Polly Wilhelmsen Day 1: Standout Wing/Forwards

This week, in Visalia, CA, Redwood High School and Mt. Whitney High School co-host the annual Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament, which started on Monday, December 22nd and will wrap up on Saturday, December 27th. I was in attendance for Day 1 of the Polly with the focus of this article on games played at Redwood's Gym only. In particular, this article looks at 7 players that had standout performances at the wing/forward positions, which will be followed by a few articles from semifinal Friday, when i will be back at the Polly. 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 Polly. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with senior Samuel Catalina.    The 6-foot-5 wing/forward is a consistent double-double threat, can space the floor from beyond the arc to open up driving panes, establishes his presence in the paint on both ends of the court, and has a knack for upping his scoring output when the team is in need of points. Catalina had a strong showing in the opening round of the Polly in a win over Central Valley Christian of Visalia, as he would go for 14 points, 11 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal, but he was most impactful scoring the ball in the second half, as he would would score 12 of his 14 points after the break. His strong second half came at the perfect time, as teammate and fellow senior Sammy Santillan, who scored 22 points in the first half, would face double teams and more on-ball pressure to get the ball out of his hot hand. Catalina has been the steady interior force for the Panthers this season and he came up big to help expand the lead for Porterville to nearly 20 points. For a full breakdown of Catalina's skill set and game, see my recent article titled, “Lloyd Williams All-Tournament 3rd Team”, where I discuss his game in depth, as well as his statistics in the games I watched him live at that event.     The 6-foot-5 forward is active on the glass on both ends, fills up the stats sheet to show his utility in various ways on the court, and continues to develop his game, which has resulted in more minutes as the season continues to play out, as the Stars need his height, size, and senior presence on the court to help with depth in the paint. Eaton had one of his best games that I have seen in person this season in the opening round of the Polly, as he would go for 6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals to help lead the Stars over El Diamante and advance to the quarterfinals, where North would defeat Porterville to take on Kingsburg. Eaton is active on the boards, has a good build to get putbacks and lay-ups through contact at the basket, showed good court vision to find open teammates from the top of the key, as well as to cutting teammates while posting up on the low blocks, which was evident in him having 6 assists in the win over the Miners. Eaton also showed his active hands and good instincts to jump passing lanes, deflect entry passes to the paint, and poke the ball out when coming out for the double-team on defense to pressure opposing perimeter players to make poor decisions, which led to him collecting 5 steals. The Stars have been a program that has developed their bigs really well under the Shearon regime, and Eaton, although later than expected, could be the next one that sees a major jump in his game from junior to senior year, and it will be needed for North Bakersfield to make a run in League and in the D3 Section playoffs.     The 6-foot-5 wing/forward is active on the boards, is a good interior defender with the versatility to defend on the perimeter, and is able to score the ball from 3-levels. I first saw Fox at our 5th Annual Junior/Senior Showcase, as he was a late edition, and he displayed the ability to score the ball in the post and from the perimeter, as well as the ability to run the floor in the open court. Fox took that level of play up a notch in the opening round of the Polly, as he put up 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, doing all he could to get the upset win over Kingsburg but fell short after a scorching hot 4th quarter from the Vikings. Fox has good interior footwork, seals off his defender to receive entry passes, and has good back-to-the-basket moves with the turn around jumper, spin-move to evade interior defenders, and has good touch to score the ball in tight windows around the basket, as well as score through contact at the rim. Fox has solid handles, uses the crossover and hesitation to get his defender off balance, is effective with the jumper off the bounce from the mid-range to the 3-point line to pull bigger defenders away from the basket and open up driving lanes, as he has the ability to put the ball on the deck and attack from the perimeter. Defensively, Fox has the length and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, as well as the lateral movement to close out and alter perimeter shots, and has active hands to poke the ball out, deflect passes, or jump passing lanes to create steals, where he looks to get out and score in the open court, which he did several times against Kingsburg. Fox is one of the more underrated prospects in the Section and with his size and shot making, he is one to track the rest of the season and could be a nice piece for a JUCO program looking to add a versatile wing/forward to its roster.     The 6-foot-7 forward is a superior athlete, has the physical tools to dominate the interior, as well as the skill to create his own scoring opportunities, and is a beast on the boards on both ends. Hirschkorn did a majority of the heavy lifting for the Vikings in the first half to keep his team within striking distance only down 7 at the half. But due to foul trouble, his time on the court was limited in the 3rd quarter and Kingsburg was down 18 going into the 4th quarter, as Lemoore took advantage of him being on the bench and no rim protector present for the Vikings. Hirschkorn added 5 points in the 4th quarter, but it was his impact on the boards, as well as preventing easy basket for Lemoore, to go along with the hot shooting of teammates Alex Hanzak and Peyton Swiney, that led the Vikings to an improbable comeback win, as he would finish with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The Vikings advanced in Day 2 to the semifinals and will take on the defending champs, North Bakersfield. Hirschkorn crashes the boards on both ends, gets putbacks routinely on the offensive glass, and limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the length and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, as well as the strides and foot speed to close out and contest perimeter shots, and when he gets a rebound, he goes out and takes the ball, as he is fundamentally sound on the box-outs and has the strength to rip the ball from opposing players, and keeps the ball high to prevent smaller players from coming in and getting tie-ups or poke the ball out. Offensively, Hirschkorn has enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack the basket from the high-post, is accurate with the face-up mid-range jumper, and can space the floor from the 3-point line to pull opposing bigs away from the basket. He has good footwork in the post, touch on shots around the basket, and runs the floor well in the open court to get ahead of the defense for transition buckets and dunks. Hirschkorn will be a key player in the match-up against North Bakersfield, who lacks the interior presence to battle a player of his skill and physical presence, but the Stars have the advantage with the lead guard play of junior Ethan Saenz.     The 6-foot-4 wing/forward is a versatile player that can operate in the paint, as well as from the perimeter, is an underrated perimeter defender, and can score the ball from 3-levels. Hyde had a strong showing for the Cavaliers in the opening round of Polly play, as he would go for 16 points connecting on a pair of threes, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block doing all he could to keep CVC close in a loss to Porterville. Hyde has solid handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, and the hesitation to get his defender off balance, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the reverse and Euro-step lay-ups to evade shot blockers at the rim. Hyde has good moves and footwork in the paint, is effective with the turn around jumper, as well as the face-up jumper from the mid-post, and has the court vision to find open teammates cutting off the ball when he is at the top of the key. However, it was Hyde's defensive presence that impressed me most, as he would get one block to show his length and timing to alter shots around the basket, and the lateral footspeed combined with his length to be a pesky perimeter defender that has active hands to poke the ball out, and the timing to deflect passes or jump passing lanes to get the ball out in the open court for easy transition buckets. He moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and is a threat from beyond the arc, which forces bigger players to close out and this opens up the court. Hyde will need to be more assertive in looking to score the ball for the Cavs this season, as its young roster only has a few players with the skill set and confidence to be a reliable scorer.     The 6-foot-4 wing/forward is relentless on the glass, has great touch on shots within 20 feet of the basket, has the physical build to score through contact around the basket, as well as the skill to face-up and connect on the jumper, with accuracy from the elbows. Wheeler was the one constant in the opening round game against Tulare Western, as he would score 10 of the teams 23 points in the first half to go into the break with the 1 point lead, 23 to 22. Tulare would take the lead in the last few minutes of regulation before freshman guard Uriah Felix connected on a big three pointer to tie the game. After a miss from the Mustangs, Redwood had enough time to get a shot off but missed. But Wheeler, crashing the glass, got the miss and tipped it in for the game winning lay-up as time expired. I had to get on the road and was literally at the door thinking the game was going to overtime, but was lucky enough to catch the game winner. Wheeler finished with a game high 20 points, but the Rangers would fall to Kingsburg in the quarterfinals and will take on Porterville on semifinal Friday at Mt. Whitney High. For a more in-depth look at Wheeler's skill set and game, see my recent article titled, “Clovis North Valley Children's Tip-Off: Standout Upperclassmen (Part 2)” where I break down his strengths as a basketball player, as well as include his stats from the game I watched against Dinuba.     The 6-foot-4 wing/forward is a versatile player that can operate in the paint, as well as create off the wing, is an effective 3-level scorer, is active on the boards, and makes plays with the ball in hand. Young came out firing for the Tigers, scoring 9 of his 12 points in the 1st quarter to help Lemoore get out to an early double-digit lead. Despite his efforts scoring the ball or making plays for others, Kingsburg getting hot in the final quarter was too much for the Tigers to contain, as it fell short and looks to be the clear cut favorite to win the Consolation bracket of the Polly. Young has solid handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, hesitation, and behind-cross to create space from his defender, uses his bigger frame to back down and bully his way through smaller defenders, as well as the perimeter skills to pull bigger players away from the basket and open up driving lanes for him to attack, which he did frequently against Kingsburg early on. Young is accurate with the jumper off the dribble from the mid-range to the 3-point line, has the court vision to make timely reads to cutting teammates, or is able to find players up the court off the rebound, which he does a great job of crashing the boards. Young and fellow senior Micah Fox, play the two-man game as bigs and make it difficult to defend, as both can dive to the basket off the pick and roll action, or pop off the screen to get open looks off the catch. Young will give the Tigers a solid frontline that will make it difficult for most teams in its league and base division to defend.

This week, in Visalia, CA, Redwood High School and Mt. Whitney High School co-host the annual Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament, which started on Monday, December 22nd and will wrap up on Saturday, December 27th. I was in attendance for Day 1 of the Polly with the focus of this article on games played at Redwood's Gym only. In particular, this article looks at 7 players that had standout performances at the wing/forward positions, which will be followed by a few articles from semifinal Friday, when i will be back at the Polly. 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 Polly. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with senior Samuel Catalina.