2006 Fullcourt Press/Focused Shooter Orange County Spring Showcase Report
The 2006 Fullcourt Press/Focused Shooter Orange County Spring Showcase was held on May 23 at El Dorado HS (Placentia CA). Besides the Fullcourt Press’ own Dinos Trigonis and Etop Udo-Ema, other media/scouts in attendance included Dave Keefer and Dave Rogahn (CaliforniaPreps.com) and Peter Schroeder (VisionShots.com). The report below recaps this event which featured over 60 of OC’s top underclassmen.
Juniors (Class of 2007)
Several of OC’s top juniors (Class of 2007) were present including 6’2” Cheyne Martin (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach CA), 5’10” Kert’d Elisadez (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’2” Bryan Horton (Canyon/Anaheim CA), 6’3” Avner Alkhas (Northwood/Irvine CA) 6’3” Chris O’Brien (Northwood/Irvine CA), 6’9” Flynn Clayman (New Roads/Santa Monica CA), 6’5” Demetrius Cook (Canyon/Anaheim CA) and 6’0” Dan Rossi (El Dorado/Placentia CA).
Martin is one of California’s top sleepers going into the July recruiting period. Cheyne is a lefty with deep range on his jumper and great court savvy for a combo-guard. Martin exploded for 28 points (including 4 “threes”) in this game to go along with 8 boards and showed a renewed confidence in his all-around game after missing most of his junior season with an illness. Elisadez (13 points/7 assists) is small but head-strong and has the toughness necessary to be in command at the point, Horton is an athletic guard that loves to defend and is an underrated scorer (19 points/8 boards here) and Alkhas keeps showing us that his hard work is paying off as he is becoming more and more of an all-around player (5 points/7 boards/5 assists here). Alkhas’ Northwood teammate Chris O’Brien is one of Orange County’s top sleepers. Chris (the son of former Orange Coast College and current Northwood coach Tim O’Brien) is a strong guard that is deceptively athletic and has the basketball IQ you would expect in a coaches son. O’Brien (17 points/8 boards) is a very good rebounder for his size, has a solid handle and can really finish in transition. Clayman (16 points/14 rebounds) has always been an excellent shooter, but he impressed us here with his tenacity on the boards and his ability to find the open man when double-teamed, Cook (16 points/8 boards) is somewhat of an unknown commodity, but he was one of the revelations of the event as he displayed excellent athleticism (he had one dunk in transition that woke-up the crowd), slashing scoring ability and nice 3-point range and Rossi was perhaps the top passer here (4 assists) as his innate court sense and ability to read the floor helped his White team cruise to a 100-87 victory.
Other juniors that impressed were 6’2” Dijon Horne (Ocean View/Huntington Beach CA), 6’3” Matt Metcalfe (Brethren Christian/Huntington Beach CA), 6’5” Caleb Burgess (Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana CA), 6’3” Landon Pluimer (Capistrano Valley/Mission Viejo CA), 6’3” Derek Berkley (Troy/Fullerton CA), 6’4” Michael Duralde (El Dorado/Placentia CA), 6’4” Michael Ure (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA), 6’4” Brandon Duarte (Valencia/Placentia CA), 6’4” Tim Goodfriend (Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana CA) and 6’6” Kelsey Chase (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA).
Horne is an athletic defender who has developed an accurate outside shot, Metcalfe is an excellent shooter, Burgess (15 points/9 boards) has range on his jump shot and can score in a variety of ways, Pluimer is a solid wing that has a nice 3-point stroke, Berkley is another shooter that can put the rock in the basket (15 points here), Duralde is a tough wing that makes the most of his scoring opportunities (3/4 from the field for 8 points), Ure has the ability to knock down the 3-point shot, Duarte is an athletic shooter with size, Goodfiend displayed a nifty jump hook and posted a rare double-double (13 points/12 boards) and Chase has a strong body and a nose for the ball (12 boards).
Other juniors participating include 6’4” Jordan Priest (Canyon/Anaheim CA), 5’10” Blake Pinto (Estancia/Costa Mesa CA), 6’0” Josh Brown (El Modena/Orange CA), 6’4” Cordell Simmons (El Modena/Orange CA), 5’11” Brett Williams (Santa Margarita/Rancho Santa Margarita CA), 6’0” Emmitt Moore (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA), 6’0” Jacob Brinnon (El Dorado/Placentia CA), 6’2” Nathan Cook (El Dorado/Placentia CA) and 5’8” Grant Furuya (Fountain Valley/Fountain Valley CA).
Priest is an effective slashing scorer (had a very nice reverse lay-up), Pinto is a solid floor general (9 points/5 assists), Brown threw a few impressive dimes, Simmons is an excellent defender (had a very nice block), Williams has nice ability to pull-up off the dribble to knock down jump shots, Moore handles the ball well under pressure, Brinnon is an aggressive combo-guard that can shoot (10 points), Cook is an adequate ballhandler and passer while Furuya showed ability to beat defenders off the dribble.
Sophomores (Class of 2008)
Top sophomores (Class of 2008) on hand here proved to be 6’2” Jerime Anderson (Canyon/Anaheim CA), 6’3” Zach Zaragoza (Northwood/Irvine CA), 6’0” Blake Arnett (Mater Dei/Santa Ana CA), 6’4” Kyle Pascual (Esperanza/Anaheim CA) and 6’2” Klay Thompson (Santa Margarita/Rancho Santa Margarita CA).
Anderson is a smooth PG with good size and an excellent upside. When Jerime (17 points/9 assists/8 boards/5 steals) adds weight and strength he will rise in the national rankings. Zaragosa (13 points/8 boards) is a well-built wing that can score inside and from deep beyond the arc, Arnett (11 points/8 boards/5 assists/5 steals) is a crafty point that knows how to set-up teammates and lead a team, Pascual was very efficient here (18 points/7 boards) and is a good rebounder for his size and Klay (son of former LA Laker Mychal Thompson) is an athletic wing that has range on his jump shot (8 points/8 boards).
Other sophomores of note include 6’1” Armon Brown (Esperanza/Anaheim CA), 5’10” Chucky Estrada (Capistrano Valley/Mission Viejo CA), 6’0” Jean Luc-Kamaha (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA), 6’1” Mike Hernandez (Capistrano Valley/Mission Viejo CA), 6’3” Stu Iverson (Calgary Canada), 6’2” Nick Becker (Huntington Beach/Huntington Beach CA), 6’6” Austin Smith (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA) and 6’7” Tyler Deliman (El Dorado/Placentia CA).
Brown (11 points/5 boards) had a sizzling reverse lay-up in traffic, Estrada is a very good perimeter shooter, Luc-Kamaha is a burly combo guard that defends well, Hernandez has a nice 3-point stroke (8 points/7boards), Iverson is a Canadian that has an above-average feel for the game, Becker is an athletic slashing scorer that can shoot the rock, Smith is a lanky and mobile forward and Deliman (7 points/7 boards) had a sensational bounce pass in transition.
Freshmen (Class of 2009)
Freshmen (Class of 2009) who showed much promise include 6’6” Jesse Hazely (Northwood/Irvine CA), 6’2” Vince Payne (El Modena/Orange CA), 6’1” Ryan Tank (El Dorado/Placentia CA), 6’1” Mason Mageo (Capistrano Valley/Mission Viejo CA) and 6’6” David Swartz (Liberty Christian/Huntington Beach CA).
Hazely is an athletic and bouncy forward that looks like Diamon Simpson (St. Mary’s) and moves like Lance Thomas (Duke). Jesse attacks the basket with energy (8 boards), has a nice mid-range touch and is a terrific kid! Outstanding potential to be a high-major player with continued year-to-year development. Payne is athletic and has very good scoring skills which includes a strong pull-up jump shot (13 points here), Tank (12 points including 2 “threes” here) was perfect from the field and has plenty of range on his jump shot, Mageo is a crafty scorer and clever passer who had a big game (16 points on 7/10 shots and 5 assists) and Swartz (15 points/8 boards) is a rock-solid rebounder/shotblocker with an underrated outside stroke.
Other freshmen that participated include 6’1” Chris Bearden (Sonora/La Habra CA), 6’0” Josh Johnson (Fontana/Fontana CA), 5’10” Jeff Jefferson (Bretheran Christian/Huntington Beach CA), 6’0” Troy McLanahan (Estancia/Costa Mesa CA), 6’1” Braden Priest (Canyon/Anaheim CA), 6’2” Kerby Farrar (El Modena/Orange CA), 6’4” Matt McHugh (El Dorado/Placentia CA), 5’6” Jason Vo (El Dorado/Placentia CA) and 6’3” Sam Weber (Orange Lutheran/Orange CA).
Bearden (9 points) is an effective slashing scorer who also can employ an accurate jump shot when needed, Johnson is a very good defender, Jefferson is a smooth PG, McLanahan has a nice handle, Priest (8 points/3 assists) displayed nice use of a pump-fake to score, Farrar is an active defender, McHugh is a good rebounder (8 boards) and had a nice put back in traffic, Vo is small but his confidence is growing and he showed he could knock down the open shot and Weber has a smooth perimeter stroke.
Talented 6’4” frosh Rick Francis (El Dorado/Placentia CA) was scheduled to participate in this event but was injured and could not participate.
There were a couple of 8th graders that played in the Freshman Game and served notice that they will be heard from next year when they enter high school. This group includes 6’6” Clint Bozner (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’6” Michael Atwater (Villa Park/Villa Park CA), 6’3” Nick Kasper (Dana Hills/Dana Point CA), 6’1” Austin Wenger (Brethren Christian/Huntington Beach CA), 5’10” Tommy Stangel (La Habra Heights CA) and 5’6” Brendan Hill (Laguna Niguel CA)
Bozner impresses us everytime we see him. Clint (6 points/5 boards) is a long post-forward that rebounds well and looks to score when needed. Atwater (9 points/4 boards) will team up with Bozner at Villa Park and give Spartan coach Kevin Reynolds a formidable future 1-2 frontline punch, Kasper is a strong and active wing that has nice potential, Wenger is a much improved combo-guard that can score (as his 13 points here showed), Stangel is a solid ballhandler that looks for teammates (4 assists) and Hill is an excellent passer (5 assists here).
Detailed stats of each game and player in this event is available online at: www.CaliforniaPreps.com
** photos included here are courtesy of www.visionshots.com
*** Special thanks to Focused Shooter's Paul Hoover and Rich Kitagawa (www.focusedshooter.com) and Ryan Mounce and the entire El Dorado staff for all their help and efforts in making this a memorable event.
