Fall Ball: Sophomore Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On September 9th I attended the&nbsp;<strong>Fall League at Central High School.&nbsp;</strong>I viewed 11 teams on this day and here were some of the standouts.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>We move over to the Sophomore Standouts:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1591738' first='Jeehzus' last='Pagan'] Boulder Creek (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fast, pure point guard has some serious jets. He sets the table and he's the future PG the next two years as a true facilitator. He often cuts for buckets and scores on reverse and speed layups on the break.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1323296' first='Matt' last='Delgado'] Boulder Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A three level scorer showed off his skills in both games. He can get downhill with either hand with a quick first step, can euro step to the rim, makes the corner three with a quick release and has the runner game. His open court speed is obvious and gets deflections with his length and quickness plus is a good passer up the court.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1494764' first='Brayden' last='Newton'] Boulder Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick combo guard can make a play after he bursts by his defender. He can hit the catch three and he seems to cut to the correct spot every time. He is quick laterally to defend on the ball and brings real energy off the bench.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1780589' first='Shawn' last='Hernandez'] Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard who is a pure shooter who can rattle in catch triples. He was one of the most consistent shooters on the day who had a quick release and huge confidence. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1736170' first='Kareem' last='Alkhalifa'] Pinnacle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long wing forward is a quick twitch athlete that gets to the basket quickly off the dribble. He can rip thru and go to work. He will defend multiple positions and rebounds well in and out of his area.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1676631' first='Niko' last='Velez'] </strong> <strong>Desert Vista</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fast scoring lead guard. He has the floater game and has a calming feeling when he is at the helm. He gets to his spots and makes layups, floaters or gets fouled and makes his FT's.&nbsp;His senior brother is out for the year and Niko will have to step up. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1482165' first='Rider' last='Portela'] Sunnyslope</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last game of the night had the coach's son with a top performance. He scored it from all levels and can ball fake and use the floater. He collects many steals in the passing lanes and can flush it down on the break. He can pull-up from mid to the three and made a clutch three with emotion.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->