Central Cali's Standout Players: Bakersfield v. Centennial Game

Bakersfield, CA - This past Wednesday, I attended a South Yosemite League cross-league match-up between the Bakersfield Drillers and the Centennial Golden Hawks, which was a rematch of the Lloyd Williams Tournament championship game that saw the Drillers win 85-70. The Drillers came out firing on all cylinders and were up 29 to 17 after the first quarter. Bakersfield held a double-digit lead for most of the game until Centennial heated up and closed the gap to a 4-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Drillers would go on a run and ended the game with another double-digit win over the G-Hawks, 81-70 behind the stellar play of RJ Shehee and [player_tooltip player_id='2700921' first='Kade' last='Johnson']. In this article I look at 8 players that had standout showings by positions: guards, wings, and forwards. I discuss how they played in the game and their relevant statistics, which are my own personal statistics. I will follow this with standout players from the Bakersfield Christian v Bakersfield game I will be at this evening.   Bakersfield 81 Centennial 70   Guards:    RJ Shehee (5'9 | 2028) - Bakersfield    Shehee had his best offensive outing I have seen in person this season against the G-Hawks, and he came out of the gates swinging. Shehee would score 8 points in the opening quarter, connecting on a pair of threes to help the Drillers get out to a double-digit lead, 29-17. Shehee continued to stay aggressive looking to score the ball in the second quarter, adding 6 more points. Shehee would finish with 19 points and 6 assists, with 3 threes for the game, and displayed elite lead guard play as a scorer and play maker. Shehee had one of the best buckets I have seen all season in the fourth quarter, as he would go coast to coast, showcasing his elite handles, change of pace and direction while under control, and the body control to absorb contact and score at the rim against bigger opponents. He has dynamic handles, is the definition of keeping the ball on a string to survey the defense, exposes openings and holes in the defense to attack, has a quick burst off the bounce to get into the paint, uses the crossover, toss-cross, between-cross, hesitation, and behind-cross to get his defender off balance, gets great lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble. Shehee has great court vision, makes precise passes off the drive and kick pass, makes tight reads to the diver out of the pick and roll action, and finds teammates up the court in transition. High-level on-ball defender that gets into his opponents dribble space and turns defense to offense.   Kamren Owens (5'11 | 2026) - Bakersfield   Owens has been the floor spacer for the Drillers this season, but has emerged as more of a diverse scorer and solid on-ball defender that has been assigned to guard the other teams primary ball-handler. Owens would score 11 points in the Drillers win over Centennial of Bakersfield, to go along with 3 assists and one 3-ball. Owens has great foot-speed and active hands to deflect passes, poke the ball out, or jump passing lanes to generate steals, and has good court vision to make timely passes to teammates off the drive and kick pass or out of the pick and roll action. Owens has fluid off-ball movement to get to his shot spots, squares his shoulders up, and has a quick release on the jumper off the catch with range from beyond the arc.   [player_tooltip player_id='3069019' first='Drake' last='Jimenez'] (6' | 2028) - Centennial    Jimenez was in go mode from the jump and was looking to score the ball early and often, as he would score 9 points in the opening quarter. Jimenez would score a team-high 22 points and 5 assists in the loss to the Drillers, keeping relentless pressure on the defense each time he had the ball in his hands. Jimenez keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has a great burst off the bounce with the acceleration to blow by his initial defender to attack the basket, has the strength to score through contact down the lane, or the use of the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups to evade shot blockers in the paint, and is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble. Jimenez has great court vision, makes timely reads in the half-court setting to teammates cutting off the ball, as well as pin-point passes up the court in transition to players ahead of the defense. He is a good positional rebounder that allows him to push the pace of play, and is a tough perimeter defender that stays in front of his opponent and forces them into poor decisions and turnovers to get out in the open court.   Wing/Guards:   [player_tooltip player_id='2700921' first='Kade' last='Johnson'] (6'4 | 2026) - Bakersfield    Johnson has been one of the best scorers in the Section this season, and had a monster 35-point game against Centennial is the first meeting between these two teams in the Lloyd Williams title game. Johnson came into this one with the same energy and mindset, as he was looking to get to his shot spots and on the attack in transition, scoring a game-high 23 points and pulling down 5 rebounds in the Drillers 81 to 70 win. Johnson has a smooth flow to his game, has the moves to create space from his defender, with the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, and hesitation moves, gets great lift on the jumper with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, as well as crafty scoring the ball around the basket. Johnson alters shots on the perimeter, is a good weakside shot blocker, is active on the boards to push the ball up the court, and moves well off the ball to get open for shots off the catch. Johnson will be relied upon to put up quality numbers Friday against league rival Bakersfield Christian.   [player_tooltip player_id='3150628' first='Acen' last='Zuniga'] (6'2 | 2026) - Centennial    Zuniga had one of his best shooting games that I have seen in person this season, and hit some tough shots in key moments to help keep the G-Hawks close before Bakersfield got the lead back to double-digits midway through the 4th quarter. Zuniga had 15 points and 5 rebounds and Centennial will need him to put up these kinds of numbers and play with the scorer mentality he did in the loss to the Drillers, especially for the playoffs. Zuniga has solid handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, and the hesitation moves to create space from his defender, the lift to rise up and shoot over most perimeter defenders, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the strength to score through contact. Zuniga is at his best when he is looking to get to the pull-up jumper, which he can knock down off the spin-fadeaway, side-step, and has good body control to connect on the jumper through contact in the air. Zuniga is active on the glass, looks to push the pace of play in the open court, and can play on or off the ball effectively.   [player_tooltip player_id='2932172' first='Giovanni' last='Fomusoh'] (6'3 | 2027) - Centennial    Fomusoh has been one of the top scorers for Centennial this season in the games I have attended, but the G-Hawks got most of its scoring from Zuniga and Jimenez in this game. Despite not having a big scoring game, Fomusoh made his presence felt on the defensive end and the glass, as he would end up with 8 points and 7 rebounds. Fomusoh excels in the open court, runs the floor well to get ahead of the defense, makes himself available with good hands to receive passes up the court for transition points, and gets putback bullets off the offensive glass. His length and lateral quickness make him a tough on-ball defender that makes it difficult for opposing players to get by him and into the paint.   Wing/Forwards:   Keshawn Black (6'3 | 2026) - Bakersfield   Black had it going from various spots on the floor and battled on the glass in the win over Centennial of Bakersfield. Black made his impact felt on both ends, putting up a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, connecting on a pair of threes in the process. Black crashes the boards, uses his physical build to score through contact around the basket, limits the opposition to single shot possessions, and has active hands to deflect entry passes or jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense routinely. Black is effective with the jumper from the mid-range of the dribble, or with the 3-ball off the catch, as he moves well off the ball to get open looks. Black has good court vision, makes good reads from the top of the key, or from the low-block to teammates cutting off the ball.   Ryan Shaw (6'6 | 2028) - Centennial   Shaw has been one of the more impressive scorers and players overall this season in the Section, and he had another solid game despite not reaching his season average in points. Shaw had a near double-double with 9 points, 10 rebounds, along with 2 steals. Shaw hit some big shots in the 4th quarter to get the deficit down to 4 points for Centennial, but the Drillers got some key buckets to stretch the lead back to double-digits. Shaw has a smooth face-up jumper, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, has the handles and moves to create off the wing to attack open lanes off the dribble, and has the strength to score through contact around the basket. Shaw has been dominant on the glass, gets scoring opportunities off the glass, releases the ball off the defensive rebound, and outlets the ball to get up the court.

Bakersfield, CA - This past Wednesday, I attended a South Yosemite League cross-league match-up between the Bakersfield Drillers and the Centennial Golden Hawks, which was a rematch of the Lloyd Williams Tournament championship game that saw the Drillers win 85-70. The Drillers came out firing on all cylinders and were up 29 to 17 after the first quarter. Bakersfield held a double-digit lead for most of the game until Centennial heated up and closed the gap to a 4-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Drillers would go on a run and ended the game with another double-digit win over the G-Hawks, 81-70 behind the stellar play of RJ Shehee and Kade Johnson Kade Johnson CA-S . In this article I look at 8 players that had standout showings by positions: guards, wings, and forwards. I discuss how they played in the game and their relevant statistics, which are my own personal statistics. I will follow this with standout players from the Bakersfield Christian v Bakersfield game I will be at this evening.