. Fullcourt Press Focus: New Mexico By Dinos Trigonis (June 25, 2008)   Earlier this spring we had a chance to venture out to New Mexico to check out most of New Mexico’s top hoop talent as well as other Southwest players from Texas, Colorado and Arizona at the 2008 Fullcourt Press New Mexico Skills Showcase at El Dorado High School (Albuquerque NM).   Dinos Trigonis (Fullcourt Press & Hoop Scoop) ran the camp and former NBA assistant Dave Miller directed the skills session.  Besides Trigonis, other scouts in attendance include Kyle Henderson (NMPreps.com), “NM Hoops Guru” (NMPreps.com) and Marc Maggard (Roundball Recruiting and Kentucky Ink).   Here we focus on several of the event’s top prospects.

Top Performers   2008 Players   Allen Tate             6’6”     Hobbs (Hobbs NM) Sleek swingman can really slash to the basket.  Underrated 3-point shooter might opt for a 5th year at a prep school next fall. Eric Kibi                6’5”     Sandia (Albuquerque NM) Active on the boards, Kibi is also an instinctive scorer. Ryan Gonzalez    6’3”     Pojoaque (Santa Fe NM)  Excellent perimeter shooter and underrated passer.

Dylan Chavez                                  6’4”     Capital (Santa Fe NM)  Wing guard with nice size has ability to take defenders off the dribble.   Other 2008 players participating include:  5’11” Paul Jessen (St. Pius X/Albuquerque NM), 5’7” Eric Benedick (St. Pius X/Albuquerque NM), 5’11” Michael Doran (El Dorado/Albuquerque NM), 6’3” Josh Counce (Temple Baptist/Albuquerque NM) and 6’4” Siegfried Benton (Parkland/El Paso TX). 2009 Players   Xavier Blount                                  6’4”     Highland (Albuquerque NM) Blount played as well as anybody at this event.  Strong and physical off-guard (built out of the Hersey Hawkins-mold) makes plays at both ends.  Underrated perimeter scorer is one of the West’s top sleepers.

Chad Adams               6’6”     Highland (Albuquerque NM) Very athletic wing forward doesn’t always go for the jugular but has all the physical tools to be an excellent player for Steve Alford’s New Mexico Lobos (committed as a junior).  Dangerous in transition!   Travis Geiger              6’1”     Alamorgordo (Alamorgordo NM) Savvy playmaker performs with great poise and has real ability to run a team.  Great student (4.0 GPA).

Jordan Romero         6’0”     St. Michael’s (Santa Fe NM)  Cerebral combo-guard has excellent basketball IQ and handles defensive ball pressure well. Lawrence Livingston                    6’7”     Franklin (El Paso TX) Hard-working post rebounds well and has a nice face-up mid-range game.   Joseph Uke                                     6’4”     Franklin (El Paso TX) Strong athlete has underrated mid-range game.   Matthew Brito                                  6’0”     Espanola (Dixon NM) Scoring lead guard has solid handle. Lucio Luttrell                                   6’4”     Las Cruces (Las Cruces NM) Very active wing has deep range on jump shot. Other 2009 players participating include: 5’7” Marco Franc(Highland/Albuquerque NM), 5’11” Talon Morris (El Dorado/El Paso TX), 6’0” Andrew Apodaca (Cibola/Albuquerque NM), 5’10” Joseph Moquino (Sandia/Albuquerque NM), 6’1” Mychal Pinson (Chapin/El Paso TX), 5’11” Levander Brunette (El Dorado/El Paso TX) and 6’1” Eric Watson (Highland/Albuquerque NM).  Recent Texas Tech commit Jaye Crockett (Clovis/Clovis NM) showed up late to the event and did not make it in time to play in the Top Junior/Senior Game.

2010 Players   Michael Cobbins                            6’8”     Palo Duro (Amarillo TX) Perhaps the top long-term prospect here, Cobbins is a long and rangy forward that is an excellent rebounder and shotblocker as well as an effective scorer in the paint.  Lefty runs floor well and has  Marquette, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, New Mexico, Texas, SMU and Texas A&M showing early interest.  Very good student.   Lawrence Williams                         6’1”     Desert Ridge (Gilbert AZ)  Vocal combo-guard has great leadership skills and an impressive winning attitude.  Very good ballhandler and pull-up jump shooter.

Justin Whitt       6’5”     Temple Baptist (Albuquerque NM) Versatile perimeter athlete has nice overall offensive skills.  Good shotblocker for size. Mike Maya      6’0”     Valley (Albuquerque NM) Scoring combo-guard plays good defense.   Dylan Houlihan                               5’10”  Highland (Albuquerque NM) Quick point can knock down three-point shots and is a pin-point passer.

Kyle Lantz                                        6’2”     Manzano (Albuquerque NM) Excellent shooter runs floor well.   Brian Hubbell                                  6’0”     La Cueva (Albuquerque NM) Scrappy combo-guard is a fine passer.   Other 2010 players participating include:  6’2” Devin Padilla-Johnson (Temple Baptist/Albuquerque NM), 6’2” Londus Franklin (Hobbs/Hobbs NM), 6’5” Patrick Beltran (Chapin/El Paso TX), 5’11” Drew Herig (Sandia/Albuquerque NM) and 5’11” Chandler Buckner (La Cueva/Albuquerque NM).   2011 Players   Anthony Norris                               6’5”     Hobbs (Hobbs NM)  Good looking young wing forward is oozing with potential.

Cory Alford                                      6’2”     La Cueva (Albuquerque NM) Son of Lobo head coach Steve Alford, Cory has an outstanding feel for the game and a nice scoring touch.  Very good passer has solid handle.   Maurice McFarland                        6’4”     El Dorado (El Paso TX)  Strong combo-forward has legitimate scoring skills and is a rugged rebounder.   PJ  Horgan                                       6’6”     Rio Rancho (Rio Rancho NM)  PJ was injured and did not play but his nice size for a 2011 prospect makes him a player worth keeping an eye on.

Ronnie Daniels     6’1”     La Cueva (Albuquerque NM Excellent three-sport athlete (also plays football and runs track) is a great on-ball defender and has a terrific nose for the ball.  Great slashing scorer. Other 2011 players participating include:  6’0” Cecil Walker (Cibola/Albuquerque NM), 6’0” Theodore Livingston (Franklin/El Paso TX), 6’5” Chris Strong (El Dorado/Albuquerque NM), 5’11” Jordan Tate (Bosque/Albuquerque NM), 6’2” Bryce Abeyta (Rio Rancho/Rio Rancho NM) and 6’3” Joshua Todd (Rio Rancho/Rio Rancho NM).   2012 Players   Quavshaun Branch                       5’10”  Manzano (Albuquerque NM) Very quick point has tremendous ability to score off the dribble. “Q” has excellent potential.   Justin Griego                                   6’7”     La Cueva (Albuquerque NM) Big body rebounds well and has impressive post footwork.  Great size for age/grade makes him one to track.   Austin Roark                                   6’6”     Manzano (Albuquerque NM) Long post runs the court well and has ability to finish on the block.   Javan Brown                                   5’10”  Sandia (Albuquerque NM) Slithering wing can really create off the dribble and attacks the basket well. Jason Franzen                                6’1”     Overland (Aurora CO) Athletic swingman is an excellent defender.   Devon Honomichl                          5’9”     Cibola (Albuquerque NM) Very improved combo-guard is an excellent passer and can really score off the dribble. Jaylen Spraggins                           5’9”     Truman MS (Albuquerque NM)   Quick lead guard applies tough defensive pressure.   Other 2012 players participating include:  5’9” Jonathan Henderson (Hoover MS/Albuquerque NM), 5’6” Andrew Muniz (Jefferson/Denver CO), 5’6” Aidan Houlihan (Highland/Albuquerque NM), 6’0” Jordan McDonald (Overland/Aurora CO), 6’0” Jordan Madrid-Andrews (Machbas/Denver CO), 5’10” Paul Cordova (Rio Rancho/Rio Rancho NM), 5’11” Mario Garcia (Los Lunas/Los Lunas NM) and 5’9” Joshua Valdez (Pojoaque/Santa Fe NM).   2013 Players   Cullen Neal                                      6’0”     Eisenhower MS (Albuquerque NM) Neal (the son of New Mexico associate head coach Craig “Noodles” Neal) was sensational here – competing very effectively against players 1-3 grades ahead of him.  Craig Ehlo-type player is great off the dribble and has confidence in his scoring abilities.   Ross Buchman                               6’1”     Monroe MS (Albuquerque NM) Improving post player rebounds well and is a good shotblocker.    Nice potential.   ** All photos courtesy of Mark Maggard (www.WallPeels.com).   Photos from the event can be purchased from Wall Peels.

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