New Mexico Summer Basketball Shootout Preview!

<p>The New Mexico Summer Basketball Shootout is being hosted by La Cueva High School, Sandia High School and Cibola High School. This tournament is being played from Thursday June 23rd to Sunday June 26th. There will be sixteen varsity teams competing in this tournament that is starting with pool play.. There will be several players to keep an eye on during this weekend. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1158654" first="Daniel" last="Steverson"] from Cleveland High School will be one of the biggest names in this tournament. The soon to be junior will have plenty of attention from opposing teams and defenses this weekend. <strong>Daniel</strong> is one of the craftiest guards in New Mexico that has a ton of talent. He is an athletic player that can score the ball at an elite level and can create his own shot whenever he wants. Expect him and Cleveland to be one of the top teams this weekend. </p> <p>Sandia’s guard [player_tooltip player_id="1076706" first="Ely" last="Lovato"] is poised to have a nice weekend competing in this tournament. He will have a ton of success driving to the basket and finishing around the rim this weekend. <strong>Ely</strong> has a dangerous crossover where he goes at the defenders full speed than pulls up from three-point range. I expect <strong>Ely</strong> to make some noise this weekend. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076700" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"] will be the top prospect competing in this  tournament this weekend. The all-around Point Guard can control the game in a variety of ways and gives the La Cueva Bears one of the best chances of winning this tournament. <strong>Exodus</strong> can score the ball whenever and wherever he wants on the floor. He will control the pace of the game and can completely take over a game by himself this weekend. Expect <strong>Exodus</strong> to be one of the most dominant players this weekend. </p> <p><strong>Cedarious Yates</strong> from La Cueva will have a nice outing in this tournament because of the energy he plays with. He will compete as hard if not harder than everyone and that includes the glass by getting offensive rebounds for his team. He will be one of the top finishers in this tournament and can easily fill up the stat-sheet and by putting up huge numbers.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076711" first="Isaiah" last="Denetclaw"] from La Cueva High School will make his presence felt in this tournament. He comes into this tournament as arguably the best three-point shooter among the sixteen teams. Once <strong>Isaiah</strong> gets into the zone, he will be tough to contain for any defense to handle. La Cueva will do a good job running plays for him and continuing getting him the ball to create offense for their ball club. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1276348" first="Josh" last="Jackson"] from Eldorado High School will be one of the top big’s in this tournament. He is an athletic big around the basket that has a nice touch around the rim. <strong>Josh</strong> plays with enormous energy and takes pride in out-hustling in opponents. He is a solid post players who will have plenty of mismatches this weekend. [player_tooltip player_id="1276348" first="Josh" last="Jackson"] is one of the few players this weekend I’m excited to watch. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1176305" first="Hudson" last="Brown"] continues to impress this off-season and will help Volcano Vista stay successful heading into this tournament. <strong>Hudson</strong> is the engine to the defending 5A State Champions and has emerged as one of the top two-way point guards from his off-season play. He is an old school traditional point guard that plays with a chip on his shoulder and will do whatever is asked for a victory for his team. I expect <strong>Hudson</strong> to be a pest defensively and doing a lot of the dirty work for Volcano Vista. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1176300" first="Kenyon" last="Aguino"] might be the best big man  heading into this weekends tournament. It’s hard to believe <strong>Kenyon’s</strong> coming off just his freshman year already dominating upper-classmen players. <strong>Kenyon</strong> plays the game like a seasoned High School veteran that s been playing on the varsity level for 2-3 years by now. He will have his way inside the paint and isn’t afraid of getting physical down low. </p> <p>Big man [player_tooltip player_id="1124213" first="Sean" last="Alter"] will have a nice weekend for Volcano Vista. At his size, he will make an impact on the game from both sides of the ball. <strong>Sean</strong> is good to give you multiple dunks every game and is becoming a consistent double-double guy with his scoring and rebounding. Him and teammate [player_tooltip player_id="1176300" first="Kenyon" last="Aguino"] will be the "Twin Towers" that make it difficult to score on around the basket. Those two will affect how opposing teams run their offense.  </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1208049" first="Josiah" last="Guliford"] from La Cueva High School is one of those point guards every championship needs to make a run. He plays the game at a nice pace and under control. In my opinion he is La Cueva’s X-Factor this weekend. He is an old school Point Guard that makes his teammate better but can also be a serious threat scoring the ball. If <strong>Josiah</strong> gets going offensively, the La Cueva Bears are almost impossible to beat with all the weapons they have on their roster. Expect <strong>Josiah</strong> to be one of the top performing players at his position this weekend. </p>