Notes from Saturday's Nor Cal Summer Tipoff

The stand out player of the day was Solomon Young of the Nor Cal Wildcats 17U Elite and Sacramento High. A current 6-foot-6, the 2016 prospect is already strong and a high flyer plus he has a very accurate shot from three-point range. It's going to be fun monitoring his progress.

Noah Blackwell also came up big for the Nor Cal Pharaohs. The 6-foot-1 2015 point out of Woodcreek High was easily his team's high scorer. At times, he was by necessity a one man team versus the Nor Cal Wildcats Elite because he could get his own shot, plus he contributed a number of assists. Mason Stuteville and Lake Lutes, both 2014 frontcourters, surprisingly didn't impact versus the Wildcats.

Loved the vision, passing prowess and unselfishness of Lunardi's Frankie Ferrari. The 5-foot-11 backcourter will be playing his senior season back at Burlingame High where the Panthers went 12-0 this season in the Peninsula South League. 6-foot-7 Nick Loew is also back so all should be well on Carolan Avenue for 2013-14 despite the loss of high scorer Connor Haupt. Lunardi's took down both the Oakland Soldiers 17 Blue and Lakeshow Black 17 on Saturday. Strength is a concern at the next level but Ferrari always seems to find a way to deliver.

Oakland Soldier 17 Blue and Monte Vista High senior-to-be guard Trevor John shot well from distance versus Lunardi's but the jersey numbers of the Oakland Soldiers Blue didn't match up well with the program so it was difficult to connect faces to names.

6-foot-8 2015-er Marquese Chriss of the Nor Cal Wildcats 17U Elite looks to have all the prerequisites to become a high level wing. He makes his production look effortless and 30 pounds plus a higher degree of ballhandling will put him high in the rating charts.

6-foot-4 Armani Collins, of the same Wildcats and Stuart Hall High, enjoyed a few moments displaying a solid touch, form and distance on his shot. He's another in the 2015 class and there's a lot more potential to be tapped here. 

Jonathan Galloway, at 6-foot-8 and with the Wildcats and Salesian High, is a 2014 big who is still translating his offensive basketball footwork into instinctive moves. There wasn't a lot of explosion on display but that's not a requirement at his height.

It was interesting seeing some talents playing for a community college on Thursday and then be back on the court Saturday for a club team.

Again, apologies for those we missed and overlooked. The body can take in only so many games even as a spectator.

Plus a big thank you goes out to Gerry Freitas for smooth back-to-back events. He makes hard look easy.