California Live “25: Central Cali’s Standout Shooters

Southern California - The last weekend of the month of June featured the 3rd Annual California Scholastic Live Period Tournament held at OGP Ladera, an 8-court facility in Ladera Ranch, as well as San Juan Hills High School. The tournament featured over 150 high schools from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Washington with some of the top teams in the country, as well as some of the nation's top prospects, squaring off in front of college coaches from all divisions, as well as JUCO coaches. This article focuses on the top shooters from teams located in the Central Section of California, an area that has a lot of hidden gems and overlooked talent that can help programs at the college level of play. There is no ranked order to the players listed below, but are listed in alphabetical order. Below we will look at seven standout shooters from the California Live event. This wraps up my coverage of standout players from Central California at the recent scholastic live event in SoCal. There are three other articles that focus on top lead guards, bigs, wings, and combo guards from this event that can be found on this site.    Kubit has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the Section since his freshman year, and this was on display all June, and in particular, at the California Live tournament to wrap up the month of high school ball. The 6-foot-1 shooting guard has limitless range on the 3-ball, and is a legit threat once he crosses half-court with good shooting efficiency. Kubit moves well off the ball, has quick release on his shot off the catch, and is always in good position to receive the pass. Kubit has a solid handle on the ball, makes good use of the crossover and spin move to create space from his defender, and has good body control on contested mid-range jumpers off the dribble. Kubit is also a solid defender that has good timing when jumping the passing lanes, and has good court vision and decision making when looking to find teammates off the dribble drive. Kubit will be relied upon to space the floor this coming season for the Golden Eagles, which will open up the floor for rising senior and teammate Jace Kellogg to get more paint touches and the offense flow more freely.     Morinini has been a key piece for the Knights the past two seasons as a floor spacer and the teams main catch and shoot threat, and his game has continued to evolve, as was evident by his play in SoCal at the end of June. The 6-foot-1 shooter moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, has a quick but effective release and form on his shot, and can light it up from beyond the arc in volume. In addition to being a knock down shooter off the catch, Morinini has improved his handles and confidence in his use of the crossover to create space from his defender, gets good lift on the stop and pop mid-range jumper, uses the hesitation effectively to get his defender on his hip, and has shown improved body control and creativity on finishes around the basket. He has good court vision and improved decision making with the ball in hand, but will be relied upon to continue to be the catch and shoot 3-ball threat for St. Joseph, as it looks to repeat as Section champs.     Owens has emerged as the main perimeter shooting threat for the Drillers this coming season, as was evident throughout the month of June and at the scholastic live event in SoCal a few weeks back. The 6-foot guard makes good use of the off ball screens to get open on the perimeter, is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch, and can create his own shot off the dribble, with good handles to get open looks. Owens is a solid perimeter defender with active hands and quick feet to jump passing lanes or poke the ball out for steals and turnovers. Owens also has nice touch on the floater down the lane, and will be relied upon as the main shooting threat for the Drillers with the graduation of Dom Contreras, who played that role last year for Bakersfield High.     Schalk has shown continued growth in his all around game throughout the Spring club portion of the year, as well as with the Panthers in the month of June, and displayed his elite shooting at the California Live event to wrap up June play. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard has a smooth stroke on the perimeter shot, has deep range on the 3-ball, and was the consistent floor spacer for San Joaquin in each event it played in June. Schalk has good court awareness and fluid off ball movement, gets to his shot spots and openings in the half court setting, and can fill it up from beyond the arc in volume off the catch and shoot. What has been impressive has been the evolution of his game from freshman year until now, as Schalk keeps the ball on a string while surveying the floor, the ability to run the offense and set up teammates with improved decision making and court vision, and the moves to create off the dribble with a variety of creative finishes within 15 feet from the basket. Schalk will be relied upon to be more than a catch and shoot option for the Panthers this season, and from what I saw in June, he is ready to take on more responsibility as a lead guard and be more of a true combo guard that can play on or off the ball.     Smith has emerged as one of the big three for Bullard, along with fellow rising seniors Ja'Vance Coleman and Dalen Felder, and he had some impressive performances shooting the ball throughout the month of June, and in particular at California Live. The 6-foot-1 combo guard has a smooth stroke from the perimeter, gets to his shot spots off the ball and in position to catch the ball in rhythm, and is efficient on shots from beyond the arc. In addition to being an accurate shooter off the catch, he also has the moves and handles to create his own shots off the dribble, is a creative finisher around the basket, and has nice touch on the floater. Also, Smith is a high-level on-ball defender, with active hands and quick footwork to stay in front of the opposition's primary ball handler, as well as create turnovers and easy scoring opportunities in the open court. Smith had a strong showing at the California Live event at the end of June, connecting on 4 threes in the game against Palo Alto. Smith has shown to be a solid 3 and D prospect with the ability to play the lead guard spot when needed.     Steinbeck was one of the better freshmen last season in the Central Section, and after transferring to Bakersfield Christian, has shown to be a shooting threat from the perimeter, as he displayed at the end of June in the scholastic live period event in SoCal. The 6-foot-2 combo guard is adjusting from being the primary ball handler at Stockdale of Bakersfield to playing off the ball and being a floor spacer for the Eagles. Steinbeck seemed to really lock into his role with Bakersfield Christian in a win over St. Bernard of Playa del Rey, where he splashed in 6 threes from various spots on the floor and showed why he will be a key factor for the Eagles this coming season. Steinbeck gets to his shot spots off the ball, has good length and height to shoot over most perimeter defenders, and can catch fire quickly. In addition to being a threat from the perimeter, Steinbeck has the handle and court vision to survey the floor, the ability to find players in tight windows, and has the court awareness to play the passing lanes to create turnovers and steals.     Lawrence was a pleasant surprise for the Broncos this past June, as he was one of the top 3-point shooters based on percentage. The 6-foot-4 wing/guard plays within the system at Clovis North, gets to his spots for catch and shoot opportunities, and has the height to shoot over most perimeter defenders. In addition to being a solid spot-up shooter, Lawrence does a solid job on the boards, has enough handle to attack the basket and find players off the drive and kick, and is a versatile defender. Lawrence will be relied upon to keep up this level of play, as Clovis North is not as deep as it has been in recent years, but still has two of the best players in the Section.

Southern California - The last weekend of the month of June featured the 3rd Annual California Scholastic Live Period Tournament held at OGP Ladera, an 8-court facility in Ladera Ranch, as well as San Juan Hills High School. The tournament featured over 150 high schools from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Washington with some of the top teams in the country, as well as some of the nation's top prospects, squaring off in front of college coaches from all divisions, as well as JUCO coaches. This article focuses on the top shooters from teams located in the Central Section of California, an area that has a lot of hidden gems and overlooked talent that can help programs at the college level of play. There is no ranked order to the players listed below, but are listed in alphabetical order. Below we will look at seven standout shooters from the California Live event. This wraps up my coverage of standout players from Central California at the recent scholastic live event in SoCal. There are three other articles that focus on top lead guards, bigs, wings, and combo guards from this event that can be found on this site.