Skills Summit: Under-the-Radar Shooters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>IRVINE — The 5th annual Hoops By Ugland Skills Summit took place Sunday at Beckman high school and featured more than 80 class players from the classes of 2025-2028 from throughout the state of California. Below we take a look at some under-the-radar prospects who impressed with their perimeter shooting ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cameron Caldwell | 2027 | Beckman</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caldwell showed a ton of confidence in his three-point shot and knocked them down at a high clip from multiple spots and with deep range. The 5-foot-8 guard has a lightning quick release off the catch and was always shot-ready off the catch. Caldwell hit three's in a variety of ways from quick pulls in transition, off the dribble or when spotting up in drive-and-kick situations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Carson Ellis | 2026 | Sage Hill</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ellis is a smooth jump shooter who shoots a quick and easy ball with deep range. The 6-foot junior showed a high IQ understanding of spacing and made good reads on closeouts to shot-fake and side step a defender to get a cleaner look at the rim. Ellis was another prospect who stood out with his confidence from behind-the-arc.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2530698' first='Elijah' last='Sumi-Scruggs'] | 2026 | Aveson Global Leadership Academy</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumi-Scruggs is an intriguing prospect with his combination of size, length and variety of situational shooting ability. The wiry-long 6-foot-4 wing was consistent with his off-catch and off-dribble perimeter jumpers and he showed the ability to get hot quickly when he knocked down four straight three's on four possessions in 5-on-5 play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Gavin Kroll | 2026 | Cypress</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kroll was one of the better shooters at the forward spot and it really showed in pick-and-pop situations. The 6-foot-6 junior showed great footwork out of those ball screens when squaring up to the rim and being shot-ready on drives from teammates. Kroll finished his fluid mechanics with a high release to negate any late closeout that may impact his shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Xander Willard | 2027 | Mission Viejo</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Willard has your typical left-hander shooting mechanics: smooth, fluid and effortless. The 6-foot-3 sophomore was a dead-eye type shooter off the catch from three-point range and the time it took from catch to release was lightning quick.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->