Elite Spring Hoops Showcase: 7 Standout 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 takes a look at 7 standout guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 3-part series focused on the top 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 Tristan Beechler.   2028 Tristan Beechler 6'4|CG (Lincoln/Stockton) - Lakeshow 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-4 combo guard had his offensive arsenal on display, as well as improved on-ball defense, which led to several steals and easy points in the open court. Beechler has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, between-cross, hesitation, and behind-cross to create space from his defender, has great body control on the jumper off the bounce, with the traditional pull-up shot, as well as the fade-away and spin-fade middy in his repertoire, is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, plays with good pace and poise with the ball in hand to weave through the defense, has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as finding teammates up the floor, being able to control the glass and push the ball up the court. Beechler impressed most with his dunks in transition, showing off improved bounce, and his timing to jump passing lanes, as well as block shots from the weak-side in the paint. Big Spring and Summer are coming up for Beechler and he looks ready to catch the eyes of coaches and scouts on the 3SSB Circuit.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2440978' first='Ian' last='Desai'] 6'2|PG (Monte Vista/Danville) - Jaylen Wells Elite 17s P32    The 6-foot-2 point guard was in his bag on Day 2 of the Showcase, as he was able to create for others, as well as get his own shots, showing range from beyond the arc. Desai has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, uses the hesitation and change of pace to get his defender off balance and on his hip, has a good burst of speed off the dribble to attack the paint, and has the body control to score through contact down the lane. Desai showed accuracy with the 3-ball off the bounce, using the traditional pull-up 3-pointer, but also showed he can connect on the step-back jumper and off the catch. Desai has good court vision, keeps his head up to survey the floor, and finds the open players cutting off the ball.       2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2965467' first='Kyier' last='Fielding'] 5'11|PG (Inderkum/Sacramento) - NBBA Elite NorCal UA Rise 16s    The 5-foot-11 point guard has a tight handle on the ball, plays at a fast pace but under control in the open court to put pressure on the defense, has the court vision and decision making to find teammates up the court, or in the half-court setting, off the drive and kick pass., as well as the pick and roll action to make some tough reads in tight windows. Fielding has the moves to create space from his defender, uses the hesitation, crossover, and behind-cross to get open, is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble, has a burst of speed to get by his initial defender, and is a crafty scorer around height in the paint.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2212733' first='Siincere' last='Hudson'] 6'3|PG (Modesto Christian) - Lakeshow 3SSB 17s   The 6-foot-3 lead guard is a physically gifted athlete that has the skill set and IQ to impact both ends of the court at a high-level, which was on display all weekend at the Spring Hoops Showcase. Hudson has a strong handle on the ball, keeps it on a string to survey the court, uses the hesitation, crossover, between-cross, toss-cross, and behind-cross to get by his initial defender, uses his physical build to attack and create openings in the defense, has the body control to absorb and score through contact at the basket, and is effective with the pull-up mid-range jumper with good lift to shoot over taller defenders' outstretched arms. Hudson has a good burst of speed off the bounce, gets his defender on his hip, and looks to use the spin-move to separate from his opponent, and is a creative scorer around the basket, using the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups to evade shot-blockers. On the defensive end, Hudson is a ball-hawk on opposing ball handlers, with active hands, instincts, and lateral quickness to stay in his opponent's dribbling space, has strong hands to rip the ball from his opponent, and the timing to jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense routinely. Hudson has elite court vision and makes precise passes in tight windows in the half-court setting, as well as finding teammates up the court, as he is a good positional rebounder that can push the pace of play. He had several buckets this past weekend where Hudson showed his brute strength, being fouled by several players at once and still scouring through contract.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='3336906' first='Pierce' last='Iattoni'] 6'0|PG (San Ramon Valley/Danville) - Peninsula Gold 17s     The 6-foot point guard has sold handles, keeps his dribble alive to survey and probe the defense for openings, has the moves to create off the perimeter, using the crossover, hesitation, and spin-move to evade his defender, a good burst of speed to get into the paint, and the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as up the court to find players ahead of the defense in transition. Iattoni moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots on the perimeter, is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, uses off-ball screens and back-cuts to get open around the basket, and is a creative scorer around the cup with the up-and-under and reverse lay-ups to evade rim protectors and height in the paint. Plays with good pace and feel for the game, and makes quality basketball plays.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2137369' first='Asante' last='Johnson'] 6'2|CG (Salesian/Richmond) - Lakeshow 3SSB 17s    The 6-foot-2 combo guard impacts the game on both ends, plays to his strengths on offense, and is a high-level perimeter defender that gets into his opponent's dribbling space, leading to turnovers. Johnson is a good positional rebounder, looks to push the ball up the court, makes quality reads in transition to teammates running the floor, has active hands, lateral foot-speed, and the instincts to stay in front of his opponent, looks to poke the ball out, and the timing to jump passing lanes to deflect the ball or generate steals. Johnson moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, is effective with the pump-fake to get his defender off the ground, and uses the crossover, between cross, and hesitation moves to attack driving lanes, where he is crafty on shots at the basket to avoid rim protectors in the paint. Perfect fit for the Lakeshow 17s, as he can play on or off the ball and makes an impact.   2029 Quaran Johnson 5'11|PG (Granada/Livermore) - Lakeshow 3SSB 15s    The 5-foot-11 point guard has his handles and shifty moves on display at the Elite Hoops Showcase, as well as showing his impact on the defensive end. Johnson has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the court, reads the floor well to make timely passes off the drive and kick, out of the pick and roll action, or up the court in transition. Johnson has crafty moves to shake his defender and get into the teeth of the defense, with the crossover, wrap-behind, between-cross, and the hesitation moves to get by his initial defender, is able to score over size and length in the paint with the floater, as well as the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the bounce, which forces his defender to close out on the perimeter, giving him options to exploit the defense. Johnson plays with good pace and feel for the flow of the game, has a good burst of speed off the dribble, and keeps pressure on the defense.

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 takes a look at 7 standout guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 3-part series focused on the top 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 Tristan Beechler.