BCHS’s Meet in the Middle Mania: Standout Guards (Pt. 2)

This past weekend, Bakersfield Christian hosted the inaugural Meet in the Middle Mania Showcase, featuring 3 teams from Northern California (Destiny Christian Lions of Sacramento, Vanden Vikings of Fairfield, and Weston Ranch Cougars of Stockton) and 3 teams from Southern California (Pacifica Christian Tritons of Newport Beach, Legacy Christian Lions of Valencia, and host team Bakersfield Christian) in a round robin format so that each team played a team from the opposing region. The event started Thursday and wrapped up on Saturday. Along with the quality teams, the event hosted some high-level prospects, which will be covered in this 4-part series of player evaluations. In this article, I look at six more guards that had standout performances in the first two days that I was at the showcase. This article includes the following information: player's information, my own personal recorded statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and will be followed by articles on top wing/slashers and top forwards. We begin this article with junior guard Kai McCrary.    The 5-foot-10 combo guard has emerged as one of the better perimeter defenders in the Section for the junior class, has improved his accuracy from beyond the arc, and is capable of playing on or off the ball to impact the offense. McCrary has been one of the more consistent 3-point shooters for the Eagles in the early goings of the preseason, plays to his strengths, and has bought into the defensive side of play, and he would put up 11 points, connecting on a pair of threes, in the Eagles loss to Destiny Christian. McCrary has solid handles, uses the crossover, between cross, and toss cross to create space from his defender, has a good burst off the bounce, gets good lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch for the 3-ball. McCrary has active hands, good lateral footwork to stay in front of his opponent, and has good instincts to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes to get the ball out in transition. McCrary has become one of the more reliable players for the Eagles, and it has started on the defensive end.     The 6-foot-2 wing/guard is a good positional rebounder that limits opponents to single shot possessions, as well as provide the Cougars with second chance scoring opportunities, has the handles to push the ball off the glass, has a lengthy wingspan with good lateral movement to stay in front of opposing perimeter players, and the active hands to deflect passes or to strip the ball and turn defense to offense. Modile uses the crossover, the hesitation, and the between cross to get his defender off balance, gets to his shot spots off the bounce with accuracy on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch from beyond the arc, and is a creative finisher in the paint with use of the reverse lay-up and the floater down the lane. Modile had a strong showing in the Cougars loss to Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach, as he would score 18 points, connecting on 4 threes, along with 4 assists, and 2 steals. Modile is part of a group of impact sophomores and he had the best showing the two days I was in attendance.     The 6-foot-3 combo guard can score in volume from 3-levels, is a lights out shooter from beyond the arc, and has a good understanding of how to draw fouls at a high rate. I watched Mosley live at Westlake High School back in mid-October and he went off for 32 points and displayed a dynamic scoring arsenal. Mosley was one of the top 3-point shooters at the Meet in the Middle Showcase, as he connected on 9 threes in the two games I watched live. Mosley was one of the more effective scorers with games of 19 points and 26 points respectively, and countless trips to the free throw line. Molsey has dynamic handles, uses the crossover, the toss cross, the behind cross, and the spin move to get his defender off balance, has a quick but smooth release on the jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, and needs minimal space to get his shot off, which leads to him generating contact that leads to free throws. Mosley moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch. Mosley has the step-back, side-step, spin-fade, and up-and-under jumper that he can make on the regular, great body control when in the air to get his shots off, and has good court vision to make reads off the drive and kick pass.     The 6-foot-1 lead guard has the ability to make plays for others, as well as create his own shots, and is a solid on ball defender that can turn defense to offense. Nealy had two solid showings in the Vikings first two games, going for 8 points and a steal, followed by 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Nealy has a strong handle on the ball, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, uses the crossover and hesitation to get his defender off balance, looks to get paint touches routinely, with the strength to score through contact at the basket or make reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass. Nealy moves fluidly off the ball, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch or the bounce, has nice touch on the floater, and is a good positional rebounder that can push the pace off the glass.     The 6-foot-1 lead guard has dynamic handles, shifty moves to create his own scoring opportunities, and is a 3-level scoring threat. Smith has taken the next step for the Eagles and become one of its primary scoring options, and he made his mark with a big time scoring output on the final day of the event, going for 28 points in a 2-point loss to Vanden of Fairfield, as well as a 12-point game in the opening game of the event against Weston Ranch of Stockton. Smith keeps the ball on a string, uses the toss cross, behind cross, wide crossover, and the hesitation moves to get his defender off balance and create space, has a quick burst off the bounce to get by his initial defender, gets good lift on the jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative finisher around the basket, with use of the Euro-step, up-and-under, and reverse lay-ups, as well as touch on the floater. Smith is a good positional rebounder, looks to push the pace of play, makes good reads off the drive and kick pass, but is at his best when he is hunting the jumper from the elbows, where he has the body control to absorb contact in the air and still get his shot off. One of the top sophomores in the Section and a player that understands how to score the basketball.     The 6-foot-3 combo guard is an emerging elite two-way prospect, can score the ball from 3-levels, and is a prospect to keep an eye on in the NorCal region. Walls took on the opposing teams top perimeter player in the two games I watched live and made life hectic for opposing guards. Offensively, Walls displayed the ability to score the ball in various ways, displaying his tough shot making ability, as he would lead the Lions in scoring in the first two games, going for 16 points and 3 steals followed by 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Walls has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, uses the crossover, behind cross, toss cross, and the hesitation moves to create space from his defender, has a good burst of speed off the dribble, and gets into the paint with the strength to score though contact down the lane, or evade defenders with the Euro-step, reverse, or up-and-under lay-ups at the basket. Walls gets good lift on the jumper, is effective from the mid-range to the 3-point line, has great body control when absorbing contact on the jumper, and showed he can hit the spin-fade middy off the bounce. Defensively, Walls has active hands, the footspeed to stay in front of his opponent, gets into their dribbling space, and has the instincts and timing to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes, and turns defense to offense routinely.

This past weekend, Bakersfield Christian hosted the inaugural Meet in the Middle Mania Showcase, featuring 3 teams from Northern California (Destiny Christian Lions of Sacramento, Vanden Vikings of Fairfield, and Weston Ranch Cougars of Stockton) and 3 teams from Southern California (Pacifica Christian Tritons of Newport Beach, Legacy Christian Lions of Valencia, and host team Bakersfield Christian) in a round robin format so that each team played a team from the opposing region. The event started Thursday and wrapped up on Saturday. Along with the quality teams, the event hosted some high-level prospects, which will be covered in this 4-part series of player evaluations. In this article, I look at six more guards that had standout performances in the first two days that I was at the showcase. This article includes the following information: player's information, my own personal recorded statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and will be followed by articles on top wing/slashers and top forwards. We begin this article with junior guard Kai McCrary.