NOE Showcase: Creators
At times there’s a misconception that a team’s shortest player is automatically the point guard. It’s just not true. So, what does establish a player as a “point guard?” We’d say that one of the primary boxes to check is the ability to create plays. Whether it be for themselves or via the pass, a creator (or point guard) should make plays that directly lead to a high-percentage shot for the offense.
At the Northern Ohio Elite (NOE) Showcase, here are the guys who did so for their squads.
Colby Cross (2020), 5’9” PG, Cedarville
On a team with Houston King, Mark Mayle, Marquis Coleman, Davonte Craven, and others, Cross was one of the last scoring options. Yet, the bulk of possessions for Team A began with him bringing the ball up, making a move, and finding the open man. Cross plays with the type of pace that puts pressure on his defender, who usually made the mistake of not meeting Cross at half-court. As he continually added comfort and confidence to his game, Cross became more dangerous and showed the ability to be play with coveted prospects.
Devin Hightower (2020), 5’11” PG, Lakewood St. Edward
With Cross running the show for Team A, Hightower hung out on the wing or corner and made plays from there. When the underrated point guard prospect caught, he was looking to penetrate quickly. Hightower, an eventual two-sport prospect (football), did an excellent job of not having tunnel vision on those drives; instead, he found cutters and dropped in lobs of bounce passes for easy layups. Hightower also showed off a nice in-between game — he has various little pull-ups from between 5-10 feet from the basket.
Cody Luzader (2018), 5’11” PG, Carey
The erratic athlete from Carey makes plays by simply flying around. His relentless attacking style takes a backseat to no man. He is always ready to put his head down, burry into the lane, and either take a layup of find a shooter in the corner. With this energy, Luzader also pushes the fastbreak by racing down the court with his dribble.
Giovanni Santiago (2018), 6’1” PG, Cincinnati Hughes
See Transition Playmakers article.
Norian Lindsay (2018), 5’8” PG, Mansfield Senior
Expect Lindsay to tally up his fair share of assists for Mansfield Senior next year. He seems to be a fun kid to play alongside of, if you’re willing to move away from the ball. Whenever his Team C teammates found cracks in the blindside of the defense, Lindsay delivered accurate bounce passes for assists. Also, Lindsay created off the dribble-drive with quick crossovers, but once again he was looking more so to pass in these situations.
Emanuel Jones (2019), 5’8” G, Sexton
Once Jones established himself as a threat to catch-and-shoot on triples consistently, he was able to drive with more effectiveness. Jones really heated up later in the day. Going down the stretch, Jones was one of the few players who didn’t lose parts of his game with more fatigue. Regardless, he was able to hit jumpers and also slide by his defender on drives. He’s a slippery ball-handler in the half-court, always finding a half-step on his guy. Given Jones’ height, larger athletes were looking to swat his layups, but he adjusted by making intelligent dump-down passes to teammates on the opposite block.
Zeb Jackson (2020), 6’ G, Maumee Valley Country Day
Jackson is one of the most elite scorers in Ohio’s 2020 class. We’ve seen him get clean look one after another on C2K Elite’s 16U team and at the varsity level for Maumee Valley last season. Saturday was no different, as his jumper looked even more improved.
What’s underrated about Jackson though is the court-vision. He routinely makes memorable no-look passes to cutters and/or teammates who run the floor with him in transition. At the Showcase, he once again showed the ability to make those passes without any hiccup in his dribble — meaning, as soon as he finds the open man, he fires a timely pass into the open window for an easy layup attempt.