With March Madness in full effect, we see all our developmental league players working just as hard as their college peers, striving to perform at their best. With a packed weekend of game upsets, many players showcased their abilities; here is a recap of some of the performances.
Garrett Carter 6’1 2016 (Etiwanda HS)
Carter showcased his abilities as a athletic point guard this weekend, showing excellent handles, extremely quick off the dribble, good first step, active pesky defender, who can hit floaters attacking the basket, and knocking down 3’s, plays well off to his big man, either with post feeds or in the pick and roll game. Showing why he is arguably the PG in his class in the IE.
Justin Snavely 6’8 2014 (Future College Prep)
Justin made several defensive and offensive plays this last weekend, quickly making it up and down the court to pull these off. Snavely pulled down rebounds, had several points under the basket, and even hit a couple of 3’s. Snavely is another big man who is not limited to staying under the basket.
CJ Clark 5’10 2016 (JW North HS)
CJ played exceptionally well this weekend creating shots for himself left and right, literally. Clark proved he’s able to take defenders off the dribble with either his left or right hand. These moves allowed him to attack the basket, pull up and shoot, or dish it off to corner or big man. By the end of the league Clark will be one of the most talked about players.
LJ Harris 6’2 2014 (San Bernardino HS)
Harris showed his abilities to lead a team, as well as knock down big shots. LJ controlled the tempo of the game, allowing his team to dominant most of the game. LJ was able to play solid pressure defense, as well as great ball handling skills. With the development of these skills Harris will be a solid player at the collegiate level.
Isaiah McCullough 6’3 2015 (Damien HS)
Isaiah had another solid weekend, playing with vigor and passion his floor game is constantly improving. Playing strong defense and the ability to knock down the mid-range shot prove to be a valuable asset to his team.
Ryan Henry 6’5 2014 (Los Osos)
Ryan Henry is another player this week that showcased how important it is to finish with either hand, because of this often-overlooked skill, Henry was able to attack the basket, draw the foul, and finish; creating several 3-point plays. Some of these drives even resulted in a slam dunk. However, if you leave him open on the 3-point line, he’s likely to knock that down as well. Ryan Henry is a fundamentally sound all-around player.
Dezmon Murphy 6’8 2015 (La Mirada HS)
Murphy showed hustle and determination this weekend. Murphy attacked the basket as well as crashed the boards. He provided solid picks and screens for his teammates, and played strong defense against his opponents. To top off the afternoon Murphy finished his last game with a couple of slam-dunks as well.
Jacob Forte 6’3 2015 (Murrieta Valley HS)
Forte played with a lot of heart on Sunday, giving the game all he could. Forte had no problem sacrificing his body to make a play for his team, often fighting for rebounds with players bigger than him. Jacob attacked the basket, pulled up for shots, and even hit some 3’s beyond the stripe along with showing maturity in his decision making.
Malik Fitts 6’5 2015 (Damien HS)
Fitts showed a different side to his game this weekend, a skilled wing player who can score in a variety of ways, Fitts show why his game is improving, showing more play making skills, However proving his strongest attribute is knocking down 3’s, and finishing in transition.
Joshua Jones 6’4 2016 (Valley View HS)
Jones as well showcased his ability to knock down shots from long range, don’t leave this man open.
Christian Smith 6’5 2016 (Los Osos HS)
Christian showed his athleticism this weekend, playing with a motor this weekend, showing why he could become a very skilled perimeter player, shot the ball well from distance, hitting several big 3-pointers in the last game of the afternoon.
DeAngelo Stowers 6’3 2014 (Alta Loma HS)
Stowers played with strong athleticism and energy, playing aggressively on defense, resulted in steals and dunks, plays the passing lanes well, mixed in with quick drives to the basket, long-range 3’s, and even a couple dunks in transition.
Written by: McKay Vandenberg