Clovis West Fall Shootout: Standout Underclassmen

Last weekend, September 13th – 14th, Clovis West hosted its annual Fall Shootout at the Eagles Nest. The event featured teams from Fresno, Santa Maria, Stockton, Elk Grove, Madera, Merced, and Modesto. Teams played in a showcase game format, with led to some intriguing match-ups, none more thrilling than powerhouses St. Joseph and San Joaquin Memorial squaring off. This article takes a look at 9 standout underclassmen that had impressive showings at the event. This is the last article from the Fall Shootout, as I will be working on my 2028 Central Section Player Rankings next. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. I begin this article with emerging wing/forward Hunter Bradford of Clovis West.     Bradford is a lengthy and physical forward that plays within his skill set and does a great job in the interior on both ends. Bradford crashes the boards, gets the ball out to his guards quickly to run the floor and get ahead of the defense, has the strength to zip the ball up the court off the glass, has good timing coming off the pick and roll action to seal off his defender, and has good hands and timing to find the dunker spot around the basket, where he makes himself available for the drop off pass. Bradford uses his long wingspan to deflect passes, jump the passing lanes, and alter/block shots in the paint. Great upside for the young Golden Eagle, and, as he develops more of an offensive skill set, he will be a key piece for Clovis West the next few years.     Castro is a physical and athletic wing/forward that uses his natural gifts to impact the defensive end in countless ways, and is loaded with potential to be an elite scorer, as he develops more accuracy on perimeter shots. Castro has good timing and bounce to block/alter shots in the paint, as well as the lateral quickness to close out and alter perimeter shots, crashes the boards with good touch on the putback, and the court vision to advance the ball up the court, or make good reads from the top of the key to cutting teammates. Castro has active hands with good timing to deflect entry passes to the post, or to jump passing lanes on the wing, has enough handle to get the steal and score in the open court, with some dazzling dunks showing off the athleticism that has made him a freshman to keep an eye on the next four years, and a key piece of the youth movement at Clovis West.     Cuyler is a lengthy and active wing that showed the ability to score the ball from 3-levels, and the upside to be a key piece for the Knights the next three years. Cuyler has a solid handle on the ball, uses the crossover to get space from his defender and attack from the top of the key, uses his long strides to get into the paint with touch on the floater, or score it with feel at the basket. Cuyler uses the handle to get to the elbows, where he showed efficiency on the jumper off the dribble, the court vision to make good reads from the top of the key or the drop off pass off the drive, and gets to his shot spots for open looks off the catch from beyond the arc. Cuyler is a good positional rebounder, has the handle to push the ball up the court, and looks to deflect the ball and create turnovers.     Jeronimo is a skilled and lengthy combo guard that looks to attack the paint routinely, as well as defend the 1 through 3 effectively. Jeronimo keeps the ball on a string, uses the crossover and between cross to get by his initial defender, keeps the ball low and close to his body when attacking the basket off the perimeter to prevent defenders from stripping the ball out, and is a creative finisher around the basket with the reverse or up-and-under lay-ups to avoid shot blockers in the paint. Jeronimo is a good positional rebounder, has the handle to push the ball up the court, the vision to find players up the court or in the half court setting from the top of the key, gets good lift on the mid-range jumper off the bounce, has the wingspan to deflect passes and alter shots on the perimeter, and turns defense to offense on the regular. He will be a contender for the top spot in the 2029 class player rankings, and a player to track the next four years.     Johnson is a high-motor and athletic combo guard that impacts both sides of the ball, and showed he can be an elite on-ball defender with continued work and physical development. Johnson had a great showing at the Fall Shootout, as he displayed the timing and active hands to deflect passes or jump passing lanes to steal the ball and get out in transition, is a great positional rebounder, and dives on the ground to get the loose ball, showing he is willing to leave it all on the court for his team. Offensively, Johnson has a strong handle on the ball to survey the defense, uses the hesitation and crossover to get by his defender, has a good burst of speed off the bounce to get paint touches, and has the court vision to find open players off the drive and kick pass, or finish at the basket through contact. Johnson moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and showed accuracy with the 3-ball throughout the weekend. Johnson looks to be a player that will find his way into the core rotation this coming season, and it has been the little but significant things he is willing to do on both ends of the court that will land him that spot.     Mason is a strong and athletic wing/guard that crashes the boards on both ends and is a tough on-ball defender, with lots of upside on the offensive side of the ball. Mason keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, uses the crossover and toss cross to create space from his defender, has a quick first step off the bounce to get paint touches, and has the physical build to finish through contact down the lane. Mason is active on the glass, has the handle to push the ball up the court, with the vision to find teammates up the court, moves well off the ball, especially on back-cuts, to get open for the mid-range jumper or shots around the basket with good touch. Mason has strong hands to rip the ball from his opponent, has the strength to switch off and defend bigger players, and the lateral movement to stay in front of opposing guards. Mason is part of the young core at Bullard that will be led by senior Ja'Vance Coleman this coming season.     Olanrewaju is a skilled wing/forward that leaves his imprint on both ends of the court in various ways and is a candidate for the top spot in the 2028 player rankings for the Central Section. Olanrewaju keeps relentless pressure on the boards, has good timing and touch on putbacks off the glass, the handle to push the ball off the defensive rebound, and the court vision to advance the ball up the court, or find open teammates from the top of the key, cutting off the ball to get open at the rim or on the perimeter. Olanrewaju uses the crossover, behind cross, and the hesitation to get his defender on his hip, is accurate from the mid-range to the 3-point line with good body control off the dribble, and has the physical strength to finish through contact at the rim, when attacking the paint off the wing. Olanrewaju has nice touch on the hook-floater, can hit the step-back jumper, and is a versatile defender that can guard the 1 through 5 position effectively.     Sacre is a wiry and bouncy wing/forward that excels in the open court and is an elite defender, with versatility to defend in the post or on the perimeter at a high-level. Sacre crashes the boards with relentless effort, has quick leaping ability to get putback lay-ups and dunks on shots coming off the rim, has the wingspan and height to be an elite rim protector in the paint, as well as the lateral quickness and strides to close out and alter shots in the perimeter. Sacre has enough handle to create off the dribble and attack from the top of the key, gets lift on the pull-up jumper, and can score around the basket with the up-and-under lay-up or punch it in off the drop off pass from teammates attacking the basket. He runs the floor well to get ahead of the defense, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch. Sacre is another player that is in contention for the top spot in the 2028 Section player rankings and finishes with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the Knights win over Clovis North.     Wharry is a shifty and skilled lead guard that plays with a fluid pace, can score from 3-levels, and makes plays for teammates off the bounce. Wharry put on a masterful display of handles and moves for the Knights in their Day 1 afternoon game, and showed he is one of the top lead guards in his class in the Section. Wharry keeps the ball on a string to survey the defense, uses the hesitation, the in-and-out dribble, and spin move to create space from his defender, weaves through the defense to find holes where he has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as the creativity to score around the basket with the reverse or Euro-step lay-ups. Wharry is a good positional rebounder that looks to push the pace of play in the open court, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots with accuracy from the 3-point line off the catch, and has a silky smooth flow to his game when he starts cooking. Solid on-ball defender that gets into his opponent's dribbling space and forces them into poor decisions. Long arms and big shoe size, and if he can stretch to 6'3+, he has the potential to be a special prospect.

Last weekend, September 13th – 14th, Clovis West hosted its annual Fall Shootout at the Eagles Nest. The event featured teams from Fresno, Santa Maria, Stockton, Elk Grove, Madera, Merced, and Modesto. Teams played in a showcase game format, with led to some intriguing match-ups, none more thrilling than powerhouses St. Joseph and San Joaquin Memorial squaring off. This article takes a look at 9 standout underclassmen that had impressive showings at the event. This is the last article from the Fall Shootout, as I will be working on my 2028 Central Section Player Rankings next. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. I begin this article with emerging wing/forward Hunter Bradford of Clovis West.