Minutemen Fall Varsity Shootout: Standout Sophomores Pt. 1

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 part one of a two-part piece that looks at 7 standout sophomores 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 remaining 7 standout sophomores next. I begin with a new name to keep an eye on, TJ Dixon.    Dixon is an athletic and high-motor combo guard that locks in on the defensive end, and excels in the open court. Dixon showed he is ready to take the next step for the Knights and did a solid job of complimenting senior lead guard Ja'Vance Coleman, as well as lead the team when Coleman went to the bench. Dixon has active hands and good lateral quickness to keep his opponent in front of him, gets into his opponent's dribbling space, and looks to poke the ball out or deflect passes to turn defense to offense, where Dixon takes advantage of his athleticism to get ahead of the defense and score in the open court. Dixon has a strong handle, uses the crossover and the toss cross to get his defender off balance, has a great burst of speed off the bounce, is effective with the mid-range shot off the dribble, and has good body control on shots around the basket. Dixon is a good positional rebounder, which allows him to push the pace of play. Dixon has a lot of upside and with continued development on his offensive skill-set, combined with his defensive prowess, he has the chance to be one of the top defenders in the Section by his senior year.     Evans is a wiry and athletic wing/guard that is active on the glass, runs the floor well in the open court, and can score the ball from 3-levels. Evans was part of a trio of talented sophomores for the Cougars, and showed he can impact the game in a variety of ways at the Fall Varsity Shootout. Evans is a good positional rebounder, has good timing and touch on putbacks off the glass, and has the handle to push the pace in the open court. Evans uses the crossover and the hesitation to create space from his defender, looks to attack the paint routinely, has good lift on the mid-range jumper with accuracy, and is a crafty finisher at the basket with the ability to use the up and under lay-up to evade rim protectors. Evans looks to back down smaller defenders, has good body control on the turnaround jumper, and moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch. Evans is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, and has active hands and good footspeed to stay in front of perimeter players.     Finney is a lengthy and physical wing/forward that can space the floor with the 3-ball, and is active on the glass. Finney crashes the boards and provides second chance scoring opportunities for his team, has nice touch on shots and putbacks around the basket, uses his wingspan and length to alter shots in the paint, with the ability to step out and contest perimeter shots, and runs the floor well in the open court to get ahead of the defense for easy transition buckets. Finney has enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack from the top of the key, is effective with the mid-range jumper with the length to shoot over most perimeter defenders, and is effective with the catch and shoot 3-ball. Finney looks to attack the basket routinely, and as he adds to his overall skill-set, he will expand his shot making ability.     Gonzales is a lengthy and wiry wing/forward that is a versatile defender and knows how to score around the basket. Gonzales crashes the boards with great energy, gives himself opportunities to score on putbacks with soft touch on shots around the basket, runs the floor well in the open court to get ahead of the defense, and gets to the dunker spot or the short corners to receive drop off passes from his teammates on the attack. Gonzales has the length and bounce to alter shots around the basket, shows good timing on weakside deflections, has the agility to stay in front of perimeter players, and looks to deflect passes to turn defense to offense. Gonzales adds some size and depth to a team that many are saying will be a surprise team this coming season.     Labunog is a lightning quick and sharp shooting combo guard that can fill it up from beyond the arc and looks to push the tempo in the open court. Labunog has a strong handle on the ball, uses the low crossover to get his defender off balance, has touch on the floater down the lane, and is near automatic from the 3-point line, off the dribble or the catch. Labunog has an elite burst of speed off the dribble, has the court vision to find open teammates off paint touches, and is creative to score around height in the paint. Labunog has active hands on defense, gets into his opponents dribbling space, and uses his low center of gravity to poke the ball or deflect passes to get out in transition.     Niles is a physical and high-energy wing/forward that enforces his presence on the boards and has a variety of ways to score around the basket. Niles is active on the boards, has quick leaping ability to get multiple chances on the putback or limit the opponent to single possessions, has enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack the key, is effective with the mid-post jumper off the bounce, and makes good reads from the high-post. Niles has the physical build to wall up against bigger players in the post, as well as alter shots in the paint with the ability to close out on perimeter players. He runs the floor well with an understanding of spacing, which allows him to get ahead of the defense for transition points. Communicates on the defensive end to keep his team on a line.     Rivera is a shifty and skilled lead guard that can spread the floor with efficiency from beyond the arc. Rivera keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has the court vision to make pin-point passes in tight windows, and plays with good pace and poise to find the roller out of the pick and roll action. Rivera moves well off the ball to get to his open spots, squares his shoulders up to be ready for the ball, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch. He uses the crossover, the behind cross, and the hesitation to get his defender off balance with a good burst of speed off the bounce.

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 part one of a two-part piece that looks at 7 standout sophomores 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 remaining 7 standout sophomores next. I begin with a new name to keep an eye on, TJ Dixon.