Halloween Hoopfest at North HS: Standout Seniors

This past Saturday, I attended a one day basketball showcase held at the spacious North Bakersfield High School gym. The showcase featured teams from Bakersfield, Clovis., Arroyo Grande, Porterville, Delano, Kingsburg, Oxnard, Hanford, and Visalia. The event featured some of the top players in the Section, and a few that have Regional notoriety. I was in attendance for all 18 games, two courts used so a 9-game slate schedule. This article takes a look at 8 standout seniors from the event, and the players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. We begin this article with Bakersfield High School's Keshawn Black.    Black is a physical and high-energy player that impacts the game in various ways, has become more of a perimeter scoring threat, and took on the leadership role with the Drillers top two players not in attendance. The 6-foot-4 wing/forward is relentless on the boards, gets off the ground quickly for putbacks and tip-ins, has the handle to push the ball up the court, with good vision to find players up the court in stride. Black uses the hesitation and crossover to get his defender off balance, likes to get into the paint off the bounce, has the build to finish through contact at the basket, is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch, and has good back to the basket moves to score in the post. Black has the strength and length to defend bigger players in the paint, good lateral footwork to switch off and defend perimeter players, has active hands to deflect passes or rip the ball from his opponent. Black had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists to showcase his all around impact on the game.     Catalina is a lengthy and crafty player that can score the ball in the post, as well as knock down shots from the perimeter, and runs the floor well in the open court. The 6-foot-4 wing/forward has solid handles, uses the crossover to create space from his defender, uses his long strides to get by his opponent and into the paint, and is able to finish through contact with touch on shots around the basket. Catalina moves well off the ball to get open, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, gets to the dunker spot opposite his lead guard to be the recipient of drop off passes when the defense collapses on the ball handler, and has good timing diving to the basket off the pick and roll action, and seals off his defender to get easy points at the basket. Cataline had 17 points, connecting on a pair of threes in a loss to host team North Bakersfield.      Brown is a lengthy and wiry player that protects the basket, excels in the open court, and continues to improve his skill set on the offensive end. The 6-foot-6 wing/forward crashes the boards, uses his length to get tip-ins off the offensive glass, blocks/alters shots in the paint, with the agility to close out and disrupt perimeter shots, and deflects entry passes into the post, as well as jumps passing lanes on the wing to get the ball out in the open court. Brown gets to the dunk spot to be the recipient of drop-off passes from guards attacking the paint, is effective with the mid-post jumper off the dribble, has enough handle to attack the basket from the top of the key, has good touch on shots around the basket, makes good reads from the top of the key, and outlets the ball quickly to use his long strides to get ahead of the defense in the open court for easy catch and finish dunks in transition. Brown had a solid showing in the win over Hanford, going for 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.       Harris is a physical and fundamentally sound player that impacts the paint on both ends of the court, excels in the half-court setting, and plays within his skill set to maximize his value on the court. The 6-foot-9 power forward has great interior footwork, a variety of post-moves to score within 15-feet of the basket, with the drop-step, the shoulder fake into the spin-move to evade his defender, and the hook-floater to score over taller players at the basket. Harris has nice touch on finishes at the cup, can space the floor with the mid-post jumper off the one-dribble pull-up, has great timing on dives off the pick and roll action, with the ability to score through contact when going to the basket. Harris has good court vision to make plays from the top of the key to players cutting off the ball, blocks/alters shots in the paint, and finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to Bakersfield Christian.      Haynes is a skilled and high IQ player that makes the right plays, gets others involved, and can score the ball from 3-levels. The 6-foot-2 lead guard has elite handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, makes pin-point passes to open teammates in the half court setting, as well as laser darts up the court to connect with teammates ahead of the defense, uses the crossover, behind cross, hesitation, and toss cross to get his defender off balance, makes great finds off the drive and kick pass, and makes timely dimes off the pick and roll action. Haynes has a smooth jumper off the bounce that he makes with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, has good body control on the stop-and-pop middy, has the moves and handle to weave through the defense, the instincts and vision to find the openings, and can stop on a dime and get up a shot in tight spaces with efficiency. Haynes controls the flow of the game, never looks rattled, and makes quality basketball plays with the ball in his hands, is a good positional rebounder, and is a solid on-ball defender that gets into his opponents dribbling space and creates turnovers. He finished with 14 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, and in my opinion is the best kept secret in the Central Section. There are some other contenders, but he is a hidden gem from Porterville.      Johnson is a lengthy and bouncy player that is a versatile defender, can score in volume when he gets hot, and excels in the open court. The 6-foot-3 wing/slasher has solid handles, uses the crossover and hesitation to get going downhill, gets good lift on the mid-range jumper off the bounce, and moves well off the ball to get open looks for three off the catch. Johnson is active on the glass, can push the ball up the court, likes to get the ball out and run the floor, with a good understanding of transition spacing, and gets ahead of the defense to get open for easy buckets. Johnson uses his length and agility to stay in front of perimeter players, with the length to alter shots off the wing, deflect passes or jump passing lanes to create turnovers, and is a good weakside rim protector. Johnson is a late bloomer in hoops, but with the work and focus on basketball, he has the potential to be an impact guy at some point if he develops as a perimeter scorer. He had 12 points and 3 steals in the win over Hanford.     Kebede is a strong, skilled, and tough shot-making player that can spray shots from various spots on the floor, scores in volume, and always impacts the game when I see him play live. The 6-foot combo guard has a smooth handle, keeps the dribble alive to survey the defense, uses the between cross, crossover, and hesitation to create space from his defender, is accurate with the jumper off the bounce from the mid-range to the 3-point line, as well as the step-back, and has a good burst of speed off the dribble with the strength to score through contact at the basket. Kebede is a solid on-ball defender, gets into his opponents dribbling space, and looks to poke the ball out and get out in the open court. Kebede had a strong showing in Stockdale's win over Kingsburg, as he would go for 17 points and 5 rebounds.         Swiney is a lengthy and rangy player that can heat up from beyond the arc, active on the glass, and an underrated perimeter defender. The 6-foot-3 wing moves fluid off the ball, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, uses the crossover to attack his defender, has a smooth pull-up middy and has touch on shots around the basket. He is a good positional rebounder that lets him push the ball up the court, is sneaky on putbacks off the basket, and showed his defensive prowess in a loss to Stockdale, as he would account for 3 steals, and a pair of threes for 6 points. Swiney will be relied upon to contribute this season, as he was one of the core players from last year's team.

This past Saturday, I attended a one day basketball showcase held at the spacious North Bakersfield High School gym. The showcase featured teams from Bakersfield, Clovis., Arroyo Grande, Porterville, Delano, Kingsburg, Oxnard, Hanford, and Visalia. The event featured some of the top players in the Section, and a few that have Regional notoriety. I was in attendance for all 18 games, two courts used so a 9-game slate schedule. This article takes a look at 8 standout seniors from the event, and the players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order. We begin this article with Bakersfield High School's Keshawn Black.