Central Cali's Standout Players: Division 1 Play-in Game

Central, CA - Last night, Friday, February 13th, I attended the play-in game for the Central Section Division 1 playoffs. The D1 playoffs have 9 teams in the mix, with the #8 seeded Centennial Golden Hawks taking on #9 seeded Clovis East Timberwolves in a play-in game to see who would travel to Santa Maria to take on the top seeded, and nationally ranked St. Joseph Knights. The stakes were high in this game, as the winner would get an automatic bid to the state regional playoffs, starting after the Section playoffs ends the final weekend of February. The first quarter was a low scoring affair, as both teams would struggle to score and find a rhythm, leaving Centennial up by two points, 10-8, going into the second quarter. Centennial would get a big boost in the second period from standout sophomore Ryan Shaw, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in that quarter, helping the G-Hawks build a 16 points lead going into the break, 36 to 20. Centennial would add to its lead in the early parts of the third quarter, up 42 to 23, before the T-Wolves would end the quarter on a 20 to 5 run, making it 47 to 43 heading into the final period of play. Making matters more difficult for the home team Centennial, Ryan Shaw would land awkwardly and would not return to the game with 6 minutes and 19 seconds left in the game. In the spirit of next man up mentality, Centennial's players would rally together, and despite the gap closing to a one-point lead with 3 minutes left in the game, 55-54, the G-Hawks would close the game on a 12-2 run to win it 67 to 56 and a spot in the state playoffs. 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.   Centennial Golden Hawks 67 Clovis East Timberwolves 56   Guards:   [player_tooltip player_id='3150628' first='Acen' last='Zuniga'] (6'1 | 2026) - Centennial    Zuniga has been one of the leading scorers this season for Centennial and he was hunting his shot early and often in the D1 play-in game against Clovis East. Zuniga was relentless in getting to his signature jumper that he can connect on with the traditional pull-up shot, as well as the spin-move and fade-away jumpers, showing off the body control and hang time needed to hit these shots routinely. Zuniga would finish with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals to help lead the G-Hawks to the win and a bid in the state regional's after the sectional playoffs conclude. Zuniga crashes the glass, has the handle to push the pace up the court, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots with accuracy on the 3-ball off the catch, and has active hands and instincts to get into his opponent's dribbling space to poke the ball out, along with the lateral foot-speed to stay in front of his man, deflect passes, or jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense. Zuniga will need to keep up his scoring efforts, as standout sophomore landed wrong and suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='3069019' first='Drake' last='Jimenez'] (6' | 2028) - Centennial    Drake has been the driving force at the lead guard spot for the G-Hawks this season, and has led the team in assists as a high-level play-maker. His court vision and quality decision making were on full display in the win over Clovis East, as he would dish out 8 assists in the victory, showing the ability to find teammates up the court in transition, as well as finding players off the drive and kick pass, or the skip pass to the opposite side of the court when the defense over pursues on one side of the court. Drake keeps the ball on a string, his head on a swivel, and is a lock-up on-ball defender, as well as help defender, that turns defense to offense with steals and passes up the court, as was evident with his 4 steals. Drake has good lateral quickness, active hands, and the timing to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes. Drake connected on four big free throws in the final quarter to help stretch the lead back to double-digits after the T-Wolves closed the gap to one point, at 55 to 54. Plays with relentless energy and competes on every play, and his scoring will have to go up if Ryan Shaw is sidelined for more than one game.   Derek Jimenez (6' | 2026) - Centennial    Derek missed the preseason due to a foot injury suffered during football, but was cleared and back on the court a few games into league play. Derek has always been a good shooter from beyond the arc, but has struggled to find the consistency needed to help Centennial space the floor. Derek only hit two threes in the win over Clovis East, but it was the timing of his 3-pointers that made them feel like more than 6 points. Derek connected on one three pointer in the 2nd quarter to help stretch the lead from two points to 16 points going into the break. After a huge 3rd and 5th quarter push from the T-Wolves, who pulled to within one point, 55 to 54, it was the Jimenez brothers that delivered a huge corner three that led to a 12-2 run to close out the game. Drake found his older brother Derek in the right corner locked and ready to shoot and delivered a dime that Derek shot with confidence and erupted the home crowd, which seemed to be the shot that took the heart of Clovis East, who only scored 2 points the final 3 minutes of the game. Derek moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, has the court vision and decision making to set the offense up, as well as push the ball up the court to get into transition offense.    Elijah Banuelos (6'1 | 2028) - Clovis East   Banuelos had a slow start in the first quarter, going scoreless, but got it going in the 2nd quarter. Banuelos would have a huge 8 point third quarter to help his team pull within four points to end the 3rd frame, 47 to 43. Banuelos would finish with 16 points and 6 rebounds to lead Clovis East in its loss to Centennial and an end to the season. Banuelos crashes the boards, is a great positional rebounder, has the strength to muscle through contact and score at the basket, as well as a smooth mid-range jumper. Banuelos moves well off the ball, gets to the open spot on the perimeter, or around the basket in the dunker spot, and displays great body control on some contorted shots. Banuelos is a nice piece for the T-Wolves to build around and will be a player to keep an eye on in the deep 2028 class.     Nicholas McClelland (5'9 | 2026) - Clovis East    McClelland had a strong start to the game, scoring five points in the opening quarter, which was more than the rest of his team combined, down 10-8 going into the second quarter. McClelland would connect on his 2nd three pointer in the second quarter but played more of the facilitator the remainder of the game, as he would add two huge free throws in the fourth quarter to help his team pull within one, 55 to 54, but that was as good as it would get for Clovis East, falling to Centennial 67 to 56. McClelland moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots in the corners or the wing to be ready for the catch and shoot 3-ball, and has the court vision to make plays when teams over-pursue on the closeout, as he can attack the open lanes off the pump fake or find open teammates off the drive and kick pass.   Wings:   [player_tooltip player_id='2932172' first='Giovanni' last='Fomusoh'] (6'3 | 2027) - Centennial   Fomusoh is one of the more versatile two-way players in the Section, and he displayed some tough shot-making off the jumper to show growth in his scoring arsenal to go with his great touch on shots around the basket. Fomusoh had a slow start scoring the ball, as the first half would be dominated by sophomore Ryan Shaw, who had a stellar second quarter. Fomusoh would heat up in the second half, and in particular the fourth quarter, with some timely buckets after Shaw went down with his injury. Fomusoh would score 10 of his 12 points after intermission and had a few key buckets in the final minutes of the game to help extend the lead back to double-digits and a win by the Golden Hawks. Fomusoh uses his length and athleticism to stay active on the glass, moves off the ball nicely to the dunker spot, or the middle of the key to get open  for drop off passes or timely offensive rebounds that lead to ebay buckets. Fomusoh excels in the open court, running the lanes, and getting ahead of the defense for transition buckets. Fomusoh can defend in the paint with his length and durable build to hold up against bigger players, the lateral quickness and active hands to stay in front of perimeter players, gets deflections or steals to get the ball out in the open court, had showed good body control and lift on the mid-range jumper off the bounce that he connected on a few times to force his defender to close out, opening up the paint.    Lydell Farmer (6'4 | 2026) - Clovis East   Farmer had been a staple in the Clovis East program before he decided to transfer to Phoenix Prep before the start of the school year. Despite the move, Farmer returned to the Section and was cleared to play the second half of the season. Farmer made his biggest impact on the glass, as well as altering or deflecting shots around the basket, as well as closeouts on perimeter players with his length and strides. Farmer would end up with 7 rebounds in the game, with the handle to push the ball, or make the outlet pass and get up the court, as well as get put-back baskets off the offensive glass. Farmer did hit a big three pointer and a pair of free throws in the final period to add to his overall total of 8 points for the game. Farmer has good court vision to make reads from the high-post or from the low-block to cutting players, which was evident with his 4 assists in the loss to Centennial. Farmer has the handles and moves to create off the perimeter, and will be a player that JUCO coaches take a hard look at with his upside and ideal frame for the next level of play.    Forwards:   Ryan Shaw (6'6 | 2028) - Centennial    Shaw has led the charge for the G-Hawks this season, and that is exactly what he did for three quarters of the game against Clovis East, scoring a game-high 21 points to go with 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Shaw connected on a pair of threes in the second quarter, where he would erupt for 15 of his 21 points and lead the charge that had Centennial up 36 to 20 at the half. As Clovis East battled back in the 3rd and fourth quarters, at the 6:19 mark in the fourth quarter, Shaw went down with an ankle injury that would sideline him for the rest of the game. Knowing the impact he has had on the team's success this season, it appeared that Centennial might be in for a tough way to end the season. But Shaw's teammates rallied behind their top scorer and rebounder's injury and extended the lead back to a double-digit win. Shaw has a smooth stroke from the 3-point line off the catch, has limitless range from beyond the arc, and the handle to attack from the wing or the top of the key to get to the basket. He is dominant on the glass, has nice touch and feel around the basket, and can absorb contact and score through physical play in the paint. Hopefully Shaw will be back by the time state playoffs begin, but either way he has had one of the best seasons of any sophomore in the Section.

Central, CA - Last night, Friday, February 13th, I attended the play-in game for the Central Section Division 1 playoffs. The D1 playoffs have 9 teams in the mix, with the #8 seeded Centennial Golden Hawks taking on #9 seeded Clovis East Timberwolves in a play-in game to see who would travel to Santa Maria to take on the top seeded, and nationally ranked St. Joseph Knights. The stakes were high in this game, as the winner would get an automatic bid to the state regional playoffs, starting after the Section playoffs ends the final weekend of February. The first quarter was a low scoring affair, as both teams would struggle to score and find a rhythm, leaving Centennial up by two points, 10-8, going into the second quarter. Centennial would get a big boost in the second period from standout sophomore Ryan Shaw, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in that quarter, helping the G-Hawks build a 16 points lead going into the break, 36 to 20. Centennial would add to its lead in the early parts of the third quarter, up 42 to 23, before the T-Wolves would end the quarter on a 20 to 5 run, making it 47 to 43 heading into the final period of play. Making matters more difficult for the home team Centennial, Ryan Shaw would land awkwardly and would not return to the game with 6 minutes and 19 seconds left in the game. In the spirit of next man up mentality, Centennial's players would rally together, and despite the gap closing to a one-point lead with 3 minutes left in the game, 55-54, the G-Hawks would close the game on a 12-2 run to win it 67 to 56 and a spot in the state playoffs. 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.