Elite Spring Hoops Showcase: 6 Standout C/W Guards (Part 1)

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 1 and takes a look at 6 standout combo/wing guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 2-part series focused on the top combo/wing guards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with [player_tooltip player_id='2889963' first='Brady' last='Bell'].   2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2889963' first='Brady' last='Bell'] 6”5|WG (De La Salle/Concord) - Infinite Black 17s    The 6-foot-5 wing/slasher had an impressive showing on Day 2 of the Showcase, as he showed efficiency from beyond the arc, is active on the glass, runs the floor well in transition, and fluid movement off the ball to get open looks from the perimeter, as well as cuts to the basket for easy catch and score opportunities. Bell crashes the boards, gets put-back chances off the offensive boards, and has enough handle to push the ball up the court off the glass, or find his guards and get up the court to be available for passes up the court. Bell uses the crossover to create space from his defender, uses his length and strides to get by his initial defender, the pump-fake to get his defender out of position, moves well off ball screens to get to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, getting good lift on the jumper to shoot over most perimeter defenders. Bell keeps constant pressure on the defense by continually moving off the ball, slashing through the defense to find openings in the defense, and uses his shooting accuracy to pull defenders away from the basket, opening up lanes for him to drive and attack.    2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2624927' first='Amare' last='Chandler'] 6'5|CG (Livermore) - Team Lillard 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-5 combo guard was one of the top prospects on display at the Showcase and he had outstanding showings in the two games I watched from start to finish, as well as catching a half of another game, displaying his elite athleticism and high-level two-way play, scoring the ball, facilitating, and turning defense to offense routinely for dazzling plays in the open court. Chandler has dynamic handles, the moves to shake his defender and create separation for open looks, using the crossover, spin-move, hesitation, between-cross, and wrap-behind to get to his shot spots, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, with the post-up into the drop-step jumper, as well as the traditional pull-up with elevation to shoot over his defender, and the 3-ball off the bounce with the step-back in his arsenal to separate from his opponent. Chandler moves fluidly off ball screens to get open looks from the perimeter, is efficient with the catch and shoot 3-ball, has the body control and creativity to score through contact or use the Euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot blockers in the paint. He has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, out of the pick and roll action, or up the court off the glass to advance the ball ahead of the defense. Chandler is an elite perimeter defender, using his length, wingspan, and instincts, combined with lateral quickness and active hands, to get timing steals jumping passing lanes, poking the ball out, or deflecting passes, as he stays in his opponent's dribbling space and glued to his man playing off the ball. He also showed the timing and bounce to block shots from the weakside, as well as alter perimeter shots on closeouts. Big Spring and Summer coming up for the talented sophomore, who should see his stock rise, and makes up a lethal back-court for Lillard's 16s alongside [player_tooltip player_id='2484218' first='Parks' last='Weaver'].    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2724586' first='Brady' last='Clugage'] 6'4|CG (Archbishop Mitty/San Jose) - Team Esface CP Elite 17   The 6-foot-4 combo guard was in his bag against the loaded roster of seniors, most already committed, for Untold Greatness 17s, and left his mark as a high-level perimeter shooter with moves to create his own offense. Clugage has a solid handle on the ball, keeps his dribble alive to survey the defense, uses the crossover, between-cross, and spin-move to create space from his defender, uses the hesitation to get his defender on his hop, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, with the traditional pull-up jumper, as well as the spin-fade middy in his arsenal, and has the body control and creativity to score at the basket through contact at the basket, with the reverse and Euro-step moves to evade shot blockers. 3-level scorer with shifty moves and confidence to control the pace of play.       2029 [player_tooltip player_id='2952326' first='Will' last='Farrington'] 6'7|WG (Campolindo/Moraga) - Team Lillard 3SSB 15s   The 6-foot-7 wing/slasher displayed his versatility on the court and his ability to impact various aspects of the game on the wing, as well as around the basket. Farrington is an elite athlete with length, size, and elite bounce, which he displayed in the open court with some monster transition dunks, as well as taking flight from the baseline for the power dunk off the lob in the half-court setting. Farrington crashes the boards, has nice touch on shots around the basket, has the wingspan and quick leaping ability to alter shots at the basket, as well as the strides to close out and contest perimeter shots, and is a solid off ball defender that jumbos passing lanes or pokes the ball out from the weakside, creating steals and easy transition buckets or dunks. Farrington has a clip from beyond the arc, moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots in the half-court or transition settings, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch or the side-step jumper. He runs the floor well and gets plenty of scoring opportunities in the open court.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2452902' first='Gabe' last='Halbrecht'] 6'3|WG (The Branson School/Ross) - Peninsula Gold 17    The 6-foot-3 wing/guard can space the floor from beyond the arc, can play on or off the ball, and is a versatile defender that can stay in front of perimeter players. Halbrecht has solid handles, plays with good pace and control when on the attack, uses the crossover and hesitation moves to create space from his defender, the long strides to get by his initial defender, with touch on shots or finishes around the basket, or the court vision to make reads off the drive and kick pass to open teammates. Halbrecht shined most with his perimeter shooting, especially his accuracy from the 3-point line off the catch, as he moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots.       2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2605708' first='Juelz' last='Richo'] 6'5|WG (Salesian/Richmond) - Team Lillard 3SSB 16s (#11)   The 6-foot-5 wing/guard had a strong showing on Day 2 in a win over Infinite Black 17s, as he displayed 3-level scoring ability, tough shot-making, and is active on the glass. Richo has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, has the physical build to get into the lane and score through contact at the basket, and gets good lift off the bounce to connect on the mid-range jumper with frequency. Richo crashes the boards, has touch on the put-back along with the floater down the lane, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, with accuracy on the 3-ball off the catch. Richo is effective in the open court, as well as the half-court setting, and will be a nice piece to fit along the rest of the talented Lillard 16s roster.

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 1 and takes a look at 6 standout combo/wing guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 2-part series focused on the top combo/wing guards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Brady Bell Brady Bell 6'4" | SF De La Salle | 2027 State CA-N .