Club Season Opening Weekend: Players to Track

<p>Southern California — The first weekend of club basketball kicked off in Southern California last weekend with three events sprinkled across the Southland. West Coast Elite held its OC Orange Bowl event in at AIM in Seal Beach, Dinos Trigonis had his Best of the West at McBride high school in Long Beach and Gerry Freitas had his Hoop Review at Get It Done Sports Arena in Corona. Here’s a look at some players to track for the rest of the spring and into the summer from these events.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994920" first="Zack" last="Davidson"]</strong>, 2023, West Coast Elite UAA 17 - The 6-foot-7 forward had his full scoring arsenal on display throughout the OC Orange Bowl event. Coming off of a stellar junior high school season with Mater Dei, Davidson is primed to see a jump in his recruitment as he plays on the Under Armour Association circuit. Davidson is a skilled inside-out scorer whose ability to knock down three-point shots with consistency will draw the eyes of college coaches during the live periods.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="701238" first="Garrison" last="Phelps"]</strong>, 2022, AZ Select - If the unsigned senior continues to play club through the first live period, we’d be surprised if he was on the board after April 10th. The 6-foot-6 wing is a freakish vertical athlete who attacks the basket with aggression and purpose. Phelps thrives in transition where he uses his combination of speed, athleticism and length to outrun opposing defenses and finish with authority at the rim. In the half-court setting, Phelps can hit lanes on straight-line drives and finish through or above contact.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994948" first="Kenny" last="Manzi"]</strong>, 2023, West Coast Elite SoCal 17u - Manzi will turn some heads this spring and summer because of how simple he makes the game look. The 6-foot-6 forward is long, wiry, smooth and gets a lot done on both ends of the floor. Manzi is not only a transition rim-runner and finisher, but he can also step out and hit face-up shots out to 17 feet and has some off-the-bounce game out of those face-up situations.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1161971" first="Nils" last="Cooper"]</strong>, 2023, Two One Elite - The keyword to describe the 6-foot-5 wing is versatility. Cooper has his hands in every aspect of the game, from guarding the opponents best perimeter player to rebounding to scoring in a variety of ways. Cooper, who is the son of former Laker standout and current Culver City head coach Michael Cooper, is well-schooled in the game and looks like a late-blooming prospect that Division 1 programs should keep a close eye on.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1114374" first="Malick" last="Diallo"]</strong>, 2024, Utah Mountain Stars - This 6-foot-8 forward/center is all energy to go along with his natural length and athletic tools. Diallo had his rim-running prowess on display as he rebounded the defensive boards, hit a guard with a quick outlet pass and ran the floor with purpose for easy transition buckets.</p>