Minutemen Fall Varsity Shootout: Standout Sophomores 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 part 2 of a two-part piece that looks at 6 standout sophomores and one freshman 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. This is the final article from the Fall Varsity Shootout. I begin with emerging small forward, Cam Saenz.    Saenz is a wiry and physical wing/forward that can operate in the paint, as well as create off the perimeter. Saenz crashes the boards, has the handle to push the ball up the court, has the vision to find players up the court, or from the top of the key, and runs the floor well to get open for lay-ups ahead of the defense. Saenz has a solid handle, uses the crossover to create space from his defender, looks to attack the paint off the dribble, is able to absorb and finish through contact down the lane, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch. Saenz has good timing on the glass with the timing to get putbacks on the regular. He will be key for the young Stars roster, along with older brother and last year's SYML co-MVP, Ethan Saenz.     Sligh is a skilled and crafty wing/forward that understands the value of impacting the game in various ways to help his team. Sligh had good footwork in the post, with the ability to score with his back to the basket, as well as face-up with the mid-range jumper. Sligh does a solid job on the glass, gets the ball out to his lead guards, and runs the floor well in the open court to get ahead of the defense for transition buckets. Sligh has good hands to receive passes in the paint, has nice touch on shots around the basket, consistently crashes the boards on both ends, keeps the ball high to prevent turnovers, has good timing to alter shots in the interior, as well as the strides to close out and alter shots on the perimeter. Impressive young prospect that will be a factor for the young Knights.     Smith is an athletic and skilled lead guard that looks to create his own offense, as well as impact the defensive end, and is evolving as a playmaker. Smith has a dynamic handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has the court vision to make precision passes in tight windows, is a great positional rebounder, which allows him to get out and push the ball up the court, and improved decision making on passes up the court to players running the floor. I was impressed most with his poise and control of the flow of the offense at the Fall Varsity Shootout, especially on Day 2, where he slowed the game down at times and orchestrated the offense to put pressure on the defense. Smith is a high-level athlete that has great on-court speed, but he is showing that he can adapt to the flow of the game and not feel the need to push at all times. Smith is efficient with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, uses the crossover, behind cross, and toss cross to get his defender off balance, has a quick burst off speed off the bounce, and is a creative finisher at the rim with the use of the up and under lay-up. In the open court, Smith can go coast to coast and looks to punch it in, or pull-up for the transition jumper. He is an underrated shot-blocker/rim protector, as well as the lateral quickness and active hands to put pressure on opposing guards.     Smith is a crafty, skilled, and quick lead guard that can create for others or score in volume from 3-levels. Smith has emerged as one of the two primary ball-handlers for the Eagles, and, on Day 2 of the Fall Varsity Shootout, Smith ran the show for his team, as junior Caiden Jackson was out with a minor injury. Smith has elite handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the defense, continues to show the court vision and precision passing to make tough reads in the half court setting, and throws some darts up the court to connect with open players ahead in transition. Smith uses the low crossover, the hard-pound dribble, the behind the back cross, and the toss cross to get his defender off balance, has an elite burst of speed of the bounce, gets great lift with good body control on the stop and pop jumper, has touch on the floater down the lane, and is a crafty finisher around the basket to evade height in the paint. Smith moves fluidly off the ball to get to the open spot, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, as well as off the dribble, and uses the back-cut when over-pressured on the perimeter to get open looks from the short corner.     Steinback is a skilled and poised combo guard that can light it up from beyond the arc. Steinback has solid handles, is a good positional rebounder to push the ball off the glass, controls the pace of play, uses the crossover, hesitation, and hard-pound dribble to create space from his defender, and has the court vision to find teammates off the drive and kick pass or get his own shots up. Steinback has been most effective for the Eagles spacing the floor with the 3-ball off the catch, as he has fluid off-ball movement, gets to his shot spots, gets his body squared up, and has a smooth shooting form on the release. I see his role expanding at some point this coming season, and his shooting ability makes it hard for opposing defenses to sag off and double team junior forward Taiwo Daramola.     Williams is a combo guard that can run the offense and score in volume, and is highly efficient from beyond the arc. Williams and his team made the push from Oxnard and he made the most of his opportunity, especially in his team's win over Clovis, as he knocked down the game winning 3-pointer, and connected on 7 threes throughout the game. Williams has a solid handle, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, makes good reads from the top of the key, as well as off the dribble drive and kick pass, and moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch. Williams uses the crossover and hesitation effectively to create space from his defender, has nice touch on the floater, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the bounce, with range and the step-back jumper his scoring arsenal.     Wilson is a skilled, crafty, and athletic lead guard that can create for others, as well as score the ball from 3-levels effectively, with shot variation on the perimeter making him a tough assignment for most defenders. Wilson keeps the ball on a string to survey the defense, uses the crossover, toss cross, and behind cross to create space from his defender, looks to attack holes in the defense, with a smooth mid-range jumper off the bounce, and the body control to square his shoulders in the air, or the use of the Euro-step and up and under lay-ups to evade shot blockers at the basket. Wilson moves well off the ball, gets to the open spots, and is effective with the 3-ball off the catch or the dribble. Wilson has the step-back jumper in his arsenal, and the court vision to make quality reads when attacking off the perimeter. Wilson is a solid on-ball defender, with active hands to poke the ball out, the timing to deflect the ball in the passing lanes, and the bounce to alter shots from the weakside or on the perimeter.

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 2 of a two-part piece that looks at 6 standout sophomores and one freshman 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. This is the final article from the Fall Varsity Shootout. I begin with emerging small forward, Cam Saenz.