NorCal Prospects at Pangos Best of the West Showcase

Sunday February 21st, Prep Hoops spent the day at Nets on Fire in St. George Utah for the 2021 Pangos Best of the West Showcase. There’s always good competition at Dinos Trigonis events. There were 7 standout prospects from NorCal who made the trip to St. George, Utah to compete in this event.  Yaqub MirYaqubMir6'2" | SGGranite Bay | 2023State 6’2 2023 Combo Guard, Granite Bay HS. Granite Bay California. Mir seems to show up at all these events ready to compete. He has continued to hone his skill set, and play the game the right way. He’s an high IQ player that doesn’t make many mistakes and force things, he lets the game come to him. He uses good shot selection, and is very comfortable looking for scoring opportunities when he has the ball. Mir has range on his shot, and good passing skills. Malachi MillerMalachiMiller6'2" | SGModesto | 2023State 6’2 2023 Shooting Guard/Wing, Modesto HS. Modesto CA. Miller is a muscular athlete with a solid body. He had a good showing at this event. He had people looking when he threw down a couple of monster dunks. Miller, showed he has the range to hit 3's, he hit a few from the corner. He’s a good rebounding guard on both ends, he finishes strong going up off two, and added several offensive rebounds for put back points with good effort. His handles could some some improvement, but he was still effective attacking, and playing through contact.  Dante WallsDanteWalls6'3" | SGFranklin | 2024State 6’3 2024 Guard/Wing, Franklin HS. Sacramento CA. Wells had a surprisingly good performance at this event. It was kind of a coming out party for him. I haven’t had the opportunity to see many Freshman play in person during this time. Wells is a good prospect, and one to keep an eye on from NorCal in the Sacramento Area. He has a good size body, and brings a good combination of skills, and confidence for a Freshman. His handles are good, he can get to the basket from the baseline, and the wings. He brings good range on his jump shot. He made some 3's and dropped a few mid-range jumpers. He’s on My Watch list. Tai-Run Williams 6’5 2023 Wing, Vanguard College Prep, Modesto, CA. Williams is a long armed wing who likes to get out in the open court, and transition to score his points. He did okay around the basket, but needs to get stronger to handle the contact on the way up. He’ll improve his game when he bulks up a bit. His best basketball is yet to come. He's a good athlete always moving, one way or the other. Jalen Encinas 5’11 2022 Point Guard, Vanden HS, Fairfield, CA. Encinas was a solid contributor to his team at this event. The pass first point guard, played under control, delivered good passes to teammates in transition, and the half court. He hit a couple of key baskets in one of his teams victory. Thomas Brown Jr. 6’1 2024 Guard, Antioch, CA. Brown Jr, A long armed still growing Freshman showed a lot of heart and determination at this event. At times he seemed a little unsteady, but he wasn’t deterred, he worked hard while on the court, didn’t back down, and showed sign of being a good prospect down the road. Shamar Jones 6’4 2025 Guard/Wing, Home School. Tracy CA. One of the reason I attend these events is there’s always the one that you didn’t know about. Jones happens to be a 2025 prospect ( 8th grader) from Tracy, CA. part of NorCal. He’s a prospect loaded with potential. Obviously still growing, and lots skill development is in store for him. At this event he showed he could handle playing against older players, that a good start. I’ll see more of him if he stays in NorCal.