Edison’s MLK Super Saturday Showcase: Standout Wing/Guards

Fresno, CA - Last Saturday, January 17th, I attended the annual Edison MLK Super Saturday Showcase, which featured 5 games, as the opening game between Mission Oak and Sunnyside was canceled due to the heavy fog that has blanketed Central Cali the past week or so. The 5 games were as follows: Sanger West v. Coalinga; McFarland v. Justin Garza; Fresno Christian v. Edison; Centennial v. Clovis; and Hoover v. McLane. I was in attendance for the first four games but had to hit the road before the final game of the showcase. In this article, I take a look at 8 players that had standout performances at the wing/guard position at the showcase. I will follow this article up looking at standout 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 Malachi Davis.    The 6-foot-3 wing/guard is athletic with a physical build, can play on the wing, as well as in the paint, and can score the ball in a variety of ways. Davis had a strong showing in the Cougars loss to Garza of Fresno, as he would score 24 points, pull down 8 rebounds, dish out 5 assists, and 3 blocks to show off his defensive prowess. Davis has solid handles, uses the crossover, between-cross, the hesitation and the spin-move to get space from his defender, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and has the Euro, and reverse lay-ups in his bag to score around height in the paint. Davis is a great positional rebounder, looks to push the ball up the court, gets put-back buckets off the glass, has the court vision to find open players off the drive and kick pass, as well as up the court in transition and out of the pick and roll action. Davis alters shots on the perimeter with the length and lateral quickness to close out on guards, the timing to block shots from the weak-side, and the active hands to deflect passes and jump passing lanes.     The 6-foot-3 wing/guard has the length and athleticism to impact both ends of the court at a high-level, excels in the open court, crashes the boards, and accumulates points quickly. Fomusoh had a slow start to the game, as the G-Hawks would fall behind early, but he got it going after halftime and scored 12 of his 16 points after the break, to go with 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Fomusoh has good footwork, lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players, active hands with a long wingspan to get into his opponents dribbling space, deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to generate steals and get out in transition. Fomusoh is active on the boards, gets plenty of scoring opportunities on put-backs on the offensive glass, and limits opponents to single shot possessions so his team can get out and run in transition. Fomusoh is effective from the mid-range off the bounce, makes good cuts off the ball to get open around the basket, and makes good reads up the court, as well as in the half court setting to teammates moving off the ball.     The 6-foot-4 wing/guard plays with a fluid pace and control with the ball in hand, is just as impactful playing off the ball, and has one of the deadliest jumpers when he is hunting that shot. Jackson was cooking early, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, connecting on 3 threes in the process, and pulling down 5 rebounds, which is an area I feel he could be a huge boost for the Cougars with the playoffs looming. Jackson has a solid handle, keeps the dribble alive to see what the defense is giving, with a nice burst of speed when he sees the opening, gets good lift on the jumper, with body control and accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and one of the best pure jumpers in the Section. Jackson is scrappy on the defensive end, with the wingspan and instincts to deflect passes, and turn defense to offense. A key factor in the success the Cougars will have in TRAC play and the playoff push, as the likely D2 Section top seed based on standings that have the most influence.     The 6-foot-4 elite mutli-sport athlete is a versatile defender, is active on the glass, runs the floor in the open court, and can score in bunches. Lewis-Burnley had one of his best games in Clovis' win over Centennial of Bakersfield, as he would end with a game-high 24 points and 5 steals, and seemed to make time plays each time the G-Hawks looked to close the gap. Lewis-Burnley has good footwork, lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, active hands and length to disrupt his opponents dribbling space, with the instincts to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, and poke the ball out to generate steals and get out in transition, where his can lean into his athletic attributes to turn defense to offense routinely. Lewis-Burnley moves well off the ball, uses the back-cuts to get open in the dunker spot, and is effective with the jumper off the catch. Lewis-Burnley has a good burst off speed off the bounce, crashes the glass to get the rebound and push the pace of play, and is a crafty scorer around the basket. Lewis-Burnley stepped up big when it was needed, as standout sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return to the court for the remainder of the game, and he played one of his best games in the absence of Smith.     The 6-foot-6 wing/guard plays with great poise and pace to control the flow of the game, can impact the game playing on or off the ball, spaces the floor from beyond the arc to open up driving lanes, and has the court vision to make plays from the top of the key or from the mid-post to teammates cutting off the ball, as was evident with his 4 assists. I have been hearing from the coaching staff, and seeing a lot of posts on social media, of how well Madec has been playing this season, and he was a key reason I attended Edison's MLK Showcase, and he did not disappoint one bit. The last time I saw Madec live was the Section title game in 2024, as he would go for 30 points to lead Kerman over Corcoran to win the D5 Section title. After a year at Watsonville, Madec, and younger brother George, transferred to Fresno Christian and he has been the driving force on why the Eagles have been able to rebuild so quickly after losing nearly all of its starting roster from last year's D4 Section title team, and it is currently predicted to be a top 3 seed in the D3 Section playoffs. Madec was in play-maker mode most of the first quarter, as he would make a few drive and kick passes for assists, as well as a behind the back, over the shoulder dime to a cutting Tycen Ramirez for the easy dunk to showcase his court vision and precision passing. Madec would start to heat up in the second quarter connecting on a pair of threes, to show his ability to move off the ball, get to his shot spots, and connect on the catch and shoot jumper. Madec has solid handles, the uses of the crossover, hesitation, spin-move, and between-cross moves to get his defender off balance, has the height and lift to shoot over most perimeter defenders, with the accuracy to connect on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, plays with good pace and change of direction when attacking to basket to get paint touches, and has the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups in his arsenal to evade rim protectors in the paint. Madec is active on the glass, has the handle to push the ball up the court, and seems to make quality, high-level basketball plays when the ball is in his hands. Strong showing that ended with 28 points in the Eagles win over host Edison of Fresno. Madec looks to be a top 10 senior in the Section for sure, and maybe regardless of class.     The 6-foot-3 wing/guard can space the floor with the 3-ball, has the court awareness to make plays for his teammates, is a solid perimeter defender with length to disrupt opposing guards, and has a high hoops IQ. The younger Madec brother showcased the versatility in his offensive skill-set, as he would go for 12 points, connecting on a 3-ball, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Madec has solid handles, the moves to create from the perimeter, with the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to create space from his defender, is effective with the middy off the bounce, and the creativity to score over height in the paint. Madec moves fluidly off the ball, gets to the open spot, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, and has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, or to bigs diving to the basket out of the pick and roll action. Madec has a long wingspan, good lateral footwork, and active hands to deflect passes or poke the ball out to get steals and push the ball in transition.     The 6-foot-3 combo guard can score the ball from 3-levels, is a versatile defender, stays active on the glass, and is a key reason that Sanger West is looking like it will be a top 3 seed in the D4 Section Playoffs, and likely will be able to avoid facing Fresno Christian, who will likely be in the D3 Section playoffs. Parks is a player that I saw live at one of our showcases at the start of his sophomore season, but this was my first viewing of him in the high school team format and he showed out, going for 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and one block in the Hornets blowout win over Coalinga. Parks has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, between-cross, and the hesitation to get his defender off balance when attacking off the wing, gets good lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble, and is a crafty scorer around the basket with the use of the Euro-step or reverse lay-ups, along with the strength to score through contact down the lane. Parks is active on the boards, which allows him to push the ball up the court, moves well off the ball to get open for the catch and shoot jumper, and has the strength and size to hold up against bigger players in the post, and the lateral quickness and active hands to turn defense to offense that generates transition buckets.     The 6-foot-2 wing/guard is a swiss army knife on the court, impacts the game playing on or off the ball, is active on the glass, and is a solid on-ball defender. The last time I saw the Guardians in person, Poulsen was out with an injury in a loss to Clovis West at the Clovis Elks Tournament. Poulsen showcased why his presence on the floor makes a huge difference for Garza, as he would end up with a great stat line of 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals to display his ability to leave his stamp on various parts of the game. Poulson crashes the glass, has the handle to push the ball off the glass, has the handles and moves to create his own shots off the dribble, as well as good off-ball movement to get to his shot spots for shots off the catch, and has the court vision to find teammates cutting off the ball or up the court in transition. Poulsen is a solid perimeter defender with good footwork and lateral movement to stay in front of his opponent, and the instincts to deflect passes or jump passing lanes.

Fresno, CA - Last Saturday, January 17th, I attended the annual Edison MLK Super Saturday Showcase, which featured 5 games, as the opening game between Mission Oak and Sunnyside was canceled due to the heavy fog that has blanketed Central Cali the past week or so. The 5 games were as follows: Sanger West v. Coalinga; McFarland v. Justin Garza; Fresno Christian v. Edison; Centennial v. Clovis; and Hoover v. McLane. I was in attendance for the first four games but had to hit the road before the final game of the showcase. In this article, I take a look at 8 players that had standout performances at the wing/guard position at the showcase. I will follow this article up looking at standout 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 Malachi Davis.