Pangos Frosh/Soph: Top 30 Game Guard Standouts

LONG BEACH — We were at McBride high school Saturday and Sunday for another installment of Dinos Trigonis' Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph camp which featured many of the best first and second-year prospects in the Western U.S. The event featured 120-plus campers with Top 60 and Top 30 games on Sunday. Below we take a closer look at the guards who stood out during the two-day event.    Manigat is a very intriguing long-term prospect with his blend of positional size, basketball feel and IQ and off-bounce creativity. The wiry 6-foot-6 sophomore exploited his size advantage on the perimeter by shooting over the top of smaller defenders and exposed those same mismatch opportunities with drives and finishes around the basket. Manigat was at his best on isolation-type touches where he used his ball-on-a-string handle and smooth changes of speed and direction to get to his spots. He scored 12 points in the Top 30 game.     Graham showed flashes of brilliance all throughout the camp and put everything together in the Top 30 game where he scored 22 points on 8-for-12 from the field, including six three-pointers, which earned him the all-star game MVP nod. Graham's offensive impact was predicated by his smooth and consistent three-point shooting, both off the catch and off the bounce, where he showed repeatable mechanics and great balance. The 6-foot-2 freshman also used his savvy handle, length and fluidity to get to the rim and finish in transition settings.     One of the biggest takeaways from O'Connor's camp performance was that he played hard and played the right way on both ends of the floor. The SoCal-based sophomore was in attack mode throughout the event and used that aggressiveness to attack the rim, earn paint touches and score in or create for teammates. The Damien High product was one of the better on-ball defenders in the event, as well, and his willingness to guard with energy, effort and physicality resulted him in snagging 13 steals across his five games played. O'Connor was also efficient from the three-point line as he connected on nine of his 11 shots from behind the arc.     Van Ewijk saved his best game for last as he scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in the Top 30 all-star game. The 6-foot-1 point guard out of NorCal is a smooth creator and high IQ decision-maker off the bounce whose ability to score and distribute allows him to play on or off the ball. Van Ewijk used pace and feel with the ball in his hands to get to the rim and score with creativity around the basket and knocked down efficient catch-and-shoot opportunities from three-point range.     Austin was one of the more savvy scorers we evaluated on the weekend. The 6-foot lefty showed his natural feel for creating space from defenders with his ball handling, footwork and ability to use his shoulder and off arm to get defender out of position. Austin used that space to show off his shot-making ability at all three levels of the floor, but was especially good with his mid-range jumpers. Austin averaged 25.7 points per game during the camp portion of the event and added 10 points and six assists in the Top 30 game.     Reed is one of the most physically-imposing underclass guards in the state and he used that and his basketball skill to impact the game on both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-2 sophomore put up a balanced stat-line of 12 points, 5.3 rebounds, four assists and 3.7 steals per game. Reed put together a strong effort in the Top 30 game with 15 points. Reed is most effective as a downhill driver and finisher around the basket and pull-up jump shooter in the mid-range area.

LONG BEACH — We were at McBride high school Saturday and Sunday for another installment of Dinos Trigonis' Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph camp which featured many of the best first and second-year prospects in the Western U.S. The event featured 120-plus campers with Top 60 and Top 30 games on Sunday. Below we take a closer look at the guards who stood out during the two-day event.