North Orange County Championships: Second Five

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">LA HABRA — Last week’s North Orange County Championships at Sonora high school was won by San Juan Capistrano JSerra over Lakewood Mayfair in epic fashion.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Lions wing DJ Rodman scored 29 points, including a game-winner with 0.5 seconds left on the clock, to give JSerra the 63-62 victory. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here’s the second five performers from the week-long event.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>AJ Perry</strong>, Anaheim Canyon</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Perry is the catalyst for Canyon’s high-powered and potent offense whether it’s with the pass or his deep 3-point shot. The 5-foot-8 point guard dished out seven assists in the Comanches 68-59 win over Sonora, then followed that up with a 29-point effort with six 3-pointers in a win over Troy.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Daniel Esparza</strong>, Sonora</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Esparza is one of the most unknown sophomore’s in SoCal, but if he continues to play like he did last week, that won’t be the case for long. The 6-foot-1 guard is a big time scorer with shiftiness and creativity off the bounce. He can blow by defenders and finish around the basket or pull jumpers from three or mid-range off the dribble.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Justin Williams</strong>, JSerra</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Williams doesn’t do a whole lot of scoring at this point in his development, but his basketball IQ, passing ability and unselfishness are key factors to making JSerra go.The 6-foot-1 junior plays with the pace of a true point guard and makes good reads in both transition and half-court settings.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Ja’len Overstreet</strong>, La Habra</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Overstreet is both strong and quick the ball in his hands. The 5-foot-10 shooting guard was the go-to guy in the Highlanders’ near upset of JSerra, scoring 19 points in the one-point overtime loss. The senior then scored 11 points La Habra’s win over La Mirada.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Cole Yauney</strong>, Troy</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The 6-foot-6 senior center averaged 17 points per game on the tournament, including a career-high 21 points in a win over Brea Olinda. Yauney has good size, strength and touch around the basket and understands his role as a rim runner and rebounder. </span></p>