Minutemen Nike Fall Varsity Shootout: Standout Juniors

Bakersfield, CA - This past Saturday and Sunday, September 19th - 20th, Liberty High School hosted the 2nd annual Minutemen Nike Fall Varsity Shootout; a two-day showcase that had teams from Fresno, Clovis, Arroyo Grande, Madera, Visalia, and Bakersfield. Some of the top teams and players from the Section were on display in some great Fall Hoops. This article takes a look at 8 standout juniors (regardless of position) that had strong showings at the Shootout. 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 one of the Section's top prospects, Jayden Bergman.    The 6-foot lead guard is coming off a great sophomore campaign that led to a league MVP, a league title, and a spot in the D3 Section title game, and he looks poised to make another run at the Section championship game, as the Cavs return all of its core from last year and has some great sophomore length and size on the roster that should add depth and skill to a team with high expectations this coming season. Bergman had a solid showing in the final game of the day against Fresno Christian, where the Cavs had a slow start given it was playing the second game in a back to back set-up, but Bergman and his teammates got hot in the second half, as Bergman finished with 11 points, connecting on a three ball to help his team to a win. Bergman has dynamic handles, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, the court vision to make great reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, cross court to open shooters, and up the court to get the ball ahead of the defense. Bergman has shifty moves to create shots off the bounce, using the crossover combos, hesitation, fade-away, and spin-move to get free from his opponent, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, using the euro-step, up-and-under, and floater down the lane to score among big men. Bergman has active hands on defense to cause deflections, jump passing lanes, and poke the ball out to get the ball out in the open court.     The 6-foot lead guard controls the flow of the offense, creates for others with good decision making, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Long had a solid showing a few weeks ago at an event I attended at Sanger West High School, and he played even better this past weekend in a hard fought game against Central Valley Christian, as he would go for 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Long has a strong handle on the ball, keeps the dribble alive to survey the floor, the moves to shake his defender, using the crossover combos, hesitation, spin-move, and fade-away to get open for the shot, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, is a creative scorer at the basket or uses his physical build to score through contact at the cup. Long has great court vision, finds open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, or up the court in transition, and moves well off the ball to connect on the 3-ball off the catch.     The 6-foot-5 forward/slasher is an athletic and physically gifted player, continues to develop his overall skill set as a perimeter threat, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Niles had a monster Summer with the Drillers and kept up that high level of play with two solid showings at the Showcase, going for 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals, followed by 13 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to defending D2 Section Champs, Clovis. Niles is a beast on the boards, gets points off the missed shot, limits opponents to single shot possessions, outlets the ball quickly to get up the court to score in transition, has a long wingspan, active hands, and great timing to alter/block shots in the paint, the strides to close out and contest perimeter shots, and deflect passes, or jump passing lanes to get out in transitions. Niles has enough handle to create off the bounce, uses his physical build to bully his way to the basket, is rapidly improving his jump shot, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, as well as moving off the ball to get open looks off the catch. Where Niles really impressed was his touch on finishes around the basket, using the up-and-under, reverse, and euro-step lay-ups to show the moves to evade shot blockers, which allows him to score through contact or by avoiding contact. Big junior season coming for Niles, as he will look to lead the team in rebounds and points.     The 6-foot-6 forward has the skill set to operate at the helm of the offense, can score the ball from 3-levels, and is accurate from beyond the arc to space the floor and open lanes to attack. Shaw played the point-forward for much of the two games I saw him play on Day 1 of the Shootout, and his court vision and awareness, combined with his height, allow him to find open teammates much easier than smaller ball handlers, and he had a great opening game against Bullard, going for 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals to show off his all around game, followed by an 11 point showing against last year's D2 Section Champs, Clovis. Shaw has a strong handle on the ball, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, has the court vision to make reads to players cutting off the ball, to open shooters off the drive and kick pass or the cross court pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, and up the court off the glass to hit teammates in stride for the transition finish. Shaw has the moves to shake his defender, using the crossover combos, spin-move, hesitation, and fadeaway to get space from his opponent, is accurate with the jumper off the bounce from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a crafty scorer around the basket with the euro-step, spin-move, up-and-under, and kiss off the glass from close range to score in the paint. Shaw has the wingspan and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, can close out to contest the perimeter shot, deflect entry passes, jumps passing lanes, and make good decisions with the ball in the open court.     The 6-foot-4 lead guard has been on a tear the last 6 months and he showed no signs of letting up with a stellar showing on Day 1 at the Shootout, leading his team over Bakersfield High, a team it took down in the D2 Section semifinals last season en route to a Section title. Smith had a game-high 19 points, earning several trips to the line with his shifty style of play drawing fouls at a high clip, and dished out 7 assists to highlight his play making and court awareness to make those around him better. Smith has elite handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense to find openings, has a plethora of moves to get free from his defender, using the crossover combos, step-back, fadeaway, hesitation, and spin-move to get open looks, is accurate with the jumper off the bounce, from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the floater, euro-step, up-and-under, and reverse lay-ups to evade shot-blockers. Smith has great court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, cross court to open shooters, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, or up the court off the glass, has active hands to deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, or alter shots on the wing, as well as in the paint, especially from the weak-side. There is a lot of hype around the junior lead guard and he has shown he is ready for the next wave of exposure.     The 6-foot-1 combo guard has the moves to create his own shots, the vision and awareness to get others involved, and the ability to score from 3-levels to keep the defense guessing. Smith has assumed the mantle of running the offense, as transfer RJ Shehee is currently lighting up the football field, and he showed that he has the skill set to play on or off the ball, with games of 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, followed by 8 points 8 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in his respective two games on Day 1 of the Shootout, displaying his ability to run the point and get others involved. Smith has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor with his head on a swivel at all times, has various moves to get his defender off balance, using the crossover combos, hesitation, step-back, fadeaway, and spin-move to get open looks off the bounce, has a smooth jumper with efficiency from then mid-range to the 3-point line with great body control while in the air, and a crafty scorer among height to evade shot blockers, using the up-and-under, floater, euro-step, and reverse lay-ups to score in tight windows. Smith is also an elite perimeter defender with active hands, great lateral footspeed, and timing to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out, as well as the bounce and timing to block and alter shots on the wing, as well as from the weak-side around the basket. Smith looked very poised and controlled running the point.     The 6-foot-1 shooting guard has shown he is highly capable of running the lead guard position and playing on the ball more often during the Fall portion of the season, as the Eagles primary point guard is balling on the football field, along with the shooting threat that Steinback presents making him a tough player to defend for opponents. Steinback had a strong showing in the Eagles second game against Clovis North on Day 1 of the Shootout, as he would finish with 8 points, connecting on a pair of threes, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists to show his ability to play on and off the ball. Steinback has solid handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, has the court vision and decision making to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to the diver out of the pick and roll action, cross court to open shooters, up the court off the glass, and moves fluidly off the ball, running off ball screens, sideline to sideline to get open, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch. Steinback has solid moves, using the crossover, between-cross, hesitation, wrap-behind, and push-toss to get by his initial defender, is accurate with the middy off the bounce, and is a crafty scorer among height in the paint.     The 6-foot-2 combo guard is an elite athlete, highly skilled, emerging as one of the top two-way players in the Section, and has been a great addition for Clovis, playing alongside [player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] and Damon Jackson Jr. Wilson had a strong showing in the Cougars second game against Bakersfield High, scoring 8 points, to go with his 3 steals and a block, showing his two-way impact. Wilson has active hands, elite bounce, lateral footspeed, and the timing to stay in front of his defender, deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, and poke the ball out, along with great bounce and instincts to block/alter shots on the perimeter and from the weakside around the cup, and moves well off the ball to get open looks from beyond the arc off the catch. Wilson has great moves to get space from his defender, using the crossover combos, hesitation, fadeaway, spin-move, and step-back moves to get open looks, gets lift on the jumper with great body control while in the air, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a crafty scorer around the basket, with the ability to rise up and throwdown with force.

Bakersfield, CA - This past Saturday and Sunday, September 19th - 20th, Liberty High School hosted the 2nd annual Minutemen Nike Fall Varsity Shootout; a two-day showcase that had teams from Fresno, Clovis, Arroyo Grande, Madera, Visalia, and Bakersfield. Some of the top teams and players from the Section were on display in some great Fall Hoops. This article takes a look at 8 standout juniors (regardless of position) that had strong showings at the Shootout. 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 one of the Section's top prospects, Jayden Bergman.