5th Annual CVBT March Madness: Standout Underclassmen (Part 2)

Fresno, CA - This past Saturday, I attended the 5th Annual CVBT March Madness event, which featured teams in youth to high school divisions and was held at Hoover High School in Fresno. I was there to watch the HS Gold division only, but caught a few other games in the HS Silver division. This article takes a look at 6 more standout underclassmen from the tournament and includes the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, relevant statistics that I kept, how they played in the game, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Kendrick Leung.   2028 Kendrick Leung |6'3| WG (Redwood/Visalia CA)   Leung is a skilled and crafty player that can score from 3-levels, can play in the post, as well as from the perimeter, and is an opportunistic defender with versatility. The 6-foot-3 wing/guard displayed his high-level footwork in the mid-post area, crafty shot-making with a high degree of difficulty he makes look routine, crashed the boards on both ends, but is especially good on the defensive glass, with the handles to push the pace of play up the court. Leung has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, between-cross, spin-move, and the hesitation to create space from his defender, getting them off balance, uses his long strides and shifty movement to get by his initial defender, gets into the paint routinely, is a creative scorer around the basket, with the Euro-step, reverse, and spin-move into the lay-up to evade rim protectors, and is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble or catch. Leung is at his best when he is hunting the mid-range jumper, which he can connect on with variation, using the traditional pull-up middy, as well as the spin-fadeaway and up-and-under jumpers, with great body control to absorb and score through contact. The footwork in the mid-post areas is what allows him to work off the pivot, and the composure and patience to keep working his defender until he gets an opening makes him a tough player to defend. Leung has active hands and a lengthy wingspan to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to generate steals, runs the floor well in the open court, and has the court vision to make quality reads when the defense collapses on him. Leung is one of the true diamonds in the rough from the Central Section and will be making his debut in my 2028 player rankings, and will likely be a top 20 prospect.    2028 Josiah Perry |6'2| PG (Buchanan/Clovis CA)   Perry is an athletic and versatile player that can create his own scoring opportunities, as well as create for others, is an elite on-ball defender, and can space the floor with the 3-ball. The 6-foot-2 point guard had the play making and elite court vision on full display in the one game his team played last Saturday, as he was picked the defense apart for 7 assists in his team's overtime win. Perry has dynamic handles, shifty moves to create off the dribble, with the use of the crossover, between-cross, behind-cross, and the hesitation to get his defender off balance, gets great lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, great body control on the jumper with the ability to knock down the fade-away middy, is a creative scorer around the basket with the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups, and moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks for the catch and shoot 3-ball. Perry has active hands, great lateral quickness, and the instincts to poke the ball, deflect passes, and jump passing lanes to turn defense to offense, and the court vision and decision making to break the defense down, attacking off the perimeter to get into the lane, force the defense to collapse, and find open teammates in the dunker spot or cutting off the ball to get open on the wing.    2029 Dominic Rubio |5'10| SG (Bullard/Fresno CA)   Rubio is a sharp shooter that has ranged from beyond the, can score in volume, and does all the little things that impact winning, from getting into his opponent on defense to diving on the floor for the loose ball. The 5'10 shooting guard moves fluidly off the ball, uses off-ball screens to create space from his defender, gets to his shot spots, squares the shoulders up, and has a smooth stroke on the jumper, with accuracy on the 3-ball off the catch. Rubio has solid handles, attacks the lane off the pump-fake to get into the paint, showed good court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, and is a scrappy perimeter defender that gets into his opponent's dribbling space, with the quick hands to poke the ball out and turn defense to offense. The 3-ball was what stood out most and could be a huge weapon for the Knights next season, if he plays varsity.    2029 Larry Sain |6'4| WF (Hanford/CA)   Sain is a rangy and wiry player that alters shots in the paint, runs the floor well in the open court, and has touch on shots around the basket. The 6'foot-4 wing/forward keeps relentless pressure on the boards, gets second chance scoring opportunities on the put-back with soft tough around the basket, finds the open spots in the key, in particular the dunk spot, to receive entry passes to get open shots, and gets the ball out to run the floor in transition to get ahead of the defense. Sain showed improved handles to put the ball on the deck, attack from the top of the key, with the ability to finish through contact at the cup. Sain has the wingspan and length to alter shots at the basket, as well as the strides to step out and contest perimeter shots. Intriguing young prospect to keep an eye on the next few seasons.     2028 Craig Torrez |6'| CG (Kerman/CA)   Torrez is a physical and skilled player that can create his own shot, can put it in from 3-levels, and is a ball hawk on defense. The 6-foot combo guard had a strong showing in the game I watched him in this past Saturday, as he displayed tenacious defense, with active hands and the footwork to stay in front of his opponent, and the timing to jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense routinely in the second half of play. Torrez has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, uses his strength to drive the ball into the paint, with the ability to absorb contact on the finish en route to the basket, as well as being effective with the pull-up mid-range jumper off the bounce. He moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and is effective with the 3-ball off the catch. Could be a nice piece to put alongside Kerman's primary scorer and top play in [player_tooltip player_id='3566347' first='Von' last='Bibioff'].      2029 Kiyan Wharry |5'11| PG (Bullard/Fresno CA)   Wharry is a shifty and skilled player that has dynamic handles, length and agility to stay in front of his opponent, and the ability to space the floor from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-11 lead guard keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, uses various moves to create space from his defender, with the wide-crossover, wrap-around-cross, the toss-cross, the hesitation, and the between-cross moves to get open, is a crafty scorer around the basket, and he effective with the jumper, from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Wharry has the wiggle when attacking the basket to confuse his defender, changes direction seamlessly, and has the court vision to find teammates cutting off the ball with the drive and kick pass, or hitting the diver out of the pick and roll action. Active hands and lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, and the wingspan to alter shots on the wing.

Fresno, CA - This past Saturday, I attended the 5th Annual CVBT March Madness event, which featured teams in youth to high school divisions and was held at Hoover High School in Fresno. I was there to watch the HS Gold division only, but caught a few other games in the HS Silver division. This article takes a look at 6 more standout underclassmen from the tournament and includes the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, relevant statistics that I kept, how they played in the game, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Kendrick Leung.