Clovis North Nike Fall Shootout: Standout Senior Wing/Forwards

Fresno, CA - This past weekend, Saturday, October 3rd, and Sunday, October 4th, Clovis North hosted the Nike Fall Shootout, which featured teams from Fresno, Clovis, Bakersfield, Merced, Tracy, San Francisco, Folsom, Stockton, and Visalia in a Pool Play format on Day 1, followed by Bracket Play on Sunday. I was in attendance for both days and was able to cover a good amount of games before I headed out the gym Sunday early afternoon. This article takes a look at 8 standout senior wings and forwards from the class of 2027 that performed well at the Shootout, which will be followed by standout players from other positions and grad classes. 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    The 6-foot-2 wing/slasher is active around the basket, moves well off the ball to get open looks, and is active on the glass to secure and push up the court. Abapo had a strong showing on Day 1 to close out the varsity portion of the Shootout for the day, as he would go for 14 points and 8 rebounds in a close loss to Redwood of Visalia. Abapo moves well off the ball, slices through the defense to find openings in the defense, makes himself available for catch and scoring opportunities, either around the basket or in the mid-range area, has solid handles and moves to attack off the wing to get by his defender, and crashes the boards on both ends, getting points off missed shots or limiting the opponent to single shot possessions. The senior will be relied upon to lead the young Mustang squad.      The 6-foot-2 wing/slasher has a diverse skill set, can play in the post, as well as operate from the perimeter, and runs the floor well in transition to get ahead of the defense. Cardenas showed his ability to impact various aspects of the game in a big win over El Capitan of Merced, as he would finish with 10 points. 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Cardenas has good footwork in the paint, solid moves to get space from his defender to score in tight windows around the basket, makes quick cuts and slices off the ball to find openings in the defense, has good hands to receive passes from teammates on the attack, and has nice touch on finishes close to the basket. Cardenas is active on the boards, gets points off the put back, has the handles to push the ball off the glass, the court vision to find players ahead in transition, as well as from the top of the key to players cutting off the ball, and is a tough defender with active hands and good timing to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, and alter shots on the perimeter.     The 6-foot-6 wing/forward has the court awareness to make plays from the post-position, is a versatile defender, and can space the floor with the jumper. Galpin had a strong outing in the Eagles game against Buchanan's second varsity team, which was loaded with young talent, but Galpin made his presence felt against the back to back D1 Section title participant. Galpin has great court vision, has the precision to make tough passes in tight windows from the high-to-mid post or from the low-block to players cutting off the ball or diving to the basket, has enough handle to push the ball off the glass and find teammates up the court, and finds players off the drive and kick pass when on the attack down the lane. Galpin has nice interior post-moves and footwork to create space in the paint, using the shoulder fake, spin-move, or drop-step to get the space needed to score around the basket, has sold handles, using the crossover, hesitation, and fade-away jumper from the mid-range with good arc on the shot to shoot over bigger defenders, and can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch. Galpin has good hands to receive passes up the court, on the dive to the basket out of the pick and roll action, or being the recipient of the slip pass to the dunker spot, where he finds openings to catch and score. Big senior season for Galpin and he will be relied upon to lead the Eagles and its young core.     The 6-foot-6 wing/slasher is an athletic and bouncy player that has perimeter skills to attack from the wing, the bounce to alter shots from various spots on the floor, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and had two of the top plays of the event with a pair of nasty dunks off the in-bound lob and the transition bang out over two defenders. Garcia had a monster game against Clovis West on Day 1, which was one of the top games of the Shootout, where he would go for 13 points and 2 blocks, with 11 of those points coming after the break to help his team keep its lead and get the win. Garcia has great lateral foot-speed, active hands, and good timing to jump passing lanes, deflect passes, alter shots on the perimeter, block shots in the paint, especially coming from the weak-side, and is a beast on the boards, where he gets points off missed shots or limits opponents to single shot possessions. Garcia moves fluidly off the ball, slashes to the open spot, and gets great lift on the jumper off the catch with range extended to the 3-point line, which opens up the floor for him or teammates to attack. Garcia has good timing on the dive to get open for the lob, runs the floor well in the open court to get open, and seals his defender off nicely on the in-bound pass to get open for the catch and dunk that gets his team hyped. Very intriguing prospect that can play various spots on the court and impacts both ends with great energy.     The 6-foot-3 wing/slasher is a versatile defender, can score in volume, and does all the little things that help a team win, as was evident on Day 1 of the Shootout. Gonzalez was a key reason that the Bears were able to pull away from Liberty of Bakersfield in the second half. Gonzalez uses his physical frame and skill set to create scoring opportunities in the post, where he has the footwork and moves to score in close quarters, using the spin-move, drop-step, and up-and-under, as well as the floater down the lane or off the baseline to show off the scoring arsenal around the basket. Gonzalez moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, has the physical build to absorb and score through contact at the basket, has the court vision to make quality reads with the ball in his hands, is active on the glass, and has the lateral movement to stay in front of perimeter players, as well as the strength to hold up against bigger players on occasion. Gonzalez will be a key veteran player for the Bears this season, and Buchanan will need him to consistently impact all aspects of the game as a swiss army knife.     THe 6-foot-5 wing/forward is active on the glass, runs the floor well in the open court, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and can play above the rim routinely to show off the bounce. Hunter has been one of the unsung heroes for the Cougars this Summer and Fall, as [player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'], Damon Jackson, and Josiah Wilson have drawn most of the attention, but Isaac has been the player to hold down the paint, control the glass, and be in the right place at the right time, as the big name guys all are high level play makers. Isaac seals his man tightly, dives to the basket in stride to receive entry passes, has great touch on shots around the basket, uses the spin-move and the drop-step to create separation from his defender, uses the euro-step or up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot blockers, moves well off the ball to get to his spots in the mid-post or on the wing, and is effective with the jumper off the catch from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Isaac crashes the boards, outlets quickly to get out and run, alters shots in the paint, as well as on the perimeter, and is the ideal big for the Cougars that have great guard size and they like to push the pace of play.     The 6-foot-6 forward has a massive wingspan and improving skill set, alters and protects the basket in the paint, and is showing he can be a reliable floor spacer from beyond the arc. Johnson played the best game I have ever seen him play and impacted multiple aspects of the game, showing that when he plays like that, this Bengals team can be one of the best in the Central Section Division 2, as he would lead Central East in scoring in a big win over Clovis East going for 18 points, connecting on a pair of threes, and 11 rebounds for a monster double-double. Johnson moves fluidly off the ball, gets to the corners or the wing to square his shoulders up, is showing more accuracy with the 3-ball off the catch, has the pump-fake and enough handle to put it on the deck and attack the baseline or off the wing, seals his defender off nicely in the pick and roll action to get open on the dive and finish, slashes to the dunk spot for easy finishes off the drive and slip pass, and has nice touch on shots around the basket. Johnson is a high-level rebounder to get points off the put back, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has a long wingspan to alter/block shots around the basket, and the strides and timing to alter shots on the wing, and if his motor is there this season, he could be one of the biggest stock risers from the 2027 class.     The 6-foot-3 wing/slasher can create his own scoring opportunities, is a versatile defender with good length and lateral quickness, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Moore has been a welcomed addition to the Pats, who are missing a true primary scorer, but play great team ball. Moore has solid handles, the moves to create off the bounce, using the crossover, wrap-behind, hesitation, and fade-away to get space from his defender, gets good lift on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative scorer around the basket. Moore has active hands, good lateral movement, and timing to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out, alters shots on the perimeter, as well as weak-side protection in the paint, and is at his best when on the attack in the open court.

Fresno, CA - This past weekend, Saturday, October 3rd, and Sunday, October 4th, Clovis North hosted the Nike Fall Shootout, which featured teams from Fresno, Clovis, Bakersfield, Merced, Tracy, San Francisco, Folsom, Stockton, and Visalia in a Pool Play format on Day 1, followed by Bracket Play on Sunday. I was in attendance for both days and was able to cover a good amount of games before I headed out the gym Sunday early afternoon. This article takes a look at 8 standout senior wings and forwards from the class of 2027 that performed well at the Shootout, which will be followed by standout players from other positions and grad classes. 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