Central Cali Hoops: Standout Guards of the Week

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 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. There will be a part two for the 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 Zach Arnold.    The 5-foot-11 lead guard has shifty moves, controls the pace of play, is an instinctive on-ball defender, and can score the ball from 3-levels, as well as make plays for others. Arnold had a stellar showing against Bakersfield Christian last Thursday evening, as he would display his ability to create for others, as well as his own scoring opportunities, going for 16 points connecting on a pair of threes, to go along with 4 assists. Arnold keeps the ball on a string to survey the court, has the moves to break down his defender, with the use of the crossover, behind-cross, between-cross, hesitation, and toss-cross to get his defender off balance, has a nice burst off the bounce to get by his initial defender, gets good lift on the mid-range jumper, as well as touch on the floater down the lane or from the baseline, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the Euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups in his arsenal. He moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch or the dribble. Arnold has great court vision and makes quality decisions with the ball in his hands, finds open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as finding his bigs in stride on dives off the pick and roll action, and pin-point cross court passes when the defense crowds one side of the floor. He has good lateral quickness, active hands to get into his opponents dribbling space, and has good timing to poke out the ball or jump passing lanes. One of the better lead guards I have seen over the Fall and preseason portions of the season, and a young lead guard to keep an eye on.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard was the one bright spot for the Rams in its loss to San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno in its annual Holy Cross game between the two Catholic schools, as he would score 10 points and connected on a pair of threes. Baldovinos has tight handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, hesitation, and the spin-move to create space from his defender, has a quick release on the jumper, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch, and is a crafty finisher over height in the paint, using the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups, along with the floater. Baldovinos has improved as a play maker, with good court vision to make reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, up the court off the glass to find teammates in transition, and has good body control when absorbing contact off the jumper or on shots around the basket. Baldovinos can catch fire quickly, and has been able to create scoring opportunities in every game I have seen the Rams play in this season, against their toughest competition at that.     The 5-foot-11 combo guard has shifty moves, a smooth jumper, is a solid perimeter defender, and can make plays when on the attack. Bolden, the Falcons leading scorer this season, showed his ability to score the ball in various ways for a team-high 14 points in a loss to Liberty of Bakersfield last Wednesday evening. Bolden has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, hunts the elbows or the short porch on the baseline to get to his pull-up mid-range jumper, which he connects on with frequency, and has good body control in the air through contact to still get his shot off, as well as score through contact around the basket to earn trips to the free throw line. Bolden has active hands, good lateral quickness, and looks to turn defense to offense to get out and score in transition, where he is able to use his speed and athleticism. His use of the behind-wrap crossover dribble into the pull-up middy was a shot he connected on a few times and is a difficult one to pull off with regularity.     The 5-foot-11 lead guard is an elite athlete with instincts, court awareness, and the skill set to impact both ends at a high level. Hanson has been the leading scorer for the Pats this season, but it was his defense and play making that stood out most against Independence of Bakersfield, as he would go for 6 points, 7 steals, and 5 assists and made life miserable for the Falcon guards. Hanson has great lateral quickness, the foot speed to stay in front of his opponent, has strong hands to rip the ball out, but also the timing to jump passing lanes, and alter perimeter shots with his quick bounce off the floor, and turns defense to offense at a high clip. Hanson makes good decisions with the ball in his hands, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has the accuracy and precision to make pin-point passes to teammates diving to the basket off the pick and roll action, as well as off the drive and kick pass off the dribble drive, and passes up the court off the glass. Hanson has a smooth stop and pop middy, is a creative scorer at the basket, and is effective beyond the arc.     The 5-foot-11 lead guard plays with relentless energy, controls the fast pace G-Hawks offense, is an underrated perimeter defender that has the instincts and timing to make high impact plays, and adapts to what the team needs him to do, whether it be score the ball or find the open teammate. Jimenez was dropping dimes in the win over Santa Paula last Friday, January 2nd at Centennial's gym, dishing out 10 assists to go along with 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Jimenez has solid handles, keeps the ball on a string and his head up at all times to see the court, makes timely decisions and throws some darts up the court or to teammates open when attacking off the dribble drive. Jimenez has a good burst off the perimeter, uses the crossover and hesitation to get his defender off balance, is effective with the pull-up middy, and is crafty scoring at the basket with the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups in his arsenal. Tough on-ball defender with good length and timing to defect passes, jump passing lanes, and alter shots on closeouts. Good positional rebounder that looks to get the ball up the court quickly to wings that leak out as soon as they see the ball secured. Jimenez had 8 points in a blowout win over Hanford the following day, January 3rd.     The 5-foot-8 point guard has a strong handle on the ball, sees the court well, doesn't get razzled, as was evident with how he handled the high tempo defense that Centennial of Bakersfield throws at opponents, and makes quality decisions with the ball in his hands. Ramirez made plays and found the hot hand all game with 8 assists, to go with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Ramirez has tight handles, quick use of the crossover and behind cross to create space from his defender, has a nice burst of speed to get by his initial defender, and has great vision and accuracy to find open teammates in the pocket to catch and shoot in rhythm, or the slip pass to teammates in the dunker spots to get easy looks at the basket. Ramirez has a solid frame and the strength to absorb contact and score through traffic down the lane, as well as pull-up for the mid-range jumper. Plays with poise and controls the flow of the offense and makes quality basketball plays.     The 5-foot-8 point guard has a strong handle on the ball, sees the court well, doesn't get razzled, as was evident with how he handled the high tempo defense that Centennial of Bakersfield throws at opponents, and makes quality decisions with the ball in his hands. Ramirez made plays and found the hot hand all game with 8 assists, to go with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Ramirez has tight handles, quick use of the crossover and behind cross to create space from his defender, has a nice burst of speed to get by his initial defender, and has great vision and accuracy to find open teammates in the pocket to catch and shoot in rhythm, or the slip pass to teammates in the dunker spots to get easy looks at the basket. Ramirez has a solid frame and the strength to absorb contact and score through traffic down the lane, as well as pull-up for the mid-range jumper. Plays with poise and controls the flow of the offense and makes quality basketball plays.

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 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. There will be a part two for the 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 Zach Arnold.