Central Cali Hoops: Standout Guards of the Week (Part 2)

Now that the tournament portion of the season, or the preseason, has come to an end and teams have started league play, with some non-league match-ups now occurring in one-day showcases or one-offs, I will focus on the top performers by position that I was able to see live. I will do this weekly, for the remainder of the regular season, starting with games over the week of January 2nd to January 10th. This article takes a look at 7 more standout guards that I was able to see in the 6 games I covered over that 8-day span, all of them stand alone games. This is the second of a 2-part article on standout guards, followed by standout wing/guards 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 Moses Curry.    The 6-foot-1 combo guard is a good positional rebounder, scores the ball effectively in the paint, has good court vision to make plays up the court or in the half court setting, and is a versatile defender. Curry had a strong showing against Independence of Bakersfield, as he would go for 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals in the win. Curry has solid handles, uses the crossover and behind-cross to create off the dribble, has the strength to score through contact on shots around the basket, and is accurate with the mid-range jumper. Curry has good court vision, makes quality reads from the top of the key to teammates cutting off, as well as off the drive and kick pass and up the court off the defensive rebound. Curry can space the floor with the 3-ball, is a solid on-ball defender that gets into his opponents dribbling space, has active hands to create steals, and has the strength to hold up against bigger players, as the Patriots do not have a lot of size in their core rotation.     The 6-foot-2 combo guard has tight handles, is a true 3-level scorer, is becoming a more polished play maker, and can fire shots from beyond the arc with range. Schalk had his full skill set on display against Garces Memorial of Bakersfield in a lopsided victory, going for 12 points and a pair of threes, along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Schalk has a smooth handle on the ball, keeps it on a string to survey the floor, uses the crossover, behind-cross, hesitation, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, gets good lift on the jumper with accuracy on the mid-range to the 3-point line, has touch on the floater, and is creative scoring around the basket with use of the Euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups in his arsenal. Schalk moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, has a quick but effective release on the jump shot, and is a volume scorer from the 3-point line off the dribble or the catch. What impressed me most was his decision making with the ball in his hand at the point, showing the court vision and precision passing to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as hitting teammates in stride diving to the basket out of the pick and roll action. Schalk has improved his on-ball defense, with quicker foot speed and lateral movement, as well as the instincts to jump passing lanes or poke the ball out.     The 5-foot-9 lead guard has dynamic handles, is a high-level on-ball defender, has great court vision, and controls the pace of play with the ball in his hands. Shehee put his stamp on the game against South Bakersfield early, making plays and disrupting the opposing guards trying to get things going for the Spartans, and would end the game with 8 assists and 3 steals, to go along with 4 points. Shehee keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, keeps his head on a swivel to find openings to expose, has the precision to make tough reads in tight windows to teammates cutting off the ball, finds his bigs on dives to the basket off the pick and roll action, hits players in stride up the court for easy transition buckets, and with his ability to breakdown and get by his initial defender, he is able to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass. Shehee has a great burst off speed off the bounce, has touch on the floater down the lane, is effective with the jumper off the dribble, and is a crafty scorer over height in the paint. Shehee has great lateral movement, the foot speed to stay in front of opposing perimeter players, and active and quick hands to poke the ball out or deflect passes to get out in transition. Shehee may be relied upon to score the ball more as the season progresses and the playoffs arrive to make the Drillers a tougher team to defend as a likely top 4 seed in the D2 playoffs.     The 6-foot-2 combo guard impacts the game playing on or off the ball, can score the ball from 3-levels, is an underrated defender, and can score in volume. Wiley, similar to the entire Patriots squad, had a relatively slow start to the game, but got it going in the second half, scoring 16 of his game-high 24 points and connecting on a pair of threes in the fourth quarter to help Liberty pull away from Independence down the stretch. Wiley has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the court, has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as up the court off the defensive glass, given that he is a good positional rebounder. Wiley uses the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, and toss-cross to create space from his defender, moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch, as well as a creative scorer around the basket with the ability to absorb and score through contact. What impressed me most was his ability to recognize that the team was struggling to score the ball and he took the initiative, scoring the ball from all 3-levels and snagging 3 steals in the process to display his ability to be an effective perimeter defender.     The 6-foot-2 lead guard controls the pace of play, has a smooth pull-up jumper, is a good positional rebounder, and can make plays for others or create his own scoring opportunities. Willis was the one bright spot for the Spartans in a loss to the Drillers of Bakersfield High, as he would score a game-high 16 points and 6 rebounds. Willis has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the defense, has the height at the lead guard spot to make pin-point passes in tight windows from the top of the key, as well as the moves to create off the dribble to get into the paint and find open teammates off the drive and kick pass. Willis uses the between-cross, crossover, behind-cross, and toss-cross to get by his initial defender, is deadly with the pull-up middy from various spots on the floor, and is effective with the 3-ball off the bounce. Willis is a good rebounder, which allows him to push the pace of play in the open court, as well as a creative scorer around the basket with the reverse and Euro-step lay-ups to score over height. Willis will be relied upon to score the ball in its rivalry match-up with North Bakersfield this coming Thursday.     The 5-foot-11 shooting guard is lethal from beyond the arc, can score in volume, and has range with the 3-ball. Valdovinos was scorching hot against Centennial of Bakersfield in a one-off game at the G-Hawks Nest, connecting on 7 threes in the first half and ended with a game-high 23 points. Valdovinos has great off ball movement, gets to his shot spots, has a quick release on the perimeter shot, and can fill it up quickly from beyond the arc. Valdovinos has solid handles, uses the crossover and between-cross to create space from his defender, and is effective with the jumper off the dribble, from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Intriguing sophomore guard that put on an impressive display of 3-point shooting.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard crashes the boards, can score the ball from various spots on the floor, is a versatile defender, and has been a consistent scorer for Centennial this season. Zuniga had two solid showings against Santa Paula and Hanford, as he would go for 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals, followed by 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals respectively. Zuniga has great lateral quickness, the foot speed to stay in front of perimeter players, active hands and the instincts to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense, and alters shots with his length and quick close-outs on shooters. Zuniga has solid handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, spin-move, and hesitation to get his defender off balance, is effective on the mid-range jumper, has the body control to connect on the fade-away jump shot off the bounce. Zuniga is a crafty scorer around the basket, has touch on the floater, and has the strength to score through contact when attacking down the lane. The senior guard has been heavily relied upon to be the elder statesman on this young Centennial squad.

Now that the tournament portion of the season, or the preseason, has come to an end and teams have started league play, with some non-league match-ups now occurring in one-day showcases or one-offs, I will focus on the top performers by position that I was able to see live. I will do this weekly, for the remainder of the regular season, starting with games over the week of January 2nd to January 10th. This article takes a look at 7 more standout guards that I was able to see in the 6 games I covered over that 8-day span, all of them stand alone games. This is the second of a 2-part article on standout guards, followed by standout wing/guards 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 Moses Curry.