Minutemen Varsity Summer Shootout: Day 2 Standout Guards (Part 2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bakersfield, CA - This past Sunday, I attended Day 2 of the inaugural Minutement Varsity Summer Shootout hosted by Liberty of Bakersfield High School. The event featured teams from various areas in the Central Section, as well as Weston Ranch of Stockton, with teams playing in a showcase game format. I was in attendance for the second day of the event, which featured the reigning Division 1 Section Champs in St. Joseph of Santa Maria and the D2 SoCal Regional Champs in Bakersfield Christian, both rosters loaded with talent. This article takes a look at 5 standout guards from the 2027 and 2028 classes, which is Part 2 of a 2-part series looking at standout guards. This will be followed with a look at the top wings and forwards from the event. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, their skill sets, and stats that I accumulated. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Eddie Ramey III.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 Eddie Ramey III (6'1 | PG) - South Bakersfield (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>THe 6-foot-1 lead guard controls the pace of play, is an outstanding perimeter defender, and can create shots for himself to impact the game playing on and off the ball. Ramey had a strong scoring outing in the Spartans win over Weston Ranch of Stockton, leading all scorers with 18 points and showing he can put the ball through the net from 3-levels. Ramey has a strong handle on the ball, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, uses the crossover, between-cross, hesitation, and spin-move to create space from his defender, has a physical build to absorb and score through contact in the paint, with the skill and touch to finish with the Euro-step, floater, or reverse lay-ups to evade rim protectors. Ramey gets good lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, moves fluid off the ball to get open looks off the catch from beyond the arc, has active hands, good lateral footspeed, and instincts to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to generate turnovers and get out in the open court. He is a good positional rebounder, looks to push the pace of play to find open teammates up the court, off the drive and kick pass, or out of the pick and roll action, showcasing his court vision and precise passing. Ramey will be called upon to carry more of the scoring load this Summer and next season, and he showed he has the game to take on that responsibility.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028 RJ Shehee (5'9 | PG) - Bakersfield Christian (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-9 lead guard has elite handles, plays with great pace and court awareness, and is a high-level two-way guard that impacts both ends of the court in a major way. Shehee is the new addition to the D2 SoCal Regional State Champs' roster, and his impact on his new team was evident in the two games he played on Sunday, going for 5 points and 8 assists in a win over St. Joe's, followed by 12 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals, connecting on a pair of threes, in a win over Weston Ranch, for a total of 16 assists over the two games. Shehee keeps the ball on a string, probes the defense to find openings to attack, uses the crossover, hesitation, toss-cross, between-cross, spin-move, and wrap-behind moves to shake his defender, has an elite burst off the bounce, and overall blazing on-court speed, top-tier court vision and precision passing, finds open teammates up the court, off the drive and kick pass, or out of the pick and roll action, hitting teammates in stride, as well as dropping some flashy no-look dimes that the defense doesn't see coming. Shehee has good body control and efficiency on the jumper off the bounce, from the mid-range to the 3-point line, has the shots to score over height in the paint, with the Euro-step, floater, reverse, or up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot-blockers. Shehee has active hands, great instincts, and timely reads to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out, where he can push the transition offense, with lateral footspeed and agility to lock-up on the ball and force opponents into bad decisions and turnovers. He will be a welcomed addition to the Section powerhouse and it was evident to see the flow of the offense was impacted by his confident point guard play.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028 Braylen Smith (6'1 | CG) - Bakersfield Christian (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>THe 6-foot-1 combo guard impacts the game playing on or off the ball, has shifty movement to keep his defender constantly guessing, and can score the ball from 3-levels. Smith displayed his high-level shot making, court awareness to make plays, and the locks to turn defense to offense routinely, as he would go for 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals in a win over St. Joe's, then 9 points and 2 steals in a win over Weston Ranch. Smith has dynamic handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has quick and elusive moves to keep his defender off balance, uses the crossover, in-and-out, behind-cross, hesitation, spin-move, and between-cross to create space from his defender, has great lift on the jumper, with body control and efficiency from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble. Smith is a tough shot-maker, capable of connecting on the fadeaway, spin-move, and step-back jumpers at a high clip, moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, good change of pace and direction with the ball in his hands, and the court vision to make reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass or out of the pick and roll action. Smith is a great on-ball defender, with quick hands, lateral quickness, and timing to deflect passes or get the steal to get out in transition and push the pace.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028 Troy Sandoval (5'8 | CG) - Liberty (Madera CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-8 shooting guard can score in volume, has shifty moves to get open, and can catch fire from beyond the arc. Sandoval displayed his sharp shooting from deep on Sunday, connecting on 3 threes and finishing with 14 points in a loss to Centennial of Bakersfield, followed by another stellar shooting performance in the final game of the event against Liberty of Bakersfield, the last game I did not keep stats. Sandoval has solid handles, shifty moves to create space from his defender, uses the crossover, step-back, spin-move, and hesitation to get open for shots off the dribble, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks, gets to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch. Sandoval has good body control when on the attack, has touch on the floater and up-and-under lay-ups, and showed to be effective with the jumper from the mid-range.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 Hudson Wiley (6'1 | CG) - Liberty (Bakersfield CA)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-1 combo guard can score the ball from 3-levels, has the court awareness to make plays for others, and can spray shots from the perimeter. Wiley had a solid showing in the final game of the event against Liberty of Madera, where he would showcase his ability to score in a variety of ways, but I did not keep stats for this game, so not sure of his official stat-line. Wiley has solid handles, the moves to create off the bounce, using the crossover, hesitation, between-cross, and spin-move to get space from his defender, is effective with the mid-range jumper through contact, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch or the dribble. Wiley is active on the glass, looks to push the ball up the court, has the court vision to find open teammates, and is a crafty scorer around the basket. Wiley will be tasked to step up his scoring this Summer and next season, with Bryce Hanson transferring to Garces.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->