Feast Week: 2027 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanksgiving week I attended four tournaments for exactly 25 games and 48 different teams. The events I watched were&nbsp;<strong>Phoenix Union Coyote Classic</strong>&nbsp;at Central and Deer Valley for 2 days,&nbsp;<strong>Fear The Hop Tournament</strong>&nbsp;at Mesa HS,&nbsp;<strong>Ben Franklin Thanksgiving Classic&nbsp;</strong>at Ben Franklin and Gilbert Christian and lastly the&nbsp;<strong>LV8 Invitational</strong>&nbsp;at Chandler-Gilbert CC.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some&nbsp;<strong>2027 Standouts</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2282935' first='Parker' last='Counts'] Valley Vista&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A true combo guard has good court vision, toughness and skill. He will rattle in threes off the catch or pull and score with offensive rebound put backs. He will collect steals and lay it in. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2298905' first='Jorden' last='Etheridge'] Verrado (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive point guard who can be a ball hawk with his quick feet, twitch and speed. He will score with back door layups, mid-range pull-ups with elevation and layups on the break using his jets. He can thread the needle to a teammate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2330556' first='Noah' last='Garven'] Mesquite&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger combo guard plays on or off the ball. He is an underrated passer up the court and will score&nbsp; He uses a polished floater game, which seems to be his sweet spot, he has good size to score in traffic and uses a sharp mid-range pull-up. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2422763' first='Cameron' last='Hicks'] Salpointe Catholic&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A point forward type is a very good passer for his position. He will score with and-1's thru the contact, finger rolls down the lane and lives on the glass with offensive rebound put backs. He will run the court in transition and block shots. He scored 13 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2266385' first='Braylen' last='Gray'] Willow Canyon&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring combo guard had a good finish down the stretch. He will score offensive rebound put backs, he is quick to the basket with and-1's thru contact and he has a polished floater. He had multiple tough shots down the stretch and scored 12 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2146268' first='Brock' last='Knee'] Arcadia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A catch and shoot three point specialist will rattle in triples one by one. He has an easy stroke and an ultra quick release. He rebounds well in his area and can get to the free throw line with his plus size for position. He scored 8 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1950104' first='Jonathan' last='Mercado'] Chandler&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A point guard who can score it and facilitate. He has good court vision and the ability to take games over during stretches. He will hit the three with range and he took care of the ball versus a top team from Texas. He has a sneaky burst to the basket and the strength and toughness to score inside or get fouled.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2291974' first='Nick' last='Reber'] Highland&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A stronger framed combo guard plays on or off the ball. He will make tough shots inside the paint thru heavy traffic or get to the free throw line. He is one of the stronger guards in the junior class locally and can handle contact better than most. He scored 10 points.   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2407205' first='Ja'Mir' last='Smith'] Chandler&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A hyper athletic power forward will dunk it in the lane as an elite leaper to play elbows above the rim. He met some players at the top of the box to block shots and he rebounds the ball at a high clip. He will also run the floor well and defend in space. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2109038' first='Nate' last='Tainsky'] Hamilton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring guard can fill it up from all levels. He has a consistent floater game and he will score it with transition layups and catch and shoot from the three point line. When he is rolling, the Huskies are a tough team to beat. He scored 11 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2280210' first='Josh' last='Stewart'] Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring combo guard is one of their go-to guys this season. He will score with bursts to the basket and he can handle some contact. He will also pull-up from mid to the three point line and get to the line. He scored 16 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->