Liberty at Pinnacle: Freshman standouts

Gregg Rosenberg January 19, 2022 @ 08:48 AM

On Tuesday January 11th I attended the 6A contest between Pinnacle and Liberty at Pinnacle in Phx, AZ. I watched all three games with Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity. A lot of new players were discovered and I wrote about some of the players who stood out.   Here were the freshman standouts: Freshman game: [player_tooltip player_id="1364141" first="Gabriel" last="Hill"] Pinnacle A long and lean guard with qukk hands and a tighter handle. He moves without the ball well and he can burst into the lane with his quicks. He is a top-notch on-ball defender who can be a future ball-hawk. He takes long strides and makes good reads. He also understands how to draw contact with his drives and he escape dribbles smartly. [player_tooltip player_id="1364142" first="Tate" last="Williams"] Pinnacle A long wing forward is an easy shooter from mid to the 3pt line. He is a good passer and will rebound in his area. He gives a hard shot fake to free himself and will relocate to set himself up. He shows good awareness to block shots near him. Giovanni Lizzul SF 5’10 Pinnacle A high IQ wing forward who is a 3pt catch shooter. He is a thicker wing who is skilled and tough. He is a good passer and will score it through contact. His IQ is super high and has a polished floater game plus he knows how to hesitate to get by his defenders. [player_tooltip player_id="1364143" first="Landon" last="Wilson"] Liberty A 3pt sniper off the catch can handle it decently and has good body control to make tough contested shots in the lane. He can drive and kick and he is asked to play PG on this team, but is probably best off the ball. He competes on defense. Ben Leber PF 6’2 Liberty A stronger framed power forward who shows high effort. He is a capable perimeter shooter from the elbow and in. He hustles on defense with steals, rebounds and goes for loose balls.   JV game: [player_tooltip player_id="1285990" first="EJ" last="Sommers"] Pinnacle (Pictured) A tall and long forward with advanced post footwork who plays patiently. He can score with his left or right and he can shoot it from the elbow and in plus step out and hit the 3. He is a smart passer out of a double or the high post. He will block shots and rebound in and out of his area. He plays with a good motor and keeps the ball high on rebounds and will go straight up. He also took an important charge late in the game. He projects out as a face-up forward. [player_tooltip player_id="1286020" first="Connor" last="Corey"] Pinnacle A point forward type is a good passer. He loves the mid-range game and is a plus rebounder and a multi-positional defender. He is a fluid athlete who can drive and kick to a teammate and makes smart reads to teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="1286021" first="Eric" last="Rubin"] Pinnacle A pure PG who is very crafty close to the hoop. He changes speeds well to get in the paint. He boxes his man out well and is a feisty defender who can collect steals. [player_tooltip player_id="1364929" first="Jackson" last="Hunter"] Liberty A talented wing forward can hit the catch 3. He has good length and knows the game like his brother [player_tooltip player_id="1216984" first="Caden" last="Hunter"], and smartly moves without the ball. He has pretty good ball skills and can rise up and shoot it off the dribble. [player_tooltip player_id="1364930" first="Jarrell" last="Houston"] Liberty A lefty PG who can push the pace. He is undersized but has good speed and he can pull-up off the dribble from the 3pt line. He will most likely be on varsity next year.