Cali Live 26′: 7 Standout Forwards/Centers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rocklin, CA - Last weekend, Friday, June 26th through Sunday, June 28th, Northern California played host to the 4th annual California Scholastic Live Tournament, which gives D1 college coaches a chance to sit court side and watch some of the top players on the West, if not nationally. The event featured 170+ teams that played the first two games in pool play, with Sunday serving as championship day, as the event paired the winners of competitively equivalent teams against each other. There were 44 pools in total, and the top 14 pools featured the top teams in the event. This article takes a look at 7 standout forward/centers from the event. Next I will cover standout guards and wings in the event. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, stats from the event, and a breakdown of their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with [player_tooltip player_id='3038323' first='Emmanuel' last='Ahamefule'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3038323' first='Emmanuel' last='Ahamefule'] (2027 | WF) - Riordan (San Francisco)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-9 forward is a superior athlete with great bounce and length to impact the paint on both ends, is an elite rim protector, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Ahamefule had a string showing at Cali Live as one of the top forward prospects at the event, displaying his ability to impact various aspects of the game at a high level, averaging 15 points per game, with a personal high of 26 points and 3 threes against St. Francis of La Canada. Ahamefule has a massive wingspan, great timing, and elite bounce to block/alter shots in the paint, on the chase down in transition, and on the perimeter with the close out extension, dominates the boards with touch on the put-back or the power dunk put-back, limits opponents to single shot opportunities, and has enough handles to push the ball off the glass, or outlet and use his long strides to get ahead of the defense for some big time dunks in the open court. Ahamefule has decent handles, solid moves, and great footwork in the paint to separate from his defender, has good body control on the spin-move, up-and-under, and euro-step moves when attacking the basket to score at the cup, and is efficient with the mid-range jumper off the bounce. Ahamefule is effective with the 3-ball off the catch to open up the court and pull bigger defenders away from the basket. His ability to use the pivot in the post and the patience to get open, combined with his size and length, make him a tough player to defend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2432574' first='Terrance' last='Byrd'] (2028 | WF) - Sandra Day O'Connor (Phoenix AZ)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-7 forward can score from 3-levels, has polished moves to create his own shots, and is a floor spacer to pull rim protectors out of the paint. Byrd has a sensational showing at Cali Live and displayed his ability to score in volume as one of the event's top bucket getters, putting up 25.5 points per game, with highs of 33 and 34 against Clovis and Vanden respectively. Byrd has great post-moves, the footwork and agility to get space from his defender in tight quarters, and has great touch on shots around the basket, using the spin-move, drop-step, up-and-under, and shoulder fake to get open looks, as well as the moves and handle to create off the perimeter, with the crossover, the hesitation, the fade-away, and the between-cross to get to his shot spots, where his is accurate with the mid-range jumper. Byrd moves well off the ball, gets to the open spot, is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, is active on the boards with the handle to push the ball up the court, and solid court vision to make reads from the top of the key or from the low-block to players cutting off the ball. Byrd has the physical build to muscle through contact and the skill to create separation, making it tough for defenders to know how to guard him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2629603' first='Djibi' last='Camara'] (2027 | PF) - Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-9 power forward is an elite rebounder, protects the rim at a high-level, and showed he can space the floor from beyond the arc. Camara had a strong showing for the Lions and held down the paint on both ends, averaging 14 points per game, with his personal best of 17 in a win over Bakersfield Christian. Camara uses his physical build and agility to seal his opponent off, quick leaping ability to tip the ball or go up and take it off the rim, gets points off put-backs with frequency, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the wingspan and timing to block and alter shots in the paint, and quick reflexes to deflect passes leading to steals for his guards. Camara has solid court vision from the high-post to find teammates cutting off the ball, makes himself available on post-ups or off the pick and roll action, and throws down some monster dunks to entertain the crowd.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ethan “EJ” Hill (2028 | PF) - Brentwood (Los Angeles)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-7 forward has good physical size and agility, a plethora of moves to create his own scoring opportunities, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Hill had one of the top overall performances at Cali Live, helping his team win the championship in the top bracket, and averaged 20 points per game with a high of 23 in a massive win over Salesian of Richmond, the reigning NorCal Open Division champs. Hill has nice footwork and moves to create space for shots in tight windows in the paint, using the drop-step, the spin-move, and up-and-under to evade shot blockers at the basket, as well as using his strong build to bully his way through contact on the finish or the floater down the lane, and is effective with the jumper from the mid-post to the 3-point line off the dribble. Hill is relentless on the boards, has touch on the put-backs, zips the ball up the court to open teammates, or finds open teammates from the top of the key, with enough handle to attack from that spot and get into the paint.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2951974' first='Jordan' last='Price'] (2029 | WF) - Oakland Tech&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-6 wing/forward has the skills to operate from the perimeter, the length and height to impact the post, and the awareness to make plays for open teammates. Price was one of the more intriguing rising sophomores I saw live at Cali Live, with a scoring high of 17 points in Oakland Tech's close out win against St. Francis of La Canada. Price has solid handles to survey the floor from the top of the key, the moves to create space from his defender off the dribble, using the crossover, hesitation, spin-move, and between-cross to get by opponent, gets good lift with the length to shoot over most defenders on the jumper, with efficiency from the mid-post face-up middy to the 3-point line, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, with euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot blockers. Price is active on the boards, gets points on put-backs, has the timing and wingspan to block/alter shots in the paint, with the lateral movement to close out on perimeter shooters, has the timing and instincts to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, and get out in the open court for the transition dunk.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chris Rupert (2027 | PF) - St. Bernard (Playa del Rey)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-10 power forward has nice post-moves to use his size and skill, is active on the glass, and can space the floor with the jumper to pull his defender out of the paint. Rupert displayed his interior skill set at Cali Live, showing his ability to score in a variety of ways within close proximity to the basket, scoring 11 points per game with a single-game high of 20 points against Del Oro of Loomis. Rupert crashes the boards with relentless energy, gets put-backs off the miss, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the wingspan and lengthy to deflect entry passes into the post, as well as the timing and instincts to alter/block shots around the basket, with the chase down block, as well as the pin from the weak-side, forcing opposing players to try and adjust last minute, which leads to bad shots or turnovers. Rupert has great moves, body control, and touch on shots around the basket, using the up-and-under, the euro-step, the spin-move, the hesitation, and the hook/floater, along with the strength to score through contact when being hacked around the cup. Rupert is effective with the face-up mid-range jumper, moves well to get open at the top of the key for the 3-ball off the catch, or makes tough reads from the top of the key. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2484296' first='Brendan' last='Williams'] (2028 | PF) - Moreau Catholic (Hayward) - featured in picture&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-10 forward/center has an athletic and agile frame, dominates the glass, is a high-level rim protector, and continues to develop into one of the fastest rising prospects on the West Coast. Williams was the consistent interior presence on both ends of the court, averaging 10 points per game, with its only losses coming at the hands of two of NorCal heavyweights in Riordan of San Francisco and Salesian of Richmond. Williams has a massive wingspan, great timing, and quick leaping ability to be an elite shot blocker in the paint, the lateral foot-speed to close out and deflect/alter perimeter shots, controls the boards on both ends, gets put-backs off the miss, often with a power dunk off the miss, limits opponents to single shot possessions, outlets the ball quickly to run the floor and get ahead of the defense for catch and score opportunities in transition, and deflects the ball on entry passes, which his guards snag for steals to get out and push the pace of play. Williams has good footwork in the post, the moves to create space from his defender in close quarters, uses the spin-move, drop-step, up-and-under, and the hook/floater over his defender to generate offense, and is effective with the mid-post face-up jumper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->