CCP Preview Showcase: Standout Underclass Guards

Visalia, CA - Last Saturday, August 22nd, I hosted the 3rd Annual Central Cali Prospect Preview Showcase, an event we held in 2022 and 2023, but had focused more on the Next Up and Junior/Senior Showcases the past 3 years. This year presented the ideal opportunity to bring this event back, where players played one game against players from their graduation class, followed by a second game in one of the two all-star games, the Next 30 or Top 30 All-Star Games. The event was held at Central Valley Christian's gym in Visalia and brought players from Fresno, Tulare, Visalia, Madera, Santa Maria, Bakersfield, Delano, Hanford, Lemoore, Modesto, and Cal City. The level of basketball played at this showcase was some of the best team basketball I have seen at an event with this type of format. This article takes a look at 11 standout underclass guards (class of 2029 and 2030) that performed well at the event. In this article you will find the following information: the player's name, height, player position, current school they are attending, and the stats I kept from the event. We begin this article with a look at Max Ahlborn.    Ahlborn was one of the bright surprises of the Prospect Preview, as he would have a strong showing in his team's first game, scoring 14 points, connecting on a pair of threes, with one of those being the game winner in the overtime win to open up the Showcase, which earned him a spot in the Top 30 All-Star Game. Ahlborn has solid handles, the movies to create off the dribble, using the crossover, wrap-behind, hesitation, between-cross, and toss-cross to get space from his defender, moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, and has good body control when attacking the basket to score through contact. Ahlborn is a solid on-ball defender, has good timing and instincts to deflect passes or jump passing lanes, and lets it fly with confidence capable of scoring in bunches, which was on display down the stretch of the opening game, where he scored 8 points in the final 4 minutes of the game, including overtime, to boost his team to the win.      Butts came into the Prospect Preview as one of the better known incoming freshman in the Section, and I was able to see him with Sanger at the Fresno State Team Camp back in early June and he lived up to what I had been told about his game, which had me looking forward to seeing him at this Showcase. Butts did not disappoint and showcased his all around ability to impact the game, especially as a sharp shooter when he heats up. Butts had a solid showing in his opening game, finishing with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, which earned him a spot in the Top 30 All-Star Game, where he would connect on a pair of threes in the Top 30 Game to display his ability to space the floor. Butts keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has dynamic handles, the moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, fade-away, and step-back to get his defender off balance, long strides and a good burst off the bounce to get by his initial defender, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative scorer around the basket, with the euro-step, up-and-under, and reverse lay-ups, as well as the floater to score over height in the paint. Butts has great court vision, precise passing to hit teammates in stride, off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, and up the court off the defensive glass, as he is a great positional rebounder, has active hands and timing to deflect passes or jump passing lanes, and the agility to close out and alter perimeter shots.      Dhillon is an incoming freshman that I had heard about and was glad to see he was registered for the Prospect Preview, and he did not disappoint, as he would showcase his ability to create his own scoring opportunities, as well as make plays for others, finishing with an impressive stat-line of 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, landing him in the Top 30 All-Star Game. Dhillon has quality handles, the moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover combos, hesitation, and step-back to get open looks off the dribble, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch, and is a crafty scorer in the paint over height. Dhillon has good court vision, makes precise passes to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, up the court off the defensive glass, or cross court to open shooters. He has active hands on defense to disrupt passing lanes and dribbling spaces, as well as alter shots on the perimeter. Intriguing young prospect to keep an eye on the next few years.      Felix was another player that took the opportunity to showcase his strengths as a young prospect and he made it well known he can spray the long ball with accuracy, earning him a spot in the Top 30 All-Star Game, with a total of 17 points in his two games, connecting on 5 threes overall. Felix moves fluidly off the ball, using screens and constant movement, gets to his shot spots, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch. Felix has solid handles, moves to shake his defender and create space, accuracy on the 3-pointer off the dribble, and is creative on shots around the basket, using the euro-step and reverse lay-ups to evade shot blockers in the paint, and makes sound reads to open teammates when defenders collapse on him, forcing him to attack the open lanes.      Gridiron was another surprising incoming freshman, with elite athleticism and a relentless motor to impact both ends of the court, earning him a spot in the Top 30 All-Star Game, as one of the top rebounders at the Prospect Preview. Gridiron would collect 12 rebounds in total over his two games, 6 per game, as well as 6 points in the opening game of the event, using his athletic style of play to cause disruptions on the defensive end, with active hands and quick movement to jump passing lanes, deflect passes, and alter shots on the perimeter and turn defense to offense. Gridiron has a great burst off the dribble, uses the crossover and hesitation effectively to get by his defender, and is relentless on the boards, showing he is a really good positional rebounder already, which allows him to push the pace of play in the open court. Intriguing prospect to keep an eye on.      Johnson is coming off a successful freshman campaign that resulted in him playing a key role for the Panthers en route to the D2 State Title. Johnson played with Fresno Wildcats 15s that played on a few independent circuits, before a big month in June with the Panthers. Johnson came to the Prospect Preview looking to showcase his offensive skill development and shot creation capabilities, dropping 16 points to help his team get the win, as well as earning him a spot in the Top 30 All-Star Game, where he would put up 7 points. Johnson is known for his defensive prowess and lock-up on-ball perimeter defense, with active hands, timing, and lateral quickness to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out, along with altering shots on the perimeter, and even showed he can hold-up against taller players at the Showcase, using his lower body strength and quick hands to dislodge the ball out. His defense has been something I expect to see when Johnson is on the floor, but it was his offensive skills that stole the show for me in his opening game. Johnson has tightened up the handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense for openings to attack, uses the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and fade-away to get space from his defender, with a good burst off the bounce to get to his spots, gets good lift on the middy with body control in the air, is effective with the jumper, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, using the spin-move, euro-step, and reverse lay-ups to score over height, or bully his way to the cup through contact. Johnson moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch.      Lovett had a strong opening game in his team's loss to Team Knicks, as he put up 11 points, showing he can space the floor from beyond the arc, and leading his team in scoring, to go along with 5 rebounds. Lovett was a player I had no idea about prior to the Prospect Preview, but he made sure to take advantage of the opportunity and made his way into my top overall 40 players. Lovett has a solid handle on the ball, controls the pace of play with the ball in his hands, has shifty moves to shake his defender, using the crossover, wrap-behind, between-cross, and hesitation to get free from his initial defender, has a good burst off the bounce, is a crafty scorer around the basket, as well as the court vision and precise passing to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, up the court off the steal, to the driver out of the pick and roll action, and to players open in the dunker spot off the drop off pass. Lovett moves well off the ball, gets open looks off the catch, and is accurate with the 3-ball.      McIrvin was one of several Pats in attendance, and part of the young core Liberty is developing quickly, as he would showcase his ability to impact various parts of the game at the Prospect Preview. McIrvin is active on the boards, is a good positional rebounder, as was evident with his 10 boards in his two games, looks to push the ball up the court off the glass, has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, cross court to open shooters, or the drop off pass to open players in the dunker spot. McIrvin has solid moves to create off the dribble, is effective with the middy off the bounce, and is a crafty scorer around the basket. McIrvin is a swiss army knife that will be a key factor for the Pats the next few seasons, as he can do a bit of it all and is a plug and play type of player.      Parra had a great freshman campaign for the Scots, and established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the South Valley. Parra took full advantage of his opportunity at the Prospect Preview, as he would go for 9 points and 4 rebounds in his team's opening game and was named to the Next 30 All-Star Game, where he would catch fire in the second half of the Next 30 Game, scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points, earning him co-MVP honors. Parra has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, or cross court to open shooters when the defense over-commits, moves fluidly off the ball, through screens and from side to side, gets to his shot spots, and can catch fire from beyond the arc off the catch from deep. What I was most impressed by with Parra was his lead guard skills, handles, and moves to get his defender off balance, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and fadeaway to get space from his defender, and has great body control. A player to keep an eye on and will be a focal point for Highland this season.      Perez had a productive freshman campaign as a starter for Kingsburg, who made it to the D3 Section Semifinals, and will be suiting up for Bullard of Fresno after the move came at the end of June. Perez will be a key factor in filling in for the missing presence of four-year varsity starter Ja'Vance Coleman Jr., which Perez provides with the varsity experience at the lead guard position. Perez had his quality lead guard skills on display at the Prospect Preview, showcasing his dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, the moves to get his defender off balance, using the crossover combos, the hezzy, spin-move, and step-back to create space from his opponent, is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble, and is creative scoring the ball around the basket, using the euro-step or up-and-under lay-ups, as well as the floater down the lane or off the baseline. Perez has great court vision, makes precise passes in tight windows to open teammates, finding the open player off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, or cross court to open shooters when the defense over-rotates, moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch or in transition.       Ramos impressed with his handles and his poise for an incoming freshman, and will look to add depth behind junior Aedan Norton for the Hornets, who will be looking to get back to the Section title game. Ramos showed he can impact various aspects of the game with the ball in his hands, with games of 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, followed by 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the Next 30 All-Star Game. Ramos keeps the ball on a string, has the moves to shake his defender, the court vision to make plays to open teammates off the drive and kick, up the court in transition, or cross court to open shooters, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, is effective with the jumper off the catch, and is a creative scorer around the basket over height. Impressed with his handles, control of the flow of the game, and ability to weave through traffic to get open to make plays.

Visalia, CA - Last Saturday, August 22nd, I hosted the 3rd Annual Central Cali Prospect Preview Showcase, an event we held in 2022 and 2023, but had focused more on the Next Up and Junior/Senior Showcases the past 3 years. This year presented the ideal opportunity to bring this event back, where players played one game against players from their graduation class, followed by a second game in one of the two all-star games, the Next 30 or Top 30 All-Star Games. The event was held at Central Valley Christian's gym in Visalia and brought players from Fresno, Tulare, Visalia, Madera, Santa Maria, Bakersfield, Delano, Hanford, Lemoore, Modesto, and Cal City. The level of basketball played at this showcase was some of the best team basketball I have seen at an event with this type of format. This article takes a look at 11 standout underclass guards (class of 2029 and 2030) that performed well at the event. In this article you will find the following information: the player's name, height, player position, current school they are attending, and the stats I kept from the event. We begin this article with a look at Max Ahlborn.