California’s SoCal D2 State Regionals: Standout Players (Part 2)

Central, CA - Over the past two weeks, the CIF State playoffs have been taking place in gyms throughout the state of California. I was fortunate to not have to travel far to watch 3 of the 4 rounds of Regional playoff games, as Bakersfield Christian, the #3 seed in the SoCal State Regionals for Division 2, hosted games all the way to the Regional Finals. In this article, I take a look at 7 standout players from the games I attended live. This is a Part 2 of a two-part article. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, relevant statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed in the games I watched. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with OJ PoPoola.   OJ PoPoola WG (6'6 | 2027) - Palisades Dolphins    PoPoola had an outstanding showing in the D2 SoCal Regional Finals and displayed consistent impact on the game on both ends from start to finish, doing all he could to help propel his team to the D2 State title game, but came up two points short to the Eagles, 59 to 57. PoPoola had a hot start with 6 points in the first quarter, and continued to score at least four points a quarter for the remainder of the game, showing his ability to create off the bounce, using the hesitation, crossover, and between cross to get his defender off balance, the strides to get by his initial defender, touch and creativity on shots around the basket, and accuracy with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line. PoPoola dropped 20 points in the loss, and earned trips to the free throw line often, as he continued to attack the basket with the body control to absorb contact at the cup. PoPoola also displayed his defensive prowess using his length and active hands to deflect or jump passing lanes, as well as the timing and agility to block shots from the weak side, or close out and alter/block perimeter shots.   [player_tooltip player_id='3046527' first='Phillip' last='Reed'] Jr. PG (6'3 | 2029) - Palisades Dolphins    The standout freshman lead guard had a solid overall showing in the State semifinals, showing he can impact a game in various ways even if his point total was in single digits. Reed showed the court vision, the decision making with the ball in his hands, the handles and moves to get his defender off balance, a great burst of speed off the bounce, and the court vision to find open teammates cutting off the ball, off the drive and kick pass, and finding teammates ahead in transition. Reed scored 6 points and dished out 6 assists. Reed came in clutch on the defensive end as well, snagging 6 steals with his active hands, quick lateral foot-speed, timing and instincts to poke the ball out or jump passing lanes, and made plays up the court by turning defense to offense. Big Spring and Summer coming up for the standout freshman guard.   [player_tooltip player_id='2763330' first='Braxton' last='Rolf'] WF (6'4 | 2028) - Carlsbad Lancers   Rolf had a good start to the game against Bakersfield Christian in the Regional semifinals, and had a good State Regional playoff run to help the #15 seed earn a spot in the D2 State Elite 8. The sophomore had 7 points in the first half, with 5 of those in the opening quarter, connecting on a 3-ball in the process. Like the rest of the Carlsbad squad, Rolf had a quiet second half scoring the ball with 2 points in the final minutes of the game when the outcome was already decided. Rolf is active on the glass, which was evident by his 5 rebounds, has enough handles to create from the perimeter, finds openings around the basket to get open for slip passes or cross-court finds for easy buckets, and moves well off the ball to get open for the catch and shoot 3-ball. Impressive young prospect to keep an eye on the next few seasons.      Braylen Smith CG (6'2 | 2028) - Bakersfield Christian Eagles    Smith has emerged as the main perimeter scoring threat for the Eagles this season and he had one of his best and most impactful games of the season in the Regional semifinals against Carlsbad. Smith had the hot hand early, scoring 9 points in the opening quarter and showing off the 3-level scoring ability. After a relatively quiet second and third quarters, Smith added 8 more points in the fourth period to stave off any potential comeback from the Lancers. Smith put up a great stat-line of 19 points, leading all scorers, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists to display his court vision, play making, and good positional rebounder. In the Regional Finals, Smith led the Eagles with 10 points to shrink the lead of Palisades to 32 to 30. Smith would add two more points in the second half for a total of 12 points, as well as 4 steals to display his defensive prowess and on-ball defense that can turn defense to offense routinely. Smith will be relied upon to provide perimeter scoring, as well as running the point, in the State title game, and the sophomore has the confidence and skill to produce.     [player_tooltip player_id='3034823' first='Carter' last='Steinback'] SG (6'1 | 2028) - Bakersfield Christian Eagles    Steinback has been the sharp shooter off the bench for the Eagles this season, and its best 3-point specialist. He had that on full display in the opening round win of the State D2 Regionals, as he connected on 3 threes over the course of the game and finished with 11 points in the win over San Pedro. Bakersfield Christian did not make a single three in the D2 Regional Finals against Palisades, but needed 6 of them in the quarterfinals of the D1 Section playoff game between the Eagles and San Joaquin. Steinback could be a key factor in Saturday's State D2 title game to help space the floor for BCHS, so it can feed the big fella Taiwo and keep him from being guarded by multiple players.     [player_tooltip player_id='2131796' first='Briggs' last='Young'] CG (6'2 | 2026) - Carlsbad Lancers    Young had the hot hand early and took advantage often with a strong first half showing to help give the #15 seed Carlsbad the three point lead at half, 33 to 30. Young scored 14 points but was just as impressive disrupting the ball to accumulate 4 assists in the first two quarters, as his teammates were hot from the field as well. Young was limited to 4 points in the second half, as the Eagles pulled away in the 3rd quarter and won 65 to 50. Young has great court vision, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks off the catch, has the moves and body control along with the accuracy to score the ball from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble. Young added 7 rebounds to go with his team-high 18 points to close out his high school career. Impressive player that impacts the game in various ways.    Owen Yurosek WF (6'4 | 2027) - Bakersfield Christian Eagles    Yurosek has been one of the most consistent and durable players for the Eagles this season, and he had a strong showing in the opening game of the State Regionals against San Pedro, going for 11 points and 5 rebounds. Yurosek added 8 points in two of the next 3 games and his impact on the glass, on defense, and keeping his teammates locked in have been huge this season, and will be needed in the D2 State title game.

Central, CA - Over the past two weeks, the CIF State playoffs have been taking place in gyms throughout the state of California. I was fortunate to not have to travel far to watch 3 of the 4 rounds of Regional playoff games, as Bakersfield Christian, the #3 seed in the SoCal State Regionals for Division 2, hosted games all the way to the Regional Finals. In this article, I take a look at 7 standout players from the games I attended live. This is a Part 2 of a two-part article. In this article you will find the following information: player's information, relevant statistics, and a brief description of each player's skill sets and how they performed in the games I watched. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with OJ PoPoola.