2023 Watchlist: Who is at the Top? (IV)

<p>The Prep Hoops SoCal staff has spent the last few weeks digging through notes to find all the standout freshmen performers from the 2019-20 season. While it’s still too early to put together a fair numerical ranking for these young prospects, we did come up with an 85-player watchlist of guys to keep an eye on over the next three years.</p> <p>Below is the fourth installment of who could potentially crack those top 5-10 spots if we did decide to publish a true ranking, based on first-year performance and long-term potential.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994933" first="Ashton" last="Hardaway"]</strong>, Bishop Montgomery - It’s difficult for a freshman to crack varsity minutes at Bishop Montgomery, but Hardaway played his way into meaningful playing time last season. The 6-foot-6 swingman has good size, length and fluidity for his position and a smooth shooting stroke that earned him good minutes.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994973" first="Devin" last="Williams"]</strong>, Corona Centennial - The 6-foot-8 forward has as intriguing of a frame as any prospect in the region. He’s long, wiry, mobile and has some early inside-out offensive tools that make him a prospect to track moving forward. Williams turned in a productive freshman campaign at Corona High before transferring to Centennial to become one of now five high level 2023 prospects in that program.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994958" first="Dante" last="Ogbu"]</strong>, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame - Ogbu was a key part of Viewpoint's youth movement this past season. The 6-foot-2 guard/wing, who recently transferred to Notre Dame, has a strong frame, good downhill speed and vertical athleticism for a 2023 prospect. Ogbu did a lot of damage in transition, using the traits described to blow-by defenders and finish around the rim with finesse or power. Ogbu’s high motor and good energy also make him a good rebounder and defender. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="996386" first="Jimmy" last="Baker"]</strong>, Etiwanda - Etiwanda is well-known for its lineage of tremendous point guards and Baker has the potential to be the next one. Like most freshmen in this program, Baker played on the Eagles’ junior varsity squad as the varsity had five Division 1-bound seniors, four of them who played on the perimeter. At 6-feet-2, Baker plays with good pace, a high basketball IQ and competes on the defensive end of the floor.</p>