Wright's Basketball Scouting Report Lyn Basa-Merza Classic at Valley Christian High School, San

Saturday, December 22, 2018. I made my way up the hill to Valley Christian High School, San Jose Ca. The first annual Lyn Basa-Merza Classic. 7 games and a clash between Salesian Prep #1 and Modesto Christian #3 in the Nor Cal rankings. Here's my take on the prospects and the games played at this event.

Game 1: Lowell High defeated Gunderson

Game 2: Brookside Christian HS (Stockton) defeated Kennedy HS (Richmond).

Brookside has a good group who should do well as the season progresses, they are led by Geronimo Rubio-De La Rosa. A 6'2 2021 guard who plays under control and has lots of confidence, he's capable of playing either guard position for his team. Geronimo has the ability to get to the rim and finish in a variety of ways with either hand. He showed his ability to shoot from 3 and displayed a nice pull-up jumper. Ronnie Ray. A 6'6 2020 forward has a long slender body and is very active when he's on the floor. He's still kind of raw, but he displayed nice foot work on his jump hook, and he was actively going after rebounds and defending, he ran the floor pretty good. He's an improving player. George Carter 6'4 2019 guard showed an ability to get to the basket and finish and Jahmere Tripp a 6'2 2022 guard, looks like a strong guard with decent handles and a nice pull-up jumper.

Game 3: Palo Alto defeated Alisal 52-49.

This Vikings team did just enough to pull out the win, getting good play from Matthew Marzano a 6'2 2020 guard did a little bit of everything for this team. He's a good handler, passer and he moves well without the ball and was the leading scorer for his team with 13pts. Anthony Yu. 6'0 2020 guard also chipped in with three 3pt baskets to finish with 11pts. Alisal's Sebastian Reynoso 6'8, 2019 forward wing, wants the ball on the block, showed good footwork. A long slender big runs the floor very well, always has his hands up, attacks well from the high post, and had good passes to the wings and cutters. Blocks and changes others shot in the post area. Alisal will be a tough opponent as long as Reynoso is on the court.

Game 4: Redwood defeated Monterey High 55-43.

Live by the 3. Die by the 3 for this Monterey team who started the game off pretty well as they were hitting them. Monterey is a fun team to watch play. All five starters are 6'2-6'4, and can push the ball up in transition and look for open shooters. Tahjae Ordonio 6'3 2019 combo guard continued his steady play connecting on two 3 point shots and finishing with 14pts in the loss. Evan Charles 6'4 2019 forward (qb)looks like he's adjusted into basketball from football. He was very active on the boards and ran the floor in transition.

Redwood High has good size , they're patient, persistent and willing to get up and down the floor. The back court is solid with Chance Farrell-Martin a 6'0 2019 guard. The lefty has good ball handling skills and likes to attack the basket and Miles Squires 6'3 2019 guard who had been out. Miles has handles, can create his own shot, can pull-up with the mid-range off the dribble and knock down a 3. Both guards are active and stay on the attack.

Game 5: Central Catholic High School. Modesto, Ca. defeated Palma. 45-27.

Myles Clayton 6'7, 2021 g/f/p. A prospect worth keeping an eye on he's a long slender athletic prospect who played the whole game. He played in the post, on the wing, and ran some point guard. He displayed a skill set that will only get better. In this game he scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 2 blocks.

Game 6: ST. Joseph Notre Dame High School defeated Valley Christian 74-63.

The host school trailed most of the game but never quit . St Joe's was led by Julian Vaughns 6'3 2019 guard. Julian scored 16 points on some solid drives and finishes in transition and from the wings. There were also solid contributions from Adam Campos 6'5 2019 post, who's as physical as any player on the court knocked down two 3's, scored 14 points. Elijah Palmer 6'0 2021 guard came off the bench to score 11 points. He's got good form and 3 point range. Valley Christian's big man Jay Allen-Tovar 6'9 2019 center, one of Nor Cals top ranked prospects may have had a break out game, we'll see what he does from here on out, but Jay Allen can dominate a game with his size and presence. On offense he's big and strong and hard to guard around the basket, on defense he can own the paint with his physical presence, blocking or altering shots. His numbers were 26 points 9 rebounds 3 blocks. It's up to you big fella!

Game 7: Salesian Prep defeated Modesto Christian 61-56.

These two teams might play again. I'll be there watching. Two quality programs with lots of next level prospects going at it. Modesto Christian's Alex Merkviladze, 6'8 2020 forward had an excellent game. He scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and showed some toughness all throughout the game defending Salesians bigs. He made key buckets down the stretch to keep his team in the game. Devin Day 6'3 2022 guard made four 3pts shot for 12pts and Michael Pearson 5'9 2020 point guard contributed 11 points. Salesian Preps JoVon McClanahan 5'11 2019 point guard continues to lead this team. He scored 21 points grabbed 6 rebounds and had 6 assists. He's starting to remind me of James Akinjo. Te'Jon Sawyer 6'8 2020 forward is done with football. He's working himself into basketball shape. He contributed 8pts and took up a lot of space on offense, he's got a soft touch and finishes well around the basket. He will rebound and defend the post area for this team. 2020 wing