Minutemen Fall Varsity Shootout: Standout Juniors (Pt. 2)

This past weekend, September 6th and 7th, Liberty High School was host to the inaugural Minutemen Fall Varsity Shootout in Bakersfield, CA. The event featured teams from Fresno, Clovis, Modesto, Stockton, Oxnard, Arroyo Grande, Porterville, Kerman and Delano, where teams played in a showcase game format with some marque match-ups such as Modesto Christian and Bakersfield Christian on Day 1. This article is the second part of a two-part article, and looks at 7 more standout juniors from the two-day showcase, in which I watched all but 3 of the games. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. I will provide an article on standout sophomores next. I begin with Caiden Jackson of Bakersfield Christian.    Jackson is a lengthy and high-motor combo guard that can lock-up on the defensive end, and is continuing to develop his skill set as a facilitator and shot maker. Jackson had an impressive showing on Day 1 of the Fall Varsity Shootout, especially in the Eagles win over Modesto Christian. Jackson is a great positional rebounder, looks to push the ball in the open court off the glass with the precision to find players up the court, has a long wingspan with good lateral quickness and active hands to disrupt his opponent's dribbling space, is a ball-hawk on perimeter players, and has the court awareness to jump passing lanes and turns defense to offense. I was most impressed with the improved poise and control of the flow of the game with the ball in his hands, and the confidence to set up the offense, with the court vision to make reads to open teammates cutting off the ball, and uses of the pick and roll to find bigs diving off the ball screen or attacking the lane if the defense focuses on the roller. Jackson makes good use of the wide crossover, the between cross, and the spin move to create space from his defender, is effective with the stop and pop mid-range jumper, has a good burst of speed off the bounce to get into the paint, with touch on the floater and or timely use of the Euro-step to score over height around the basket. Jackson continues to add aspects to his game on the offensive end, and is one of the best perimeter defenders in the Section, if not the state.     Jackson is a skilled and wiry shooting guard that can score in volume, and is at his best when he is hunting the mid-range jumper, which he connected on countless times in the Cougars game against Bakersfield Christian on Day 2 of the Fall Varsity Showcase. Jackson uses the crossover and the toss cross to get by his defender, gets good lift with hangtime on the mid-range jumper off the dribble, which he is nearly automatic from the elbows, attacks the basket to get into his defender's body with the use of the spin move to evade his defender, and is a crafty scorer around height in the paint. Jackson has good court vision and makes good reads from the top of the key, crashes the boards and looks to push the ball up the court, moves fluidly off the ball, and is effective with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch. Jackson has active hands on defense, can guard the 1 through 3 positions effectively, and has the timing to jump passing lanes, and get the ball out in the open court.      Killerbrew is a rangy and bouncy wing/guard that can put up points in volume quickly, and is an underrated defender with versatility to guard multiple positions. Killebrew had a stellar showing all weekend at the Fall Varsity Shootout, as he would spray shots from all over the court, with an intent focus on getting to the mid-range jumper, where he uses his length, height, and bounce to rise up and connect over most defenders. Killebrew moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch from the mid-range to the 3-point line, uses the crossover, toss cross, and the behind the back cross to create space from his defender, has great body control when using the fadeaway or the spin-fade jumper through contact, and has good touch on the floater down the lane. Killebrew uses his long strides to get by his initial defender on the perimeter, is a creative finisher around the basket with the up and under lay-up to evade shot blockers, can take flight down the lane or off back cuts to the basket, and is effective with the step-back 3-ball. Defensively, Killebrew is an underrated rim protector in the paint, with the ability to close out and alter shots on the perimeter, is an exceptional rebounder that can push the ball up the court with the court vision to find players ahead, and uses his long arms to deflect or jump passing lanes, and get out in transition. Killebrew is a true 3-level scorer, but his offensive game goes to another level when he prioritizes the mid-range shot.      Lewis-Burnley is an elite athlete that impacts both ends of the court, and excels in the open court. Lewis-Burley has a solid handle on the ball, uses the crossover to get his defender off balance, and has a great burst of speed off the bounce to get into the paint, where he has good touch on shots around the basket. Lewis-Burnley is a ball-hawk on the defensive end, with active hands and great lateral movement to keep his opponent in front of him, and can turn defense to offense routinely to get out in the open court, where he can use his elite on court speed to get ahead of the defense. He is a good positional rebounder, pushes the ball up the floor, is able to finish through traffic down the lane, and finds success getting to the short porch or the dunker spot to receive passes from players attacking off the wing and making the drop off pass.      Payne is a lengthy wing/guard that understands floor spacing and can light it up from beyond the arc. Payne has solid handles, uses the wide crossover to create space from his defender, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch from the mid-range to the 3-point line, with deep range on the 3-ball, and uses the pump fake to get his defender off the ground, with the moves to attack open lanes, and score with style around the basket. Payne is active on the glass with the handle to push the ball, the court vision to find open teammates up the court or in transition, and gets good lift on the jumper off the bounce with the body control to connect on fadeaway shots while absorbing contact in the air. Payne will be relied upon to increase his scoring consistency with the recent reclassification of [player_tooltip player_id='1703093' first='Myles' last='Jones'] to Stanford.      Saenz is a skilled and shifty lead guard that controls the pace of play, sees the court to make the right read, and is a legit 3-level scorer with range on the 3-ball. Saenz was one of the top guards at the Fall Varsity Showcase, and he displayed growth in his offensive skill-set, along with accuracy on the 3-ball. Saenz keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has the court vision and precision passing to make tough reads in small windows, keeps the dribble alive to weave through the defense, and takes advantage of small openings in the defense to either find open teammates or create his own shot. Saenz uses the hesitation, the crossover, and the toss cross dribble to get his defender off balance, has gained confidence attacking the basket with the left hand, can stop on a dime for the mid-range jumper, and is extremely efficient with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch, as he has become a threat as soon as he crosses half court. Saenz is an underrated on-ball defender that keeps constant pressure on his opponent, and looks to poke the ball out and create turnovers. Saenz will be called upon to shoulder the scoring load this season, and he displayed the continued evolution of his game needed to take on that role this coming season.      Wallace is an athletic and skilled wing/guard that showed he can score the ball in various ways, as well as make plays for others in the half court setting. Wallace had a monster game against the Drillers and showcased his complete offensive arsenal, hitting tough shots from 3-levels. Wallace has dynamic handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense and attack openings, and threw some pin-point passes to bigs diving to the basket off the pick and roll action. Wallace uses the crossover, the between cross, the behind cross, and the toss cross to get his defender off balance, gets good lift on the jumper off the bounce, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and has a good burst off speed off the dribble to attack the basket with the body control to score through contact in the paint. Wallace is a great addition for the Crusaders and will be another key piece to fill the scoring gaps from [player_tooltip player_id='1703093' first='Myles' last='Jones'].

This past weekend, September 6th and 7th, Liberty High School was host to the inaugural Minutemen Fall Varsity Shootout in Bakersfield, CA. The event featured teams from Fresno, Clovis, Modesto, Stockton, Oxnard, Arroyo Grande, Porterville, Kerman and Delano, where teams played in a showcase game format with some marque match-ups such as Modesto Christian and Bakersfield Christian on Day 1. This article is the second part of a two-part article, and looks at 7 more standout juniors from the two-day showcase, in which I watched all but 3 of the games. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. I will provide an article on standout sophomores next. I begin with Caiden Jackson of Bakersfield Christian.