Skills Summit: Under-the-Radar Guards

<!-- 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 points and combo guards who impressed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Dario De La Fuente | 2025 | Sierra Vista</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De La Fuente is a smooth and savvy ball-handler who sees the floor with great vision in both transition and half-court settings. The 5-foot-10 senior operates with great pace out of ball screen action and uses his change of speed to keep defenders off-balance and get into the lane where he finished with an effective floater. De La Fuente also did a nice job of not getting sped up under pressure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2131812' first='Joaquin' last='Rigdon'] | 2026 | Pacifica Christian (OC)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rigdon was the ultimate energy guy from the drills into 3-on-3 play and 5-on-5 play. The 6-foot-3 off-guard knocked down open catch and shoot three's when they came his way, cut and slashed off the ball for finishes at the rim and attacked closeouts left and right to get to the lane where he finished at the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2497582' first='Matthew' last='Ciftcikara'] | 2025 | Crean Lutheran</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ciftcikara stood out for his ability to make smart reads and decisions in ball-screen action. The 6-foot guard has a strong base, plays with a low center of gravity and did a nice job of keeping defenders on his hip as he knifed his way into the lane. Ciftcikara knocked down off-bounce jumpers and finished craftily around the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956541' first='Omar' last='Gonzalez'], Jr. | 2026 | La Salle</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gonzalez was one of the fastest players with the ball that we saw and his willingness to advance the ball up the floor in transition made his team highly effective in transition offense. The 5-foot-8 point guard was aggressive when moving the ball up the floor which resulted in paint touches and drive-and-kick finds to teammates for an open three-point shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2436283' first='Tre' last='Cradle'] | 2027 | Sage Hill</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cradle proved his worth as an athletic slasher in transition and half-court offense. The 6-foot-2 guard flashed his quick-twitch athleticism when driving by defenders in transition and extending to the rim for a high percentage finish. In half-court settings, Cradle used his explosive first-step to blow by his defender and get those same scoring opportunities at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->