July 15, 2011

Meet the 2011 Norcal Pharoahs

Kevin McCarthy
 

The Pharaohs are Sacramento-based and contrary to musical folklore, don't walk like an Egyptian. Founded in 1999 by Harvey Livingston who brought in Markel Sadler (UC Davis) and Jason Barton (Chico State) to coach the initial team, the squad continues to this day under Barton's tutelage.

Barton currently has his team at the adidas Three Stripes Tournament in Anaheim to be followed next by the Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas come July 22-26.

As for this season's group, Barton offered "it's a good group of kids who play well together." He has an interesting collection of familiar names plus some new ones.

Here's Barton's player analysis:

• Bryce Scott, 6-foot-2, 190, guard, Oak Ridge, 2012
  Bryce is a point guard who can play shooting guard. He is a great teammate and gets everyone involved. He has a great shooting range and one of the best mid-range games that I have seen in a while. Bryce has a knack for scoring and sees the floor really well -- he is a very smart basketball player. This year for Oak Ridge, he averaged 18.7 points, 3.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Bryce was honored with a First Team All-League Award, MVP and Player of the Year at Oak Ridge, plus a second team All-Metro selection. He has several college interested and has received an offer from Lafayette.
• Bryce Pressley, 6-foot-3, 195, guard, Jesuit, 2012
  Bryce (son of former NBA player Harold Pressley) is an outstanding player who plays both sides of the floor. Bryce has a shooting range that does not quit, plus he is a great ball handler and sees the floor -- he has a great passing ability. Bryce is also a great defender and rebounder who uses his athleticism well. Bryce has been receiving a lot of interest from colleges.
• Kori Babineaux, 6-foot-4, 180, guard, Folsom, 2011
  Kori is a very strong and athletic guard. He uses his strength to get to the basket with ease and has a good three-point shot. Kori is a very good rebounder, using his size and athleticism to go and get the ball. He decided to focus on football this school year which garnered him a state title but he now has decided that he wants to play basketball in college. Kori will be attending prep school in Chicago next year.
• Will Findlay, 6-foot-7, 200, forward/post, Oak Ridge, 2011
  Will is a long player who uses his size and great jumping ability very well. -- he is a great shot blocker and rebounder. Offensively he has a strong back-to-the-basket game as well as the ability to knock down the 15-17 foot shot. Will averaged 8.5 points,, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 1.1 assists a game. He is also a high jumper for track and is garnering college offers for that.
• Derrick West, 6-foot-3, 190, guard, Kennedy, 2012
  Derrick is one of the harder working players. He has the ability to dice defenses and get to the basket plus he has a great knack for getting rebounds and being in the right spot. Derrick can hit the three with great consistency. He averaged 13.4 points per game for Kennedy.
• Alex Kiriluk, 6-foot-4, 200, forward, Sonora, 2011
  Alex is a great scorer with the ability to hit the three as well as get to the basket strong. He uses his speed and jumping ability to go to the basket and tries to dunk every chance that he can. Alex was the team captain at Sonora while averaging 15.2 points, 2 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals a contest.
• Stevie Squires, 6-foot-2, 190, guard, Westwind Prep, 2012
  Stevie is a great point guard who has great speed, sees the floor well, and displays tremendous athleticism. He is a floor leader who makes sure his teammates are in good situations to excel and is also a great on ball defender. Stevie has been getting a lot of interest from colleges.
• Enoch Rhemadji, 6-foot-3, 210, guard/forward. Westwind Prep, 2012
  Enoch is a great athlete with tremendous jumping ability. He handles the ball with great control and sees the floor well. He uses his athleticism to get to the hoop and also rebounds the ball well. Enoch is also a great defender. At Westwind, he helped lead the team to a state title while averaging 11.8 points (shooting 63%), 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals a game. Enoch has been garnering a lot of interest from colleges.
• Tyler Hatin, 6-foot-8, 225, post, Folsom, 2013
  Tyler is a post player who is making strong strides towards becoming a great player. He is a great rebounder and shot blocker and offensively he is strong around the basket and can hit the 15-foot shot but also step out and knock down a three. Tyler has been getting a lot of interest from colleges.
• Matt Howard, 6-foot-1, 190, guard, Oak Ridge, 2012
  Matt is one of the hardest working kids. He plays very smart defense and has the knack for getting his hands on the ball and getting steals which lead to a lot of lay-ups. Matt is also able to get a lot of rebounds by knowing the right place to be and going to get it. He is a great energy kid that helps the Pharaohs a lot.
• Dalvin Brown, 6-foot-9, 230, post, Westwind Prep, 2012
  Dalvin is a very strong player and uses that on the defensive and offensive sides of the ball. He rebounds the ball very well and collects a great number of blocks. He can score the ball in many ways -- back-to-the-basket with a number of moves and going by his man for a basket with his ball handling skills. Dalvin will be a great four at the next level.