Lloyd Williams All-Tournament 2nd Team

Last week, I attended the annual Lloyd Williams Shootout hosted by North Bakersfield High School. The four day tournament started on Wednesday, December 10th and ran through Saturday, December 13th. I was present for the last three days of the Shootout and focused on games from the Championship side of the bracket and the Consolation Game on the final day of the event. This series of articles will take a look at my All-Tournament Teams and are based on my own observations. There were players that did well on the Consolation side of the bracket, but I only watched that one game and, therefore, did not include any players from that side of the bracket because I did not see in person. This article takes a look at 5 players I deemed worthy of making my 2nd Team All-Tournament roster. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, my own personal recorded statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed at the Shootout. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with junior [player_tooltip player_id='2932172' first='Giovanni' last='Fomusoh'].    Fomusoh is a lengthy and athletic player that continues to develop his offensive skill set, is a versatile defender, and excels in the open court. The 6-foot-2 wing/guard has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the high-tempo G-Hawks style of play, which was evident in two standout showings at the Shootout, as he would go for 19 points and 5 rebounds in a win over Del Oro of Bakersfield, followed by a near double-double in the championship game of 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Fomusoh has a solid handle on the ball, uses the crossover and between-cross to get by his defender, gets into the paint routinely with touch and body control on shots around the basket, and is effective with the mid-range jumper off the bounce. Fomusoh crashes the boards on both ends, uses his length to block/alter shots from the weakside in the post, as well as the strides to close out and alter perimeter shots, uses his length and lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players with active hands to deflect or poke the ball out, as well as jump passing lanes to create steals and get out into transition. Fomusoh is at his best when running the floor, getting ahead of the defense, and being the recipient of passes up the court to score in transition. If Fomusoh continues to work on his guard skills and perimeter scoring moves, he could climb the list of the 2027 player rankings for the Central Section.     Jimenez is a high octane and skilled player that controls the pace of play, impacts both ends of the floor, and is expanding his scoring arsenal to be a true combo guard. The 5-foot-11 lead guard had his playmaking ability on full display at the Shootout, as well as his ability to score the ball, going for 10 points, 10 assists, and 2 steals in a win over Del Oro of Bakersfield, and a team high 19 points connecting on a pair of threes in the Championship Game loss to Bakersfield High. Jimenez keeps the ball on a string, uses the crossover, between cross, and hesitation to get his defender off balance, looks to get into the paint on the regular, and is a creative score around the basket with use of the floater, along with the Euro-step or reverse lay-ups to evade height in the paint. Jimenez has great court vision, makes timely reads to open players in the half court setting off the drive and kick pass, as well as pin-point passes to the diver out of the pick and roll action, and is able to hit players in stride up the court for transition buckets. Jimenez is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch, is a solid on-ball defender with active hands, good lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, and gets into his opponent's dribbling space to create steals, as well as jumping passing lanes to get out in the open court. Jimenez has made some major strides in his development from freshman to sophomore season, as he is more than a 3 and D guy and has become the team's primary ball handler.     Saenz is a physical and skilled player that impacts the post, as well as the ability to space the floor from beyond the arc, and plays with a relentless motor and intensity needed to bang in the paint with players taller and older than the standout sophomore. The 6-foot-3 wing/forward had several impressive showings for the Stars at its own tournament, as he would put up 19 points and 6 rebounds in the win over Frontier of Bakersfield, 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a one-point loss to Centennial of Bakersfield in the semifinals, and showed off his playmaking in the 3rd place game win over Liberty of Bakersfield with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. The younger Saenz has good footwork and moves to score in the post, is effective with the face-up jumper from the mid-to-high post, uses the spin-move to score in close spaces around the basket, with good touch on shots within 15-feet of the cup. Saenz uses the crossover and between-cross to attack off the wing, is effective with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch, and looks to initiate and score through contact when driving to the basket. Saenz has good timing and instincts to block/alter shots in the paint, is able to close out and alter perimeter shots, and has active hands to rip or poke the ball out and turn defense to offense. Saenz has good court vision, makes timely reads from the high-post to cutting teammates, as well as finding open teammates on the perimeter when the defense collapses on him in the paint. Saenz has taken that next step to be one of the top scorers and stat producers for the young but talented Stars roster.     Shehee is a skilled, athletic, and savvy player with the IQ to break a defense apart, an elite on-ball defender, and has brought the poise and steadiness to the Drillers team that was missing without him through the Fall while he was playing football. The presence of the 5-foot-9 point guard allows everyone else to fall into their more natural positions and his ability to control the flow of the game on both ends was evident in Bakersfield's run to the championship, as he would go for 6 points, 7 assists, and 7 steals in a win over Garces of Bakersfield, and capped off the event putting up 7 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals to steer the team to a title over Centennial of Bakersfield. Shehee has elite handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense and survey the floor, has all the moves to break his defender down, with the crossover, behind-cross, toss-cross, hesitation, spin-move, etc., has a great burst of speed off the bounce to get by his initial defender, great court vision and decision making to make precise passes to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver in the pick and roll action, and up the court in the pocket to teammates ahead in transition. Shehee is an elite on-ball defender, with active hands, the footwork to stay in front of his opponent, and the physicality to get into his man's dribbling space and force them into bad decisions and turnovers, as well as deflections and jumping passing lanes to get the ball out in the open court, which favors the personnel for the Drillers. Shehee is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, and is a creative finisher around the basket to evade shot blockers in the post. Shehee's impact for the Drillers is evident and I was torn between him and senior teammate Kamren Owens for my 1st Team accolade, but the flurry of threes for Owens was my deciding factor, with Shehee was right there.     Wiley is a skilled and crafty player that impacts the game in countless ways, can score the ball from 3-levels, and is someone I was not familiar with prior to this season, getting my first real look at him at the Clovis North Valley Children's Invitational Consolation Game, where he went for 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in a close loss to Central East of Fresno. The 6-foot-2 combo guard continued to show he is a jack of all trades type of player at the Shootout, as he would go for 19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals in a win over Porterville; 11 points, and 5 rebounds in a loss to Bakersfield; and capped the 3rd place game off with only 4 points, but added 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss to North Bakersfield, as fellow junior teammate Bryce Hanson had the hot hand for the Patriots in that game. Wiley has solid handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, uses the crossover, between-cross, and hesitation to get his defender off balance, has a smooth form on his jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch, as he also moves well off the ball to get open looks, and is a crafty scorer around the basket. Wiley has great court vision and makes quality decisions with the ball in his hands, as he is able to find teammates off the drive and kick pass, up the court off the rebound and push, and in the pick and pop action. He is a solid perimeter defender with good hands and instincts to deflect or jump passing lanes to get the ball out in transition. I have been very impressed with his play thus far this season and seems to be a true beneficiary of the new coaching staff.

Last week, I attended the annual Lloyd Williams Shootout hosted by North Bakersfield High School. The four day tournament started on Wednesday, December 10th and ran through Saturday, December 13th. I was present for the last three days of the Shootout and focused on games from the Championship side of the bracket and the Consolation Game on the final day of the event. This series of articles will take a look at my All-Tournament Teams and are based on my own observations. There were players that did well on the Consolation side of the bracket, but I only watched that one game and, therefore, did not include any players from that side of the bracket because I did not see in person. This article takes a look at 5 players I deemed worthy of making my 2nd Team All-Tournament roster. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, my own personal recorded statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed at the Shootout. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with junior Giovanni Fomusoh Giovanni Fomusoh 6'2" | CG Centennial Bakersfield | 2027 CA-N .