Top 5 5A Guards of the Year
The season is officially over and it is time to give some guys some well deserved recognition from this past season. While there were many players that had tremendous seasons, I tried highlighting the best of the best. These are…
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Continue ReadingThe season is officially over and it is time to give some guys some well deserved recognition from this past season. While there were many players that had tremendous seasons, I tried highlighting the best of the best. These are the top guards in their given conference:
1. Emmanuel Taban (Apollo 2019)
Emmanuel Taban had a great season for Apollo. He was named to the All-Conference 1st team and is the front runner to win the offensive player of the conference award. Taban also took home the award for Region Player of the Year in the very tough 5A Northwest Region. Taban is one of the most lethal perimeter scorers in all of the state. He is very dangerous coming off of those dribble hand offs that Apollo runs so much. Step up and he has the speed and length to get around you. Sag off and he will bury a three. Once he gets hot from three, there is no stopping him.
2. Dominic Gonzalez (Ironwood 2020)
Dominic Gonzalez is no slouch when it comes to awards and being an effective offensive player as well. Gonzalez was named the Region Offensive Player of the Year (5A Northwest) and to the region 1st team. He was also named to the All Conference 1st team.
3. Josh Baker (McClintock 2019)
Josh Baker is one of the best scorers in the state. He can do it a little bit from everywhere but I think he is most effective from the three and mid-range. He loves the hesitation pull up and knocks it down time after time. Josh Baker was named to the All Conference 1st team.
4. Doc Self (Gilbert 2019)
Doc Self was named to the All Conference 1st team and ended the year as a State Champion. That is about as good as it gets when it comes to hardware at the end of the season. Self stepped up in a big way this year, providing a lot of leadership to his team.
5. Bailon Black (Ironwood 2021)
This name might surprise a lot of people as many people do not know who this guy is. You will know who he is, trust me. Black showed that he is one of the top guards in all of 5A all season long. He demonstrated veteran leadership and controlled the tempo of every game. He also showed why he needs to be guarded all the way out by the volleyball line, knocking down multiple deep 3’s all season long. Black has showed that he can hang with any guard in this conference and had some tough match ups that I thought he got the better of. For example, he held Josh Baker to under 10 points in their meeting, when he guarded Emmanuel Taban Ironwood won, and he battled with Zach Paloma and won both of those match ups.