 5 rebounds respectively at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Carter has a strong handle on the ball, keeps his dribble alive to find the holes in the defense, has a good burst of speed off the bounce to attack the paint, and has the physical build to finish through contact at the basket. Carter makes good use of the hesitation and the crossover to get his defender off balance, gets good lift with accuracy on the mid-range jumper, and has the court vision and precision passing to find open teammates cutting off the ball or up the court in transition, as he is a good positional rebounder.     Valdez is a strong, physical, and skilled wing that can score the ball from 3-levels, as well as guard multiple positions on defense. Valdez had two solid outings in his two showcase games, going for 10 points in his first game, followed by 8 points and a pair of threes in his second game at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Valdez has good footwork and moves to score in the paint, with the ability to score over bigger players, is active on the boards with the handle to push the ball up the court, and can post-up smaller players and back them down from the mid-range area for easy turn and pop jumpers. Valdez is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, has the handles and moves to attack from the perimeter and get to the cup, with the frame to finish through contact.     Johnson is an athletic and high motor wing/guard that can play lock-up defense, and showed improvement in his ability to score the ball in various ways at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Johnson scored 15 points and snagged 8 rebounds in his first game, and followed that with a 10 point and 5 rebound game, showing his improved scoring with double-digit points in both games. Johnson is a good positional rebounder, has the handle to push the ball up the court, has the moves to create off the dribble, moves well off the ball to get open for looks off the catch, and is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Johnson has good footwork and active hands to keep his opponent in front of him, looks to poke the ball out or jump the passing lanes to get the ball out in the open court, and he excels in transition, where he can use his athleticism to get ahead of the defense for easy transition buckets. He will be a solid addition for the Drillers, who have depth and length to be one of the better teams in the Section this coming season.     Lewis-Burnley is an athletic and skilled wing/guard that impacts countless facets of the game on both ends of the court. Lewis-Burnley is one of the best pure athletes in boys basketball in the Central Section, regardless of class, as he recently took the bronze medal in the long jump at the AAU Nationals for the 2027 class. But do not let that fool you into thinking he is just a great athlete that plays basketball. Lewis-Burnley had an impressive showing at the Junior/Senior Showcase, as he would go for 19 points and 5 rebounds, followed by 10 points and 5 rebounds. Lewis-Burnley has a solid handle on the ball, makes good use of the crossover and hesitation to get his defender off balance, has a great burst of speed off the bounce, gets good lift with accuracy on the jumper, from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative finisher with bounce around the basket. Lewis-Burnley shows his elite bounce with good timing to alter shots on the perimeter, as well as provide weak side rim protection, the footspeed to stay in front of his opponent, and active hands to rip the ball and turn defense to offense routinely. The elite track and field athlete has passion for the game of hoops and will be relied upon to be the utility guy for the Cougars this coming season.     Moore is an athletic and lengthy wing/guard that stays in attack mode on offense, and has the versatility to impact various aspects of the defensive end. Moore had 13 points and 6 rebounds in his first game, followed by 12 points in the final game of the Junior/Senior Showcase. Moore has a smooth handle, uses the wide crossover, the behind the back cross, and his long strides to create space and get by his defender, he relentlessly attacks the basket off the bounce and keeps his defender off balance with his ability to change direction in stride, with good body control and lift on the jumper, as well as crafty finishes around the basket using his length to go up and under to evade rim protectors. Moore is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, sees the court well to find open teammates off the dribble drive, and has good touch on the floater. Defensively, Moore has active hands and great footspeed, along with those long strides, to stay in front and lock-up perimeter defenders, he gets in his opponent's dribbling space to poke the ball out, and has good timing to jump passing lanes and get out in the open court. Moore is an underrated rim protector and alters shots on the wing, as well as in the paint. Love how he was on go from the time he hit the court to the last play of his second game.     Ormand is a lengthy, tall, and skilled wing/guard that displayed his ability to score the ball in a variety of ways, as well as impact the defensive end in the paint, as well as the perimeter at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Ormond put up 12 points and 6 rebounds in his first game, and took the scoring up a notch to close out the event with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Ormond has a solid handle on the ball, makes great use of the crossover and the between cross to get by his defender off the perimeter, has nice lift on the jumper with the size to shoot over most perimeter defenders, and the moves and shot making to force bigs to over-pursue, which allows him to get by his defender and attack the driving lanes. Ormond has the size and strength to finish in the paint through contact around the basket, has nice touch on shots within fifteen feet of the rim, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch. Defensively, Ormond has the wingspan and size to defend interior players, with the agility and footspeed to close out on perimeter players, is active on the glass to push the ball up the court, and can alter shots inside and outside of the key. Ormond was the stock riser of the event, and adds to the incredible depth, size, and skill of the Knights of St. Joseph, and is another reason it will be the preseason favorite to win the Section title for the 4th time in the last 7 years.     Pondexter is an athletic, bouncy, and improved scoring wing/guard that can take flight in the open court, as well as the half court, as was evident by his baseline drive and bangout that got me out of my chair at the Junior/Senior Showcase. Pondexter scored 11 points in his first game, and followed that with 14 points, and showed he can be a reliable scoring option for the Golden Eagles. Pondexter has solid handles, makes good use of the crossover and hesitation moves to get space from his defender, has a good burst of speed to get into the paint, with great lift on the jumper or taking it all the way to the basket, where he can finish with creativity around and over size. Pondexter moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, has great lateral quickness to lock-up opposing perimeter players, looks to poke the ball out or jump the passing lanes to turn defense to transition offense, and can open up the court with the 3-ball.

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 8 standout wing/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 pieces looking at standout guards (combo guards, lead guards, etc) and best shooters from the event. The players are not listed in a ranked order, but alphabetically. I begin with the improved scoring threat and all-around impact guy, Keshawn Black.