Bakersfield Christian's MLK Showcase: Standout Guards

Bakersfield, CA - Last Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, Bakersfield Christian hosted its inaugural MLK Showcase, which featured an 8-game format with 16 teams. The event featured some intriguing match-ups between Liberty and Mission Prep; Centennial and North Bakersfield; Frontier and Porterville; and the headline game between the host team BCHS and Mesa of Arizona, and its nationally ranked standout sophomore prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1651788' first='Jakyi' last='Miles']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jakyi-miles/"></a> . In this article, I take a look at 6 guards that had standout performances at the Showcase. I will follow this article up looking at 6 more standout guards, as well as top wings and forwards. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, relevant statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed in the games I watched. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Tyson Cano.    The 5-foot-10 combo guard has been an impact freshman on varsity this season for the Eagles the times I have seen Immanuel live, with the ability to space the floor from beyond the arc, is a solid perimeter defender, and makes timely plays when his team is in need. Cano had a solid showing for the Eagles in its win over Garces Memorial of Bakersfield, as he put up 9 points, connecting on a pair of threes in the process. Cano has good handles, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, and uses the pump-fake to attack lanes and get into the paint, with the ability to score through contact at the basket. Cano is a solid defender, stays in front of his opponent, has active hands to disrupt dribbling spaces, and will get on the floor to try and win the 50/50 ball. Cano is part of a trio of freshman that have earned quality time this season on varsity, which is a good sign for Immanuel moving forward the next few years, as it looks to rebuild the program back up to compete for a Section title.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard has the moves to create his own shots, the court awareness to find open teammates, is a threat from beyond the arc, and gets into his defender to draw fouls and trips to the line. Croney was really good in the game I watched of Highland in the first week of the season, and he had another stellar showing in the Scots win over Selma at the BCHS MLK Showcase, as he would drop 20 points with a balanced 10 per half to display his reliability as a scorer over the course of a game. Croney keeps the dribble alive to survey the court, uses the crossover, the between-cross, the toss-cross, and the hesitation moves 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 at the basket, with the reverse or Euro-step lay-ups in his arsenal, as well as the floater with touch. Croney is solid on the boards, looks to push the ball up the court, and has the court vision to make reads up the court, or the drive and kick pass to teammates moving off the ball to get open. Solid perimeter defender with active hands and good lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, deflects passes, and jumps passing lanes to turn defense to offense.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard can open up the court with the jumper, is active on the glass, plays bigger than his listed height in the paint, swarms the ball on defense, and makes plays with the ball in his hand from the top of the key, as well as from the low-blocks to teammates cutting off the ball. Curry was part of a tandem of four players that scored in double figures to help lead the Patriots in a win over Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo, as he would end up with 12 points, 6 points coming in the final quarter to help stretch the lead and prevent the Royals from making any type of comeback. Curry has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, and hesitation moves to create space from his defender, gets paint touches when attacking off the wing, has the strength to score through contact down the lane, and has a smooth pull-up mid-range jumper, which he can extend to the 3-point line. Versatile defender that has active hands and the footwork to stay in front of perimeter players, as well as the strength and physical style of play to hold up against bigger players in the post. Curry will be relied upon to be the elder statesmen for the playoffs and rest of league play.     The 6-foot-1 shooting guard can catch fire from beyond the arc, is active on the glass, and scores in volume. Dev had his best game that I have seen him play this year in the win over Mission Prep at the BCHS MLK Showcase, as he would heat up quickly and finish with a team-high 17 points, connecting on 5 threes. Dev hits the glass, releases the ball quickly to get up the court and spot up for the transition three, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch. Dev has enough handle to attack off the perimeter, uses his frame to score through traffic, and does a great job of opening up the court for his primary ball handlers to have lanes to attack. His 3-point shooting will be relied upon big time in the playoffs.     The 5-foot-10 combo guard plays with good pace and control, can score the ball from 3-levels, keeps relentless pressure on the defense looking to attack the paint. Esparza had a slow start to the game against Highland but got it going in the second half, as he would score 16 of his 19, which was a huge reason that the Bears were able to keep it close, but fell to the Scots 74-69. Esparza has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, between-cross, hesitation, and toss-cross to get his defender off balance, has the strength to score through contact when attacking the basket, and has a smooth pull-up middy off the dribble. Esparza is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, draws fouls routinely with his physical style of play, and scored 7 of his 19 from the free throw line. Esparza is a solid perimeter defender, can defend bigger players with his strength, and can turn defense to offense when locked-in on the defensive end.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard is an athletic and bouncy player that can score in volume, has the court awareness to make plays for his teammates, and excels in the open court where his natural abilities truly shine. Grayson had a decent start to the game but would catch fire in the second half, scoring 14 of his 18 points after intermission to help give his team the win over host Bakersfield Christian, 78 to 53. Grayson has shifty handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, and hesitation moves to get by his initial defender with a great burst of speed off the dribble, uses the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups to evade height in the paint, and is effective with the mid-range jumper and the floater down the lane. Grayson has solid court vision, is able to find the open teammates off the drive and kick pass, or out of the pick and roll action to the roller, and is a good rebounder to push the pace up the court. He moves well off the ball to get open looks and makes great use of the rip-through and attacks the paint to force the defense to react. Impressive guard that impacts both ends of the court and plays with a great motor.

Bakersfield, CA - Last Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, Bakersfield Christian hosted its inaugural MLK Showcase, which featured an 8-game format with 16 teams. The event featured some intriguing match-ups between Liberty and Mission Prep; Centennial and North Bakersfield; Frontier and Porterville; and the headline game between the host team BCHS and Mesa of Arizona, and its nationally ranked standout sophomore prospect Jakyi Miles Jakyi Miles 6'4" | PG Mesa | 2028 State #11 Nation AZ . In this article, I take a look at 6 guards that had standout performances at the Showcase. I will follow this article up looking at 6 more standout guards, as well as top wings and forwards. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, relevant statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed in the games I watched. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Tyson Cano.