Section 7: Seven F/C Who Raised Their Stock

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MESA, Ariz. — Hundreds of high school basketball teams traveled to Arizona over the weekend to compete in one of the largest live viewing period events in the country. The annual Section 7 event, which has become a must-stop on the recruiting trail for hundreds of college coaches, featured many of California's top teams and prospects. In this piece we break down seven forwards and centers we saw who boosted their stock with their play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Dominick Fontenette | 2027 | Harvard-Westlake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fontenette will step into an important role for the Wolverines this season as coach David Rebibo seems to always have one reliable big man in his rotation. The 6-foot-8 center showed some promise at Section 7 with his energy and effort on both ends of the floor translating to timely offensive rebounds, solid screens and hard rolls and some gritty plays defensively and on the boards. Fontenette's size, length, activity and willingness to do the dirty work will earn him steady playing time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2750239' first='Eli' last='Simmons'] | 2028 | Heritage Christian</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second Simmons to come through Heritage Christian has some similarities to his older brother, Tae, who is heading into his sophomore season at San Diego State. The physical and athletic 6-foot-6 four man is a strong interior finisher through contact who can also explode and elevate off of two feet for above-the-rim finishes. Simmons looks to have some comfort as a ball handler and shooter on the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2435390' first='Ender' last='Berg'] | 2027 | Mater Dei</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berg is back at Mater Dei where he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons before moving to Legacy Christian for his junior year. The 6-foot-10 center looked comfortable in the Monarchs' system and provided them with a mobile and high motor big man who competes on both ends of the floor. Berg blocked six shots and altered more as a rim protecting presence, freed up guards with his ability to screen and roll hard to the front of the rim and his ability to simply play hard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='3617225' first='Ethan' last='Hill'] | 2028 | Brentwood</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slowly but surely, Hill is creeping onto the radar of college coaches as one of the more skilled forwards in California's 2028 class. The big-bodied 6-foot-6 rising junior has a high level of footwork, touch and back-to-the-basket feel on his post touches and a variety of go-to moves to get a bucket on the block. Hill used his size, strength and physicality to make his presence felt on the offensive and defensive glass where he averaged 10.3 boards and better than three offensive rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2436295' first='Godson' last='Eyita'] | 2027 | St. Joseph</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eyita was a beast on the glass all weekend long as he grabbed 44 total boards (11 per game) and 17 offensive boards (4.25 per game). The 6-foot-9, 215-plus pound center looked to be in good playing shape, pursued missed shots in and out of his area, ran the floor and screened with purpose and finished through contact around the rim. Eyita averaged a double-double on the weekend with 13.3 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2194707' first='Jordyn' last='Houston'] | 2027 | La Mirada</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Houston is your prototypical modern stretch four prospect and he had his off-catch three-point shooting ability on full display at Section 7. The 6-foot-6 forward buried 18 threes at a 60 percent clip, many of those coming in spot-up situations. Houston was also effective coming off of pin down screens where he got his feet set quickly and flowed seamlessly into his perimeter shot. The rising senior averaged 19 points per game on the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2949571' first='Rodney' last='Mukendi'] | 2027 | Crespi</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mukendi has made some big strides over the last year and has turned himself into a viable five-man with his combination of size, strength, physicality and defensive presence standing out as his biggest strengths. The 6-foot-9 center is a dirty work type of guy who generated second-chance opportunities with 10 offensive rebounds, battled opposing bigs in the lane and showed improved mobility as a ball screen defender. Mukendi put up solid numbers - 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds to help Crespi win its bracket championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->