Gilbert Tiger Basketball

		Jaqwaun Myles Jaqwaun, a captain this year, is starting his third year on the varsity team and is the third Myles brother that has come through the Tiger basketball program. Jaqwaun plays with a great motor and by being around the game as a coach’s son, he has a high basketball IQ and is very coachable. Jaqwaun will be asked to handle the bulk of the point guard duties while guarding the other team’s best perimeter player. Jaquawn is a quiet kid that has improved on being a vocal leader. Jaqwaun never lets his emotions get the best of him and does a great job of keeping his teammates on even ground. Look for Jaqwaun to play major minutes this year and always doing the little things on the court allowing the Tigers to be successful night in and night out.
		Brycen Long Brycen, a Houston Baptist University commit, is starting his 3rd year on the varsity and will be one of our captains this year too. Brycen earned 1st Team honors in the San Tan Region last year and very easily earned All-State honors if it wasn’t for two injuries late in the season. Brycen is a very well-rounded basketball player with the ability to score on all three levels, rebound, handle and pass the ball. Brycen can be one of our better defenders too guarding multiple positions. Offensively, Brycen is a true shot maker and seems to always make the “right play” on both ends of the court. The coaching staff is expecting Brycen to handle a large load this year and we feel he is up to the challenge.
		Paul Maldonado Paul, one of our tri-captains, will be starting his third season on varsity. Paul is our only lefty on the team and is kind of our Swiss Army Knife as he is very good at many areas of the game. On offense Paul can knock down the three, drive hard to the basket, especially with his left and hit the pull up jumper. Defensively, Paul likes to guard the ball hard and get into the passing lanes breaking the Tigers out in transition. Another quality that you will notice is Paul’s competitive spirit. Paul brings a lot of energy to the court and he is very vocal, demanding his teammates to match his fire too. Off the court and in the classroom, Paul is a very good student and actually quite reserved. Look for Paul to do a little of everything for the Tigers this season while on the court.
		Griffin Lamb This is a big year for Griffin as he missed his entire junior season last year with an ankle injury that required surgery. Griffin stands at 6’ 8 with a 7’ wingspan. Griff uses that length well too, with soft shots around the basket, high pointing rebounds and blocking and distracting shots in the paint. Griff also runs very well for a big guy and was one of the few that were able to make every time in our preseason conditioning program. Even though we will ask Griff to do most of his work in the paint he has improved his outside jumper to the point where he can knock down the three point shot. Griffin has had some college interest with his play in the preseason and with a good year he could gain even more. The coaching staff is excited for Griff’s presence this year as it will be the first time in awhile where the Tigers had a true post player.
		Juan Cordova Juan, a senior, will be starting his third season on varsity as he split time as a sophomore. Juan, pound for pound, is one of the toughest kids in our program. Juan has a knack for making big plays on both sides of the ball. He causes problems by forcing turnovers and being in the right spots defensively and on offensive Juan finds creases to drive through and knocking down three pointers. Juan is also an infectious, confident leader and the coaching staff is not only counting on Juan to challenge his teammates daily, but also help pull along the younger players in our program over the course of a four month season. Look for Juan to bring a fiery energy to the court and the fans in the front row better be on alert as Juan is afraid to dive for loose balls going out of bounds.
		Taylor Baldwin Taylor, a senior, is starting his second season on the varsity. Each year it seems like there is always one player that is on the bubble when it comes to playing time and Taylor was that player last year. Now a senior, Taylor is excited to make his mark on the court. Taylor is one of the toughest guys the Tigers will put on the court this year. It will not be hard to find Taylor while on the court. Just look for the ball and Taylor is usually the one with two hands on it. Taylor does much of the dirty work for the Tigers, but also the little things that every team needs to be successful like defending, rebounding, recovering loose balls and scoring tough baskets. The coaching staff is excited to have Taylor take a large role within our team concepts and are expecting Taylor to contribute in many ways this season.
		Ian Splittorff Ian, a senior, will be a full time varsity player as he split time on both the varsity and junior varsity last season. Ian is and has been one of the toughest players that I’ve coached in awhile. Ian is a constant worker, smart as they come both on and off the court and has improved both on the court and physically as anyone in our program. There has not been a player that has come through the basketball program that has led by example better than Ian, both on and off the court. As far as between the lines, Ian has been mainly a catch and shoot guy, but now has developed to be able to drive and make plays and making a difference on the defensive side of the ball too. The coaching staff is excited to see Ian’s growth and are expecting to see Ian contribute toward the Tiger’s success this season.
		Spencer Taylor Spencer is a senior and entering is first year on the varsity team as he spent last year on the JV team last year as a junior. Spencer has improved quite a bit, but to no surprise as he is tremendously committed, coupled with a great work ethic. Spencer has a great motor on the court and time after time tracks down 50/50 balls and rebounds. Spencer is just the type of player a coach loves to have on their team and teammates love to play with. Spencer has made our team better already throughout the preseason and the coaching staff is excited to see Spencer continue to push our team and help with getting our team better each day.
		Herold Merrick Herold, a senior, will be starting his first year on varsity. Herold came new to the Tigers last year and spent the season on the JV team learning our system. Herold has done a great job this preseason being fully committed to the Tigers, especially on the track for conditioning and our fall league. On the court, Herold has a knack for making nice plays on the offensive end and displays sneaky athleticism. Herold is a quiet kid, but fits in well with the varsity and team and has earned his spot on the varsity. The coaching staff expects Herold to be a consistent player each day helping the Tigers reach their potential.
	JUNIORS
		Tampa Scott Tampa, a junior, is starting his second season on the varsity as last year he was a huge contributor to our success as a sophomore. Tampa is a dynamic player despite his small frame. Tampa will be asked to play a bulk of his minutes as the lead guard, but off the ball too with the multiple point guards we have on our team. On the offensive side of the ball Tampa handles the ball like it’s on a string and sees the court well. Tampa can hit the long three, has one of the best pull-up jumpers in our program and probes the defense well with the dribble. Defensively, Tampa uses his athleticism to bother opponents, intelligence to cover correctly and toughness to fight through picks. Tampa makes it hard for the coaches to sub him off the court. The coaching staff is expecting quite a bit from Tampa on both sides of the ball for the Tigers to be successful this year.
		Kyle Hogan Kyle is starting his first year as a varsity player. Kyle, standing at 6’ 8, has improved steadily over his first 2 ½ seasons at Gilbert. Kyle has worked hard in the weight room and it shows on the court as he can be a load to deal with around the basket, especially being able to score with both hands. Defensively, Kyle can be a problem for other team’s bigs too. He is hard to score over and get around for offensive rebounds. Kyle is a very quiet kid, but at times shows a fiery side on the court. The coaching staff is excited to see his progression continue to improve over the next two years.
		Carson Holm Carson, a junior, will be starting his first season on the varsity. Carson, like many others, has continued to improve over time due to his great work ethic. Carson had a pretty tough knee injury on the very last game of JV last year and has done a good job getting back to full strength. On the court, Carson will not use athleticism to beat you, but toughness, intelligence and simply being in the right spot at the right time. Carson has a knack for grabbing offensive rebounds, cutting for baskets and scoring with his back to the basket. His perimeter game has steadily improved with is making him even more of a threat on the court. Carson, a quiet kid too, is very reliable and the coaching staff knows exactly what we are going to get from him on and off the court.
		Karter Doucette Karter, a junior, will be starting his first full-time season with the varsity as the coaching staff pulled him up to the varsity last year for the playoffs. Karter is a pleasure to be around and his infectious attitude carries throughout our program. His positive energy alone helps our Program each day, especially in the weight room. Karter has done a tremendous job of improving physically and at times you notice the rest of his teammates just watching him work weight room. On the court Karter has been working hard trying to transform his game from an interior guy only to an athletic forward who can take his defender off the dribble and hit the outside jump shot. The coaching staff is pleased to see the efforts toward improvement by Karter and excited to see what kind of progress he can make over the next two years.
		Braiden Burns Braiden is new to us this year as he moved to Gilbert from New Hampshire. Braiden, a junior, has been working very hard and has added some much needed guard play in the junior class. Braiden is very athletic and plays with a high speed motor and finishes in transition well. Braiden has the ability to get to the rim quite well, especially with his right hand. On the defensive end the coaching staff sees Braiden, who can really affect the game using his athleticism, to get out in the passing lanes and activating the ball.
	SOPHOMORES
		Nikko Pentelute Nikko, a sophomore, will be starting his first full season on the varsity as he split time between the varsity and JV last year as a freshman. In fact, Nikko improved last year to the point where we needed him on the court late in the year with some injuries, including the state tournament. Physically, Nikko is built like a rock. Nikko is a tireless worker and there are not too many days where Nikko isn’t in the gym working on his game. Nikko has shown the ability to knock down shots and he also can probe his way to the basket too. Right now though Nikko’s best attributes are his toughness, vocal leadership and his basketball IQ. The coaching staff is excited to see the growth of Nikko’s game and how it translates to his first year as a full-time varsity player.
		Reed Shuey Reed, a sophomore, will be splitting time between the JV and varsity teams this year. Reed’s best attribute on the court right now is his physicality and motor. Reed is a rebounding machine on both ends of the court and in transition at times he looks like a freight train coming down the tracks. As Reed sharpens up his skill level and understanding of the game he could flat out dominate down the road. Reed is a very nice kid, too nice at times, great in the classroom and the coaching staff is excited to see how much Reed can improve over the next three seasons.


.	2019-20 PLAYER PROFILES	.