Nike Summer Showdown: 2028 Standout Players (Part 2)

Fresno, CA - This past weekend, Friday, May 29th through Sunday, May 31st, I attended the annual Clovis North Nike Summer Showdown, one of the top events to kick off the Summer high school portion of the calendar year. This event hosted some of the top teams from the Fresno/Clovis area, as well as squads from NorCal, which are formatted with Pool Play for the first two days, and bracket play on Sunday. This article takes a look at 10 standout rising juniors (class of 2028) prospects, which is Part 2 of a 2-part series looking at standout 2028s. That will be followed by a look at the top 2029 standouts from the event. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with David Hinton IV.   David Hinton IV (6'4 | CG) - Clovis West (Fresno CA)   The 6-foot-4 combo guard is a versatile perimeter player that can create for others, get his own shots up to score the ball, and can defend the 1 through 3 position effectively. Hinton has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has the moves to create space from his defender off the dribble, using the crossover, behind-cross, spin-move, and hesitation to get his defender off balance, moves fluid off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is accurate with the jumper, from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Hinton keeps constant pressure on the opposing defense, makes great use of the Euro-step move, scoring with the floater and the reverse lay-up once he clears his defender. Hinton has great body control on shots around the basket through contact, has active hands and good lateral footwork to stay on front of perimeter players, good instincts to jump passing lanes and deflect entry passes to get out in the open court, has good bounce and timing to get transition blocks off the chase down, and crashes the boards to get put-backs or push the ball up the court off the glass. Hinton plays with good pace and control with the ball in his hands, and will be a key factor for the Golden Eagles this Summer and next season.    [player_tooltip player_id='2953953' first='Keshawn' last='Langenfeld'] (6' | CG) - McLane (Fresno CA)   The 6-foot combo guard can score from 3-levels, has quick hands to cause chaos on opposing players, and can score in volume from beyond the arc. Langenfeld has shifty handles, the moves to create shots off the dribble, with the hesitation, crossover, and between-cross to get his opponent moving backward, has a good burst off the dribble to get into the paint, has great touch and body control on the floater down the lane or the pull-up mid-range jumper, moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, and can light it up from beyond the arc off the catch or the dribble. Langenfeld is a crafty scorer around the basket to evade height, using the reverse or up-and-under lay-ups, as well as the Euro-step into the finish. Langenfeld is a pesky on-ball defender that looks to get into his opponents dribbling space, quick hands to poke the ball out, and looks to push the tempo in transition. He will be relied upon to take a leap and score more this season, as the Highlanders graduated its top two scorers from the D4 Section title squad.     Ryze Niles (6'6 | PF) - Bakersfield (CA)   The 6-foot-6 forward is a beast on the boards, has the physical and athletic frame to be a high-level two-way player, and showed growth in his confidence and consistency from the perimeter. Niles has been known for his physical style of play that makes him a force in the paint, crashing the boards on both ends leading to put-back buckets and second shot opportunities off the offensive glass, and limiting opponents to single shot possessions, as well as using his timing and quick reaction time, combined with his length, to alter/block shots in the paint. What was most impressive about Niles' game last weekend at the Nike Summer Showdown was his shot-making ability from the perimeter. Niles connected on the mid-range jumper off the catch, as well as off the spin-move into the jumper, as well as showed range with the 3-ball off the catch. Niles is already one of the more intriguing rising juniors in the 2028 class and as he expands his scoring arsenal to include more variety on the perimeter shot, to go with an already well established interior game, and definitely a player to keep an eye on for a breakout junior campaign.    Ryan Shaw (6'6 | WF) - Bakersfield (CA)   The 6-foot-6 wing/forward has the skills to operate off the wing, the interior moves and footwork to operate in the paint, and is an underrated defender that uses his timing, instincts, and quick on-court thinking to make impactful plays. Shaw is a beast on the boards, gets timely put-backs off the miss, can initiate the transition offense off the defensive glass, with the court-vision to make reads up the court, has quick reflexes in the paint to block/alter shots around the basket, the agility to step out and contest perimeter shots, and has active hands to deflect entry passes or jump passing lanes to generate steals. Shaw gets to the open spot on the perimeter, squares his body up to get in the shooting position, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch to open up the floor and pull bigger players away from the key. Shaw has great court vision, makes timing reads from the top of the key, has the moves to create shots off the bounce, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and has the physical build to score through contact on shots around the basket.    [player_tooltip player_id='3357253' first='Tre' last='Simmons'] (6'4 | PG) - Lincoln (Stockton CA)   The 6-foot-4 lead guard plays with great pace and control of the game with the ball in his hands, is effective using his physical build or his elite skill set to make things happen on the offensive end, and sees things on the floor that most wouldn't even know to look for. Simmons has a strong and tight handle on the ball, has great moves to keep his defender off balance, using the crossover, spin-move, hesitation, wrap-behind, and the toss-cross to create space from his defender. Simmons has a good burst off the bounce and uses his physical build to bully his way into the paint, where he can make some elite passes off the drive and kick pass, to open players cutting off the ball, or he can muscle through contact to score at the basket, as well as use the reverse lay-up or Euro-step to evade shot-blockers at the basket. Simmons uses the rip through to get his defender on his hip, has good body control on the mid-range jumper, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch or the bounce. He has active hands, great instincts and timing, and quick feet to stay in front of his opponent, poke the ball out, jump passing lanes, or deflect passes to get out and run in transition. There has yet to be a time I have watched Simmons live over the past year plus, and the Nike Summer Showdown was no different.    Quillan Thompson (6'4 | WG) - Lincoln (Stockton CA)    The 6-foot-4 wing/guard can score in volume from beyond the arc, is a high-level slasher that can take flight off the wing or in the open court, and excels in the open court of play. Thompson has fluid off ball movement, gets to his shot spots, can light it up from the 3-point line off the catch, uses the pump-fake to get his defender off balance and attack the driving lanes, and is a creative finisher at the basket, using the up-and-under and reverse lay-ups to evade rim protectors. Thompson is active on the glass, is a versatile perimeter defender, and had one of the plays of the event at the Nike Summer Shoutout, as he took flight off the wing for the poster dunk. His shooting ability fits perfectly with the lead guard play of both Simmons and Beechler.    Olatunde Turner (6'5 | WF) - Frontier (Bakersfield CA)   The 6-foot-5 forward/slasher has a lengthy and wiry build, is active on the boards, and runs the floor well in the open court to get open. Turner will be a welcomed addition to the varsity squad this Summer and next season, as he adds height and length to operate in the paint, and plays well off the primary ball handlers. Turner moves well off the ball, gets to the open spots around the basket, finding the dunker spot in particular, makes himself available opposite the attacking perimeter player for easy drop passes for him to catch and finish. Turner crashes the boards, gets put-backs off the the missed shot, gets the ball out and gets up the court to be available ahead of the defense, and uses his length and wingspan to block/alter shots in the paint, deflect entry passes, or poke the ball out to initiate the transition game off the steal. Turner should be a nice fit for the Titans and will be a player that will produce numbers without anything being drawn up specifically for him.      Gabriel Venegas (6'4 | WF) - Bullard (Fresno CA)   The 6-foot-4 wing/forward showed promising shot making from the mid-range area, runs the floor well in the open court, and has nice touch around the basket. Venegas has a solid handle to create and attack from the top of the key, has touch on the floater down the lane, as well as the ability to get to the basket and score through contact or use the reverse lay-up to evade shot blockers. Where Venegas really showed he can impact the game with the mid-range shot, as he would connect on the spin-move into the jumper off the glass, followed by a smooth face-up jumper to pull his defender away from the basket. Venegas cuts nicely off the ball, slashes down the lane, has good hands to catch and score on the move, is active on the boards, and can alter shots in the paint, as well as on the perimeter with outstretched arms.    Cameron Walls (6'4 | CG) - Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento CA)   The 6-foot-4 combo guard is one of the premier wing defenders, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and can score the ball from 3-levels effectively. Walls is one of the best perimeter defenders on the West Coast, as he has active hands, great lateral movement to stay in front of opposing players, has the instincts and timing to poke the ball out, deflect entry passes, jumps passing lanes to generate steals and easy buckets, the court vision to find open players in transition or in the half court setting off the drive and kick pass, as well as off the pick and roll action. Walls has the handles and the moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover, behind-cross, hesitation, and the spin-move to separate from his opponent, has great touch and creativity on shot around the basket, with the Euro-step, reverse or up-and-under lay-ups, and is accurate with the jumper, from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Walls moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can fire from beyond the arc off the catch.

Fresno, CA - This past weekend, Friday, May 29th through Sunday, May 31st, I attended the annual Clovis North Nike Summer Showdown, one of the top events to kick off the Summer high school portion of the calendar year. This event hosted some of the top teams from the Fresno/Clovis area, as well as squads from NorCal, which are formatted with Pool Play for the first two days, and bracket play on Sunday. This article takes a look at 10 standout rising juniors (class of 2028) prospects, which is Part 2 of a 2-part series looking at standout 2028s. That will be followed by a look at the top 2029 standouts from the event. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with David Hinton IV.