12 Guards to Watch: CIF State Finals

<p>The final weekend of high school basketball games in California begins Friday at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento. The six teams from Southern California and the six from Northern California that advanced to the state championships will meet on the floor to decide divisional supremacy. Prior to those games tipping off, we wanted to give our readers a guide on which players to keep an eye on as go-to guys to help their teams win a state title.</p> <p><strong>Bradley Xie</strong>, Damien - The senior is an important cog to what the Spartans do because of how much he has the ball in his hands. The 6-foot point guard is the primary ball handler and initiator of offense who operates under the scope that his job is to get others involved. When Xie takes care of the ball and handles pressure, Damien is tough to beat. Xie is also a capable shooter and finisher around the basket and any offense from him is just icing on the cake.</p> <p><strong>Chase Weber,</strong> Scripps Ranch - Weber is a steadying force for the Falcons as his statistical numbers show he has his hands in every aspect of the game. The 5-foot-9 senior is third on the team in points per game (9.9), first on the team in assists per game (3.2) and second on the team in steals per game (2.4). Weber does have the ability to get hot from three-point range, though that will be a tough task when shooting in an arena-style environment.</p> <p><strong>Cruz Billings</strong>, Foothill - The quick and shifty 5-foot-8 point guard is the catalyst for the Knights’ uptempo offense. Billings is one of the fastest players with the ball in his hands in all of SoCal and is slipper and elusive when attacking the basket and finishing over bigs in the painted area. It will be interesting to see what Billings’ impact is on the bigger NBA floor and if the extra space creates more driving lanes or if it slows Foothill down a couple of notches.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="970280" first="Donovan" last="Dent"]</strong>, Corona Centennial - Not much more needs to be said about New Mexico-bound senior other than he’s probably the best point guard in the state. Dent has a burst of speed and body control when driving and finishing around the basket that has little comparison in the state over the last few seasons. Dent controls the pace and tempo for the state’s best team and sets the tone defensively with his ability to speed up opposing guards, deflects passes, disrupt passing lanes and create turnovers.</p> <p><strong>Jared Balaoing</strong>, Scripps Ranch - Balaoing Scripps’ most efficient and impactful scoring guard and can put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways. The 5-foot-10 senior has a lethal pull-up jumper from the mid-range level of the floor and uses his speed and shiftiness to drive his way to the rim and score over length.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="992480" first="Jared" last="McCain"]</strong>, Corona Centennial - Obviously McCain is one of the highest ranked guys we have here in California, so of course he will be an impactful player for the Huskies in the CIF State Open Division championship game. The 6-foot-3 junior is one of the best shooters in the area and his ability to fill it up from three-point range is a potential game-changer in any given matchup.</p> <p><strong>Lamont Wilkerson II</strong>, Scripps Ranch - The football and basketball standout is an absolute beast when playing under control. His combination of size, strength, motor and athleticism make him a guy who can guard the opponents best player and be a load in transition when getting downhill and finishing around the basket. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="974060" first="Ramsey" last="Huff"]</strong>, Corona Centennial - Huff had a huge game in the SoCal Regional Final, scoring a game-high 20 points in the Huskies win over Sierra Canyon. The 6-foot-1 senior found himself with tons of time and space behind the three-point line and made the most of those great looks from his most consistent scoring spot. If Huff is knocking down three’s with consistency and defending like he normally does, Centennial will be in good position to pick up a state title.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748777" first="RJ" last="Smith"]</strong>, Damien - Smith is one of the more consistent producers in all aspects of the game that we have in the state. The 6-foot-4 senior - who is heading to Colorado next season - defends, rebounds, hits perimeter jumpers, can drive and finish in transition and half-court settings and has the basketball IQ and ball-handling ability to initiate offense. Basically, Smith does everything for the Spartans and is a crucial piece to them picking up a Division 1 state title.</p> <p><strong>Spivey Word</strong>, Damien - A lot of basketball fans in the state sleep on how important Word is to Damien’s success. The explosive 6-footer is a pesky on-ball defender, really good transition finisher and a guy who keeps defenses honest with his catch-and-shoot ability from three-point range. Word is also a very good rebounder for his size and position.</p> <p><strong>Tyler Hunt</strong>, Venice - Hunt is a strong, physical 6-foot-3 guard whose best at slashing his way to the basket where he can draw contact and finish through it. The sophomore has had a breakout season with numerous high scoring games to lead the Gondoliers into a state championship appearance.</p> <p><strong>Tyler Terry</strong>, Chaffey - This 5-foot-10 senior guard has come up clutch in big moments for the Tigers throughout the season and in the playoffs in particular. Terry is a consistent three-point shooter who can knock down perimeter jumpers both off the catch and off the bounce and has ice water running through his veins with the game on the line.</p>