Central Cali's Class of 2029 Player Rankings (11-15)

This is the initial round of these player rankings for the Class of 2029, as this list has been compiled over the past six months. This first round of 2029 player rankings were compiled looking at play in the month of June, over the Spring and Summer Club portions of the year, and most recently in team and individual events in the Fall portion of the basketball calendar, like our Next Up Showcase for example. This initial list includes 20 players from the class of 2029 from the Central Section. This list of players was compiled using my own evaluations, along with feedback from knowledgeable media, coaches, and other relevant basketball personnel from the Section, to make up the top 20 freshman prospects for this first round of player rankings for the 2029 Class. However, the order of players on this list is my own. I will update these rankings by the end of the high school season and will expand to include any players that I see that need to be a part of these rankings. This list takes into consideration two key factors in determining where players are ranked, and will be the same criteria used each time this list is updated. The criteria for these rankings are as follows: current skill level and production on the court, as well as future projection at the collegiate level. The depth, size, talent, and skill of this class so far could lead to some impactful moments as freshman on varsity, as well as impressive statistics and numbers that will set some on track to achieve key milestones and even school records. This article takes a look at the next five prospects from the 2029 graduation class, #11 through #15, and will be followed by 1 more article of 5 players, the next being #16-#20. Given that many of these players are unknown or not well known beyond the Central Section as freshmen, I wanted to elaborate more on each player. In this article, you will find the following information: current rank, the player's name, height, player position, and current school attending, as well as a brief discussion of their skill set. We begin this article with the intriguing lead guard, Izayah Perez of Kingsburg.   11. Izayah Perez |5'10| PG (Kingsburg Vikings)   Perez is a shifty and skilled player that controls the pace of play, gets others involved, can light it up from beyond the arc, and comes in at #11 on this list of 2029 player rankings. The 5-foot-10 lead guard keeps the ball on a string, uses the crossover, behind-cross, and toss-cross to shake his defender, looks to get into the paint, where he can score with the floater, reverse lay-up, or up-and-under lay-up, as well as find open teammates off the drive and kick pass. Perez moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can score in volume from the 3-point line off the catch in volume. Perez changes pace and direction with the ball in hand, has a good burst of speed off the bounce, with good body control when attacking through traffic down the lane, and is solid on the boards to push the ball up the court. Perez will be running the offense as a freshman for the Vikings and the pick and roll action with senior baseball star, and recent LSU commit, Jensen Hirschkorn, will be tough to defend with his ability to score and make timely reads to the roller. Perez had a solid showing at the Next Up Showcase, and more recently at the Halloween Hoopfest at North Bakersfield in late October, and I have him as one of the top lead guards in the Section for the 2029 class.    12. Neil Pannu |6'4| WF (Centennial Golden Hawks-Bakersfield)   Coming in at #12 in this initial list of 2029  player rankings is Pannu, a lengthy and rangy player that runs the floor well, can space the court from beyond the arc, and is a player that will likely climb this list the more I am able to see him live in game. I first saw the 6-foot-4 wing/forward at the annual TTP Middle School All-Star game in Bakersfield, CA, last March and you could see he would be an impact guy at the high school level, with versatility to play on the perimeter or the interior. Pannu has solid handles, the moves to create off the dribble, the strides to get by his defender, and nice touch at the basket, using the reverse or Euro-step lay-ups to score the ball. Pannu moves well off the ball, is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, is active on the boards, outlets the ball to get up the court, and gets ahead of the defense for easy buckets in transition. Pannu is likely to see quality minutes as a freshman for the Golden Hawks, as his height and wingspan will help protect the rim, as well as alter shots on the perimeter, and could be one of the top prospects in this 2029 class when all said and done with continued focus on developing his perimeter skills, shot making, and impacting both ends of the court.    13. Bryson West |5'7| PG (Frontier Titans-Bakersfield)   West is a crafty and skilled player that has a knack for scoring the ball from various spots on the floor, controls the pace of play, and comes in at #13 in this initial list of player rankings. The 5-foot-7 lead guard keeps the dribble alive to survey the defense, uses the low-crossover, the toss-cross, and hesitation to get his defender off balance, has a quick burst of speed off the bounce to get into the teeth of the defense, has touch on the floater, as well as creativity with the use of reverse and Euro-step lay-ups to score amongst size in the paint, and is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line. West has good court vision, makes good reads to open teammates from the top of the key or off the dribble drive and kick pass, makes good decisions in the pick and roll action, and excels in the open court with good pace and control pushing the rock. West dropped 20 points in the opening game of the Next Up Showcase and displayed his ability to score in volume, and will be a nice piece for Frontier the next four seasons.     14. Brandon Jackson |6'2| WF (Hanford Bullpups)   Jackson is a lengthy and wiry player that impacts both ends of the court, excels in the open court, and comes in at #14 in this list of player rankings. The 6-foot-2 wing/forward crashes the boards, has the wingspan to deflect passes or jump passing lanes to create steals, alters shots on the perimeter, and has nice touch on shots around the basket. Jackson is effective with the mid-post jumper, has a good understanding of floor spacing in the open court, and gets ahead of the defense to get easy baskets in transition. Jackson is part of a trio of talented freshman prospects that will all play varsity for Hanford, and will learn to grow up quickly and adapt to the more physical style of play against upperclassmen. With transfers [player_tooltip player_id='2273494' first='Zander' last='Jensen'] and Josh Jenkins out on 30-day sit-outs, Jackson will likely get lots of playing time throughout the first month and a half of the season, but will benefit his game this year, and the next four years. He had a solid showing at the Next Up Showcase.    15. Dorian “DJ” Powell |6'| CG (Independence Falcons-Bakersfield)   Rounding out the top 15 for this initial round of 2029 player rankings is Powell, a physical and skilled player that impacts both ends of the court, can lock-up on defense, and keeps pressure on the defense. The 6-foot combo guard has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover to create space from his defender, has a good burst of speed off the dribble, gets down hill to get paint touches, and has the strength to score through contact at the basket. Powell has nice touch on the floater, is effective with the mid-range jumper, has active hands on defense with the footspeed and lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, looks to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes to turn defense to offense for easy points in the open court. Powell will be one of the more impactful freshmen in the Section, as he will likely get lots of playing time and have the ball in his hands often.

This is the initial round of these player rankings for the Class of 2029, as this list has been compiled over the past six months. This first round of 2029 player rankings were compiled looking at play in the month of June, over the Spring and Summer Club portions of the year, and most recently in team and individual events in the Fall portion of the basketball calendar, like our Next Up Showcase for example. This initial list includes 20 players from the class of 2029 from the Central Section. This list of players was compiled using my own evaluations, along with feedback from knowledgeable media, coaches, and other relevant basketball personnel from the Section, to make up the top 20 freshman prospects for this first round of player rankings for the 2029 Class. However, the order of players on this list is my own. I will update these rankings by the end of the high school season and will expand to include any players that I see that need to be a part of these rankings. This list takes into consideration two key factors in determining where players are ranked, and will be the same criteria used each time this list is updated. The criteria for these rankings are as follows: current skill level and production on the court, as well as future projection at the collegiate level. The depth, size, talent, and skill of this class so far could lead to some impactful moments as freshman on varsity, as well as impressive statistics and numbers that will set some on track to achieve key milestones and even school records. This article takes a look at the next five prospects from the 2029 graduation class, #11 through #15, and will be followed by 1 more article of 5 players, the next being #16-#20. Given that many of these players are unknown or not well known beyond the Central Section as freshmen, I wanted to elaborate more on each player. In this article, you will find the following information: current rank, the player's name, height, player position, and current school attending, as well as a brief discussion of their skill set. We begin this article with the intriguing lead guard, Izayah Perez of Kingsburg.