Minutemen Varsity Summer Shootout: Day 2 Standout Wings/Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bakersfield, CA - This past Sunday, I attended Day 2 of the inaugural Minutement Varsity Summer Shootout hosted by Liberty of Bakersfield High School. The event featured teams from various areas in the Central Section, as well as Weston Ranch of Stockton, with teams playing in a showcase game format. I was in attendance for the second day of the event, which featured the reigning Division 1 Section Champs in St. Joseph of Santa Maria and the D2 SoCal Regional Champs in Bakersfield Christian, both rosters loaded with talent. This article takes a look at 7 standout wings and forwards from the 2027 and 2028 classes. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, their skill sets, and stats that I accumulated. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with [player_tooltip player_id='2646533' first='Taiwo' last='Daramola'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2646533' first='Taiwo' last='Daramola'] (6'8 | PF) - Bakersfield Christian (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-8 forward is an elite rim protector, controls the glass on both ends, and likes to play above the rim for some entertaining dunks. Daramola showed growth in his offensive game, space the floor from beyond the arc, as he would connect on 3 threes against St. Joes, better handles to attack from the top of the key, good footwork and post moves to create shots in the paint, using the drop-step and shoulder shake to get space from his defender, good touch around the basket on put-backs, and some big dunks off the lob or off the rebound. Daramola has great timing and a massive wingspan to alter/block shots in the paint, the agility to extend to the perimeter and alter shots, limits opponents to single shot possessions with his work on the defensive glass, makes the outlet quickly to get ahead of the defense for transition points, and seals his defender off well on the pick and roll action to get open looks off the dive. Daramola has active hands to deflect entry passes and jump passing lanes, but it was the confidence he had with the 3-ball that was most impressive this past Sunday, scoring a team-high 18 points, as he lived up to his #2 player ranking in the 2027 Class for the Central Section.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2436295' first='Godson' last='Eyita'] (6'9 | PF) - St. Joseph (Santa Maria CA)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-9 power forward has great touch around the basket, improved footwork and confidence on the post-moves, and added muscle to help him assert his game in the paint against opposing forwards and centers. Eyita had two impressive showings against Bakersfield Christian and Weston Ranch, as he would go for a game-high of 20 points against the Eagles, followed by a 19 point and 5 rebound stat-line against the Cougars. Eyita controls the boards on both ends, has enough handle to push the ball up the court, evident with multiple coast to coast buckets off the glass, has great footwork in the interior to complement his post-moves to create scoring opportunities within 15-feet of the basket, has good court vision to make reads from the high-post or from the low-block to cutters off the ball, seals his defender off nicely in the pick and roll action to get open off the dive, and is effective with the mid-post face-up jumper to pull his defender away from the basket. What impressed most about Eyita's game was his movement in the paint, the agility and patience to get his defender out of position, using the spin-move or shoulder fake into the drop-step to seal off his opponent, as well as pull-up with the mid-post jumper with touch on his shots in this area, and the use of the ball-fake to attack the basket off the dribble. Eyita's role as a scorer will increase this Summer and next season, and he looks poised to take on that responsibility.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2932172' first='Giovanni' last='Fomusoh'] (6'3 |WG) - Centennial (Bakersfield CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-3 wing/slasher has an athletic and lengthy frame, excels in the open court of cutting off the ball to catch and attack the basket, and is a versatile defender that can guard the 1 through 4 adequately. Fomusoh had a strong second half scoring the ball, putting up 10 of his 14 points after the break, to go with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, highlighting his overall impact in the game. Fomusoh has active hands, good lateral quickness, gets into his opponents dribbling space, with the timing and instinct to poke the ball out, jump passing lanes, and deflect the ball to turn defense to offense. Fomusoh is active on the boards on both ends, has the handles to push the ball up the court, or outlet the ball to get up the court, where he is hard to defend in the open court, alters shots from the weakside in the paint, as well as on perimeter shots on the close out. Fomusoh uses the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to get by his defender, gets good lift on the mid-range jumper, and is a crafty scorer at the basket.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2194700' first='Jeremias' last='Killebrew'] (6'5 | WF) - Bakersfield Christian (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-5 wing/forward connects on tough perimeter shots, can generate scoring opportunities with or without the ball in his hands, and looked bouncy this past Sunday taking flight on several dunks off the lob. Killebrew had a strong showing against the Knights, going for 14 points, followed by 10 points in a win over Weston Ranch, and he looked ready to show out for Section 7 and Cali Live this month. Killebrew has solid handles, uses the crossover, spin-move, hesitation, between-cross, and toss-cross to create space from his defender, gets great lift on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the bounce, moves fluid off the ball, finds holes in the defense to get open, and is effective with the jumper off the catch. Killebrew had several power dunks off the lob in the half-court or the open floor, the handles to push the ball off the glass, the wingspan and size to alter shots in the paint, with the agility and lateral movement to stay in front of perimeter players, causing havoc, jumping passing lanes, and deflecting entry passes to turn defense to offense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028 [player_tooltip player_id='3583999' first='Lyfe' last='Modile'] (6'2 | WG) - Weston Ranch (Stockton CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-2 wing/guard can space the floor from beyond the arc, runs the floor well in transition, and is active on the glass. Modile had two solid showings on Sunday for Weston Ranch, going for 8 points and 15 points respectively, connecting on 3 threes over the course over those games. Modile moves well off the ball, gets to his shots spots, in particular the corners, and is effective with the 3-ball off the catch. Modile has solid handles, can create off the dribble to get by his defender, is a crafty scorer around the basket, has active hands and good footspeed to stay in front of his opponent, and pokes the ball out to create turnovers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2137373' first='Jerimyah' last='Owens'] (6'4 | WF) - Weston Ranch (Stockton CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4 wing/forward has the moves to create his own shots, has good size and a physical build to operate in the paint, and is able to space the floor from beyond the arc. Owens played the point-forward often for the Cougars, and had a pair of games scoring 10 points in each, showing he can make plays for others or get his own buckets. Owens has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to get by his initial defender, has the strength to score through contact driving down the lane, and can connect on the jumper, from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble, finds openings in the defense around the basket, gets open for catch and finish opportunities in the dunker spot, and has good touch around the basket. Owens is active on the boards on both ends, gets put-back opportunities off the glass, can push the ball up the court, or outlet and get up the floor himself.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 Owen Yurosek (6'4 | WF) - Bakersfield Christian (CA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4 wing/forward is a beast on the glass, can spray shots from beyond the arc, and is the energy and glue guy for the Eagles. Yurosek didn't have much of an impact scoring the ball in the opening game for the Eagles on Day 2, but was cooking in the first half against Weston Ranch, as he would connect on 3 threes for 9 points. Yurosek brings relentless energy and toughness to the court for the Eagles, moves freely off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch. Yurosek gets his team extra possessions on the offensive boards, limits opponents to single shot possessions, can defend on the perimeter, as well as in the post, has great touch on shots around the basket, can use the floater effectively, and is willing to take big shots when the game is on the line. The recent Washington State commit and standout tight end will be key for the Eagles this Summer and coming season, as it looks to compete for a D1 Section title and make a run at another shot at the state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->