Summer Slam: 17U Friday/Saturday Standout Guards

Matt Bigelow

July 16, 2019 @ 04:45 PM

Solid teams from all over the midwest converged on the Pentagon in Sioux Falls last weekend for the Sanford Summer Slam. With teams from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and even Canada, there was a ton of great competition over a three-day stretch. Here were some of the standout guards at the 17U level from pool play Friday and Saturday Will Cordes, MN Matrix The game just looks easy when Cordes has the ball. The Shakopee point guard never seems out of control, never forces things and generally just seems to get what he wants on the floor. He’s a very good shooter and facilitator and rarely takes bad shots or turns the ball over. He’s incredibly poised and while he isn’t the most explosive or the biggest guy, he just kind of checks all the boxes for the cliched ‘knows how to play’ type point guard. Dunwa Omot, MN Rise Omot was a guy I was really excited to see at length this weekend and he was really impressive. He’s an outstanding shooter on the catch and off the dribble and while he’s long and lean, he’s able to get his shot off against quicker guards who try to get up underneath him. He’s unselfish sometimes to a fault and I’d like to see him look to go downhill more, because he’s got the burst and the length to give people all sorts of problems going to the rim. He started doing that more as the weekend went on and it was interesting how especially in the game against Matrix when his big men were struggling, the light kind of came on for him to take on a bigger scoring load. If he does that consistently, look out. Dan McCarrell, Fury Kallman McCarrell is just wired to score. The St. Croix Prep guard is an absolute sniper in catch-and-shoot situations and has the quickness and creativity as a finisher to burn teams who don’t close on him responsibly. He’s not the biggest guy or the most explosive but he shows a great understanding of where to go on the floor to maintain good spacing relationships with whoever may have the ball and he’s got good pacing and subtle movements which allow him to break free from even the stickiest of face-guarders. Gavin Vosika, MN Matrix Vosika is one of my favorite guards in the 2020 class and there are just not a lot of holes in his game. He’s a tough-as-nails point guard who brings it on both ends of the floor. He’s excellent at getting to the paint and creating for himself or his teammates. He’s one of the stronger point guards in the state and uses it to his advantage as he’s a great finisher in traffic. He’s a strong mid-range shooter and can knock down 3-pointers in kickout situation. And on defense, he’s a dog. He’s a great help defender who is always looking to create steals and he’s in your face on the ball. Simeon Sharp, Rip City Sharp was really solid for Rip City over the weekend, using his explosiveness and slithery ball-handling ability to feast and live in the paint. He’s got pretty good length for a point guard, he’s a very good finisher at the rim and an unselfish passer after he breaks defenses down. On the defensive end, he’s got quick hands and is always looking for opportunities to take chances for steals, but he’s also great at simply applying hard ball pressure. Reece Melby, MN Rise Melby was a standout for Rise on Saturday, doing a little bit of everything. At 6-foot-3, Melby has a strong frame and shows the ability to defend bigger wings but he’s also got the quickness and smarts to stay in front of smaller guards in doses. He’s a smart and capable passer and can make defenses pay with the 3-point shot and when you fall asleep on him, he can backdoor you and score at the rim.