Lloyd Williams All-Tournament 3rd 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 3rd 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 senior Samuel Catalina.    Catalina is a lengthy and active player that keeps relentless pressure on the glass, is able to space the floor from beyond the arc, and is a versatile defender. The 6-foot-5 wing/forward showed he is the interior presence that will help anchor the paint to compliment the quality guard play of seniors Sammy Santallin and Landon Haynes, as he would have two impressive showings in games I saw him play live, going for 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a close loss to Liberty of Bakersfield, as well as 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in a 5th place game win over Frontier of Bakersfield. Catalina crashes the boards on both ends, leading to putbacks and second chance scoring opportunities, as well as single shot possessions on the defensive glass, uses his length to block/alter shots in the paint, with the lateral agility to step out and alter perimeter shots, and has active hands and good foot speed to stay in front of perimeter players and deflect passes or jump passing lanes to get the ball out in transition. Catalina has good interior post moves, has good hands to receive entry passes, uses the spin-move to score in tight quarters in the paint, has touch on the hook/floater, is effective with the face-up jumper from the mid-to-high post, and understands spacing and timing on dives to the basket out of the pick and roll action, as well as a threat on the pop with the ability to space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch. Catalina runs the floor well in the open court, gets ahead of the defense for easy scoring opportunities in transition, and has a great motor to play with pace, as well as the composure to slow it down and work the half court game.     Ellingsworth is a high energy and skilled player that can play on or off the ball, is a good positional rebounder, and has been the needed scoring punch for the Stars this season to take some of the pressure off the Saenz brothers. The 6-foot combo guard displayed his impact for the Stars in the semifinal and 3rd place game of the Shootout, as he would go for 6 points and 7 rebounds in the close loss to Centennial of Bakersfield, followed by a huge 18 point and 6 rebound performance in a two-point win over Liberty of Bakersfield, which was heavily impacted by Ellingsworth's steady scoring throughout the game as the only other North player in double digits. Ellingsworth has a solid handle, has moves to create off the dribble to get paint touches, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the reverse or up-and-under layups to score over height, as well as the strength to score through contact en route to the basket. Ellingsworth moves fluidly off the ball to get open, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the catch, is a good rebounder for his position and stature, and can push the ball up the court or find the outlet man to get up the court for transition buckets of his own. Ellingsworth has been the steady third scorer for the Stars thus far, and, when he plays within his skillset, he has the experience as an upperclassmen to be an impact guy on and off the court for the young Stars roster, and his showing in the 3rd place game sealed it for me to make the 3rd team.     Guyton is a lengthy and skilled player that impacts various aspects of the game, can play on or off the ball, and can score in volume from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-1 combo guard has been a key impact player for the Patriots to start the season and one of its best 3-point shooters, as was evident in the quarterfinal win over Porterville, where he went for 23 points and connected on 5 threes in the process, along with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Guyton connected on a pair of threes in the 3rd place game and finished with 8 points in the loss to North Bakersfield. I watched Guyton score 12 points with 4 threes in a Consolation game loss to Central East in the Valley Children's Invitational at Clovis North. Guyton moves fluidly off the ball and off screens to get to his shot spots, has the moves to create space from his defender with the crossover, between-cross, and hesitation, and is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch. Guyton is a good positional rebounder, has the handles to push the ball up the court, or outlet the ball off the glass and run the lanes to get open in transition, and has the wingspan and awareness to poke the ball out or deflect passes to get out in the open court. Guyton has the shooting efficiency and the emerging perimeter skill set to be a next level prospect, and is a player that will make moves up the 2028 Section player rankings when updated.     Niles is a high motor, athletic, physical, and two-way impact player that continues to make strides for the Drillers as its main interior presence and player to build around, along with fellow sophomore lead guard RJ Shehee, for Bakersfield's future. The 6-foot-5 wing/forward is not called upon to lead the team in scoring, but his effort and athletic style of play allow him to score without designed plays drawn up for him, and fill the stat sheet up in the process, as was evident with his 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block in a win over Garces of Bakersfield. Niles would score 6 points, pull down 8 rebounds, and account for one block in the championship game win over Centennial of Bakersfield, as he and fellow sophomore for the G-Hawks, Ryan Shaw, put on a display of a battle that we will see the next 3 years in the South Valley. Niles is active on the glass, has the timing and touch to get putbacks off the offensive boards, limits opponents to single shot possessions, outlets the ball to his guards, and excels running the floor in the open court to receive passes and easy buckets in transition. Niles has good footwork, touch on shots within 15-feet of the basket, has good body control to spin off defenders in the paint to score in tight windows, and is effective with the mid-to-high post jumper off the bounce, with enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack the basket. Niles uses his length and physical build to hold up against taller players in the post, and the ability to seal off smaller players on post-up plays or off the pick and roll action diving to the basket.     Zuniga is an athletic, savvy, and skilled player that impacts both ends of the court, can score from 3-levels, and brings the 4-year varsity pedigree to help lead the rather young and talented Golden Hawks. The 6-foot-2 combo guard was one of the more consistent scorers for Centennial, and, despite not leading the team in scoring in any of the 3 games I watched, that is what the team needs from him, as Zuniga would go for 14 points and 7 rebounds in the win over North Bakersfield, followed by 11 points in a loss to Bakersfield in the championship game. Zuniga has a strong handle on the ball, keeps his head up to survey the court, uses the hesitation, between-cross, and crossover to get his defender off balance, hunts the mid-range jumper with the ability to connect on the spin-fadeaway, step-back, and stop-and-pop shot off the bounce through contact, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the reverse, Euro-step, and floater to score over height, as well as the strength to score through contact at the basket. Zuniga moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch with accuracy on the 3-ball, is active on the boards to push the pace up the court, and is a versatile defender that can lock-up on the ball or defend bigger players on switches. Zuniga will be relied upon this season to be the senior leader until fellow senior Derek Jimenez returns, as I have been told will be sometime during league play.

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 3rd 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 senior Samuel Catalina.