Hoop Nation Labor Day Classic: 10 Standout Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fresno, CA - This past Saturday, September 5th, I attended the 7th Annual Labor Day Weekend Classic, which featured a high school division as we have entered the Fall portion of the high school basketball calendar. The event was held at the new and gorgeous Sanger West gymnasium, which was part of the reason I attended this event, and it lived up to the hype as the best new gym in the Section. I was only there for Saturday's games, but the event spanned both Saturday and Sunday. This article takes a look at 10 standout performers from Saturday's play, with a mixture of class and position. 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 Jonathan Contreras. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jonathan Contreras (5'10 | 2029) -&nbsp; Justin Garza Guardians (Fresno)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-10 shooting guard can catch fire from beyond the arc quickly to score in volume, has the moves to create his own shots, and will be a welcomed addition to go with sharp shooter Carter Cabiero to open up the court with both able to connect at a high clip. Contreras was at Central East for his freshman season, but made the move to Garza and showed he will be an impact player, especially with junior Josiah Wilson transferring to Clovis, and a player that can fill some of the points missing from Wilson this season. Contreras moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots by running off screens and constantly moving to keep his defender chasing, squares his body up nicely, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch with range. Contreras has a tight handle on the ball, uses various moves to get space from is defender, with the crossover, wrap-behind, hesitation, step-back, and between-cross, uses his physical build to get into his defender when attacking off the dribble, creates space to get his mid-range jumper off over extended defenders, and is a crafty scorer at the basket, using the euro-step, up-and-under, and reverse lay-ups to evade shot blockers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aaron Gonzalez (6'4 | 2027) - Justin Garza Guardians (Fresno)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4 wing/slasher is lengthy and athletic, impacts both ends of the court at a high level, and had two solid showings on Saturday to highlight his versatility on the floor. Gonzales would go for 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in the Guardians first win, followed by a solid 9 points, 6 rebounds, and a block, which are close to the averages he needs to have this season to help his team get to a Section title in late February. Gonzalez has active hands, lateral footspeed, a large wingspan, and timing to alter/block shots in the paint, especially from the weakside, the strides to closeout on perimeter shooters, deflects entry passes, jumps passing lanes, and pokes the ball out to turn defense to offense. Gonzalez is active on the glass, gets points off the put-back, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has enough handle to push the ball up the court, or outlet to his ball handlers to get up the court for open shots in transition, good off-ball movement to get open on the back-door slash to the cup, diving down the lane to receive passes for shots at the basket, and keeps pressure on the defense, looking to attack the basket routinely, where he draws plenty of fouls and free throws. Gonzalez will be part of a senior heavy core that will have a chance to make a run in the D3 Section playoffs and a shot at winning its league.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cash Hertel (6'3 | 2028) - Fresno Christian Eagles</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-3 wing/guard is an athletic, lengthy, and skilled player that impacts both ends of the court, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and is an underrated defender that can guard the 1 through 3 positions effectively. Hertel had a team high 10 points, connecting on a 3-ball, to go along with 3 blocks, as he gave it his all in a loss to the defending D2 Section champs, Clovis High. Hertel has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, has the moves to break his defender down, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and fade-away jumper, with good body control and efficiency on the mid-range shot, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, using the euro-step, up-and -under, and reverse lay-ups to score over height. Hertel moves fluid off the ball, gets to his shot spots, is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch, has the wingspan, timing, and agility to deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, as well as block shots from the weakside in the paint, or on the perimeter jump shot.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Damon Jackson Jr. (6'5 | 2027) - Clovis Cougars</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4+ shooting guard has one of the purest jumpers in the Section, is a great positional rebounder, can defend multiple positions, and can create for others when the defense collapses on him. Jackson, in a lop-sided win over Fresno Christian, put up a great stat-line while playing about half the game, finishing with 17 points and 5 rebounds to lead all players in scoring in the Cougars win. Jackson has dynamic handles, shifty moves to keep his defender off balance, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, step-back, and fadeaway to create space from his opponent, is lethal with the middy off the bounce with great body control to absorb contact in the air and still connect on the shot, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, using the up-and-under, euro-step, and reverse lay-ups to evade shot-blockers, as well as raise up and throw it down attacking down the lane, which he displayed against Fresno Christian. Jackson has active hands, quick jumper, timing, and good on-court speed to alter/block shots around the basket or from the weakside, closeouts to alter perimeter shots, deflects passes, jumps passing lanes, and pokes the ball out to get out and run in the open court. Big senior campaign coming up.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Melkon Oganesyan (6'6 | 2027) - Justin Garza Guardians (Fresno)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-6 wing/forward has good length, agility, and impacts both ends of the court in the paint. Oganesyan had a strong showing in his first game on Saturday in his team's win, putting up an impressive double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Oganesyan is relentless crashing the boards, getting points off the put-back, limiting opponents to single shot possessions, has good timing and lateral quickness to deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, and outlets the ball quickly to get up the court to score in transition. Oganesyan seals his defender off on the screen, does a nice job of diving to the basket out of the pick and roll action, with good hands to catch and score at the basket, finds openings in the dunker spot to receive drop off passes for easy buckets at the cup, and hustles points without the team having to draw up plays for him to score.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AJ Pedro (5'8 | SG) - Clovis Cougars&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-8 shooting guard has active hands on defense, can spray shots from beyond the arc to space the floor, and will be a key factor for the Cougars this coming season, as the core trio of Smith, Jackson, and Wilson can all attack the basket and will leave players like Pedro open for catch and shoot looks routinely. Pedro moves fluidly off the ball, finds the open spot in the defense with constant movement, gets to his shot spots, and lights out from the 3-point line off the catch, where he can put up points quickly. Pedro has active hands, is a pesky on-ball defender, and looks to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes to get out in the open court and set up for the transition 3-ball. He would finish with 9 points, scoring all his points on 3 threes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Luke Poulsen (6'3 | 2027) - Justin Garza Guardians (Fresno) - featured in picture </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-3 lead guard is a skilled and athletic player that can create for others, as well as his own shots, and swarms the ball on the perimeter to force turnovers. With the recent transfer of Josiah Wilson to Clovis, the demand for a player to step up at the point was present and Poulsen really excelled running the team, as he would finish with games of 10 points and 5 assists, followed by 18 points 5 steals, and a block. Poulsen has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has great court vision to make precise reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, up the court off the glass, and cross court to open shooters on the perimeter. Poulsen has shifty moves, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and fadeaway to get space from his defender, is accurate with the mid-range jumper, is a creative scorer around the basket, using the euro-step and up-and-under lay-ups, and moves freely off the ball to get to his shot spots, where he is effective with the 3-ball off the catch. Poulsen has quick hands, lateral strides, and quick leaping ability to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, poke the ball out, and block/alter perimeter shots.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan Ruffin (6'5 | 2027) - Sanger West Hornets (Fresno)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-5 wing/forward has a physical build with the skill to operate from both the interior, as well as the perimeter, excels in the open court, and is relentless on the glass. Ruffin had to do the heavy lifting, as the Hornets were without their league MVP [player_tooltip player_id='3765541' first='Kharon' last='Parks'], and junior sharp shooter Aedan Norton, due to injury and football, and he showed he can carry the scoring load in a loss to Garza, where he would finish with a team-high 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks to showcase his two-way impact. Ruffin has good footwork, has the interior moves to score in tight spaces, using the spin-move, drop-step, up-and-under, and shoulder-fake to get by his defender, seals his opponent off well in the the pick and roll action to get open for catch and score opportunities, is effective with the mid-range jumper off the bounce or the catch, crashes the glass on both ends to get points off the put-back, and has the timing, wingspan, and agility to block shots in the paint, as well as stepping out to contest perimeter shots.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3764787' first='Bronx' last='Silveira'] (5'8 | 2028) - Buhach Colony Thunder (Atwater)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-8 lead guard was in his bag at the Hoop Nation Showcase, showing off the play-making, shot-making, and all around poise and control of pace with the ball in his hands. Silveira had a great showing against Garza of Fresno on Saturday, scoring a game-high 19 points, to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals. Silveira has elite handles, shifty moves to keep his defender off balance, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and step-back to get space from his opponent, is effective from the middy to 3-point line off the bounce, and is a crafty scorer around the cup, using the euro-step, up-and-under, and reverse lay-ups to evade shot blockers, as well as score through contact down the lane. Silveira has good court vision, makes good decisions with the ball in his hands, finds open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to his bigs on the dive out of the pick and roll action, and cross court to open shooters on the perimeter. He has active hands, good lateral movement, and timing to poke the ball out, deflect passes, or jump passing lanes to get out and score in transition.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] (6'4 | 2028) - Clovis Cougars&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4 lead guard has emerged as one of the more electric players in the Section and hottest prospects regardless of class after a great Summer with Clovis and Lakeshow 3SSB 17s, and he kept that level of play up in a win over Fresno Christian. Smith would finish with 14 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals to showcase his all around impact on both ends of the court. Smith has dynamic handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense for openings to attack, has the moves to create off the bounce, using the various crossover combos, hesitation, step-back, fadeaway, and spin-move to get space from his opponent, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble, is a creative scorer around the basket, using the floater, spin-move, up-and-under, and euro-step moves to score among height in the paint, and moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks for the 3-ball off the catch. Smith has great court vision and precise passing to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, finds the diver out of the pick and roll action, up the court off the glass, cross court to open shooters on the wing, has active hands, timing, and lateral footspeed to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to turn defense to offense routinely.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->