Cruz was NSSA’s most impressive player in their close loss against a tough BCRI team on Sunday. The junior point guard runs the show confidently for his squad and creates consistently good shots for him and his teammates. The lefty has awesome stop-and-go moves and great footwork in the paint, so he’s able to finish around bigger and more athletic players quite well. But he also has really solid passing vision and a knack for finding backdoor cutters when off-ball defenders turn their head. Cruz could use some extra size and strength, but he should definitely be a target for the high level D3 schools in the area. A good summer with NSSA and another high level season with Holderness could even push him into the lower level scholarship conversations. 

Cruz, a guard out of the Holderness School in New Hampshire, is the #17 ranked combo guard in this update and checks in at #83 overall. The 6’0″ lefty has some real creativity with the ball in his hands, showing good chance of pace and the ability to play off of hesitations, pass fakes, and shot fakes. He’s a tough shot maker in the mid-range, does a nice driver of kicking out to shooters off his drives, and is capable of making threes with consistency. Defensively, he moves well laterally, allowing him to be a tough on ball defender in space. He plays his travel basketball with NSSA Basketball.

Cruz is a shifty, quick point guard who really impressed me on the offensive end. Though he didn’t dominate from the perimeter, he consistently used his low center of gravity and active off hand to breeze past his defender. When he gets into the paint, he makes really nice spray out passes to his teammates but also does a good job taking contact and finishing at the rim. The lefty has crafty footwork and feel in the paint and a knack for getting fouled at the rim. Some added strength and weight would be huge for Cruz, but the junior has some more time to build that.

Cruz, a junior guard out of the Holderness School in New Hampshire, is a smooth scoring lefty that does a nice job of balancing his scoring with playmaking. Holderness checks in at sixth in the Class B standings with a 10-3 record in league games and a talented group of feature guards. A shifty guard that knows how to get to his spots off the bounce, Cruz does a nice job of scoring it at all three levels. He finishes with touch around the rim, creates for his teammates out of ball screens, and can slide off the ball and knock down threes off the catch. Defensively, he can defend either spot in the back-court and is really good at quickly turning defense into offense in transition. Cruz will be on scholarship watch this spring and summer as a member of the Class of 2027.

Cruz didn’t have a crazy number of points in Holderness’ convincing win over BB&N (because he didn’t have to), but the junior point guard really impressed me with his composure and skill in the paint. He took undersized guards in the post again and again, and he was relatively successful scoring over them and getting his teammates involved when the help came. The southpaw is an awesome finisher in the paint, and he’s only going to continue to improve his strength and physical attributes as he gets older. He has a bright future ahead and should be looked at by D3 programs.

This was my first time seeing Cruz in person and I was quite impressed with his skillset and feel. The 6-foot guard always has his eyes peeled in transition, which allows him to accurately discern whether there are scoring or passing opportunities. Once he gets into the lane, he is an awesome athlete and showcased some really tough double clutch finishes with both hands. He also make excellent kickout passes and was consistently under control and on two feet. He should get minutes as a junior this year for Holderness and could definitely play basketball at the D3 or maybe even scholarship level.

Jayvian Cruz Jayvian Cruz 6'0" | CG Holderness School | 2027 State New E is a shifty lefty ball handler with offensive juice. Quick and agile, he can fly to the rim with ease scoring easily at the cup. Cruz can get through traffic with crazy moves and spins and always seems to create space out of nowhere. He is a creative finisher, who can manipulate his body and the ball to perfection. Cruz is also an effective and confident shooter off the bounce and loves to shoot pull-up middies and threes in the half-court. On the passing front, he can whip passes to the corners and make quick reads. Cruz’s electric offense should make him incredibly enticing for programs and coaches needing a bonafide spark plug.