Stock boosting Senior guards at season’s end

<p>With the 2019-20 high school basketball season officially over, it’s time for some unsigned seniors to narrow down their choices and close in on the recruiting process. While some players have already chosen a school to go to, here are five seniors left on the board that boosted their stock in their final season and can help a school at the next level.  </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915313" first="Patrick" last="Steed"] – Denver East </strong></p> <p>If you can play and excel in a Rudy Carey offense, you can excel almost anywhere. When taking a look at that 21-4 Denver East team from this year, it was a very talented bunch with some solid players that will play undoubtedly play at the next level. What separated East from the bunch was excellent guard play. While East was a young bunch, they leaned heavily on their senior guard, [player_tooltip player_id="915313" first="Patrick" last="Steed"]. Steed was one of the most balanced players in the conference. His combination of strength and quickness mixed with be a creative finisher gave him an advantage over defenders. He can create for himself off of the dribble, and his ability to play both on and off of the ball created easy scoring opportunities for himself as he found holes in the defense and also got to the rim with ease. Steed is a high-rebounding guard that can start the break, has great court awareness to find the open man, and also played the passing lanes defensively. He ended his senior season with a stat line of 12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while also averaging 2.4 steals as well. Steed is one of the top true point guards to consider when looking at a prospect that can help a school and boosted his stock by seasons end despite being one of the top point guards in the state. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915343" first="Sam" last="Schliep"] – Brighton </strong></p> <p>Did not play to begin the year, but once he got in, he was able to compete in every game. Schliep is not a player that excels in once particular department but is a guard that is balanced that you put in the game, and he is going to run the offense. He is a guard that gets guys in their sets, makes the right play, and takes care of the ball. Schliep is not a guard that forces much, and you feel comfortable having him in the second unit without it missing a beat. Schliep is a four-year varsity player that played meaningful minutes every season. If I am looking for experience, he definitely has it despite not having the full season that he is capable of. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Diego Dominguez – Northfield </strong></p> <p>Dominguez is a player that I personally followed this year because there are not many traditional true point guards in the state. He is a pass-first guard that puts his teammates in positions to succeed and sacrificed stats this season, which equated to wins. With that, he was the starting point guard on a team that went 21-5 on the season and were two wins away from a state championship before the season ended abruptly. Still, what cannot be overlooked was his ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor. Dominguez averaged 8.7 points, 3.8 assists, and a team-high 2.1 steals a game. Dominguez took over in games and gave the Nighthawks a bit of an edge. He played with a chip on his shoulders, when watching him you could see the progression and confidence growth throughout the season, and he is one of the first unsigned guards that I would vouch for. Dominguez went from an unranked player at the beginning of the year to a guard that I see making an impact as a hard-working guard that pushes teammates. I see him being able to produce at a D3, small D2 or juco</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915316" first="Tjai" last="Jackson"] – Hinkley </strong></p> <p>Jackson is a physically gifted guard that plays off of the ball and is lethal on the fast break. He is quick and breaks defenders down off of the dribble while going to attack the rim. Jackson uses his ball-handling skills and size to penetrate the defense and is an aggressive in a half-court set. He shoots the ball well on the perimeter, gets inside for a floater, and also uses the mid-range pull-up option. Jackson is a solid on-ball defender that stays in front of other guards. This season he put up 12.8 points a game as he shot the ball relatively well, which helped Hinkley break a playoff drought. Jackson was the No.53 ranked player in the senior class, and I think that he moved up a bit by seasons end. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915309" first="Tre" last="Titus"] – Cherokee Trail </strong></p> <p>Cherokee Trail struggled mightily this season as they did not get much help in the scoring department than from their two seniors. One of those seniors was one of the better scoring guards in the most challenging conference in the state. While those numbers did not translate to many wins, Titus was able to show that he could score against anybody. On the season, Titus averaged 14.6 points a game. He had random explosions, like when he went off for 38 points against Mullen and proved to be a knockdown shooter that could create for himself as he shot 40% from beyond the arc. Titus is a player that I feel can help a school with his ability to find holes in the defense and also create mismatches as a 6’2 guard that scores with ease. Titus was not able to show off his true ceiling this year with teams all focusing on him and was one of two players that scored in double figures. Titus is surely a stock booster that brought it each game. </p>