Preseason Newcomers

Preseason basketball is in full swing in NorCal. We're always on the lookout for newcomers and players that catch our eye with their play on the court.   Maakan Anvari: Stands around 6'3, a strong and physical prospect willing to do battle in the paint. He's a undersized post player, with leverage, doesn't mind mixing it up defending, and going for rebounds, makes you work for buckets in the paint. He may pick up fouls but stays aggressive. He had strong moves going up around the rim. He sets solid screen, moves the ball, hustles up court.   Ulysses Anguiano: He's the teams leading scorer after after 8 games 13.3pts, along with 4 rebounds coming off the bench. The two games we saw, he had solid drives to the basket for layups, follow up rebounds for points in the paint. He squares up for 3-pointers, hit two while we watched. He hustles back on defense not giving up on easy buckets.   RJ Fideldy: He's learning what it takes to run the point guard position for one of NorCal's top programs. He's having his ups, and down but is showing signs of a decent backup when [player_tooltip player_id='2212733' first='Siincere' last='Hudson'] returns. He keeps his dribble live, has foot speed, takes care of the ball. He makes the effort to move the ball around the court, he'll drive and kick, hit the paint jumper.   Jacob Ryan: He benefitted playing against quality competition at the Gridley Tournament. He played hard the two games we watched, handled adversity. He's a ball mover, handles the ball okay, he found teammates cutting to the basket multiple times. He made cuts himself to get a bucket for finishes around the rim. He had good effort going for rebounds, and defending on ball, picking up a couple of steals.   [player_tooltip player_id='3183527' first='Jordan' last='Rice']: The Junior from Carlmont has been one of the better newcomers we've seen. He earned all tourney at the Crusader Classic. The 6'5 guard/forward has an improving skill set that allows him to score Outside/In. He rebounds on both ends, uses his handles along the perimeter for drives into the paint for pull up jumpers, he'll take and make 3-pointers if open. He showed foot work and patience finishing around the basket in traffic, different ways. We'll see more.   Jona Millonia: A solid combo guard from the Stockton area, he has a good shot. He has movement to free himself up for 3-point shots, a quick release. He brings the all up court, handles ball pressure. He'll split the defense with speed, quick dribbles, and crossovers to attack from the top, and sides. He's a good help defender, quick feet defending on ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='3183533' first='Philip' last='Hitchcock']: He found his way onto our Watch List with his sharp shooting at the Crusader Classic in San Francisco. The only Soph on the varsity comes off the bench shot ready to knock down 3-pointers, he had 3 in this game. He doesn't hesitate to get on the floor for loose balls. He's a long range shooter, shot ready along the perimeter, he'll stop behind the line for transition 3's in rhythm. He's a ball mover, has good movement without the ball in half court.   Krishiv Banerjee: The game we watched he found ways to be a contributor on the offensive side of the ball scoring 12-points using his dribble drive for short pull ups from different areas on the court. The short corner, in the paint, and around the free throw area. He hustles to fill lanes in transition. He'll help with rebounding.   Elliot Ridolfi: It's never easy for a Freshman running the point, and starting on the varsity, there's going to be ups and downs. It was good experience for Ridolfi, he's done well in the early season. He's a pass first point guard, keeps his dribble live, always looking to make the pass, find the open shooter, or feed the post, he has some foot speed to drive and kick. He'll be a solid back up. He'll go on the Watch List.   Eddie Eichelay: He doesn't play a lot, the minutes we did see he did a good job of running the team offense, showed patience, kept his dribble live, had a few hard drives, then kick. He's a good ball handler, he has foot speed, sees the court to make the passes around the perimeter, and up court. He'll go on the Watch List.   [player_tooltip player_id='3165513' first='Jean' last='Charles Siransy']: He has long arms, lateral movement and a willingness to play hard on the defensive side of the ball. He showed activity in the paint going for rebounds, and taking it up back up in traffic when the opportunity to score was there. For now he's part of the Pride 11 or 12 rotation. The Freshman has some tools to work with in this system.   [player_tooltip player_id='3232012' first='Izaiyah' last='Romero']: He found his way onto the radar with his savvy play at the Gridley Tournament this past week. He was a key part of the Dublin win against Folsom in the 3rd place game. He played good basketball the two game we watched, contributing in different ways. He averaged 13 pts, kept the defense occupied, battled for rebounds. He's strong, moves well on the court and around the rim. He jumps high, can dunk off two standing under the rim, he goes up high for rebounds, and block attempts. He'll knock down a 3-pointer if he has time to settle himself. Standing 6'2 he has the strength, body and tools to get his shot off over bigger bodies in the paint.

Preseason basketball is in full swing in NorCal. We're always on the lookout for newcomers and players that catch our eye with their play on the court.