Lancaster Tigers Scouting Report: Guards

Lancaster is an elite basketball team from southern Dallas who boasts a 36-1 Record. They made it far in the Texas 5A State playoff losing to Hightower in the State semifinals. This is my detailed scouting report on the guards from this team.

Demayron Thornton- Guard 2020
Demayron is a good shooting guard, who spots up well and if given open looks will knock them down with ease. He knows where to smartly operate in the offense, and constantly set himself up for good spot-up opportunities in the corner. His shooting ability forces the defense to be honest and creates good driving lanes for his teammates. He made good creative passes when bringing the ball up in transition and creating open looks for his teammates. He plays intense full-court defense and is capable of running up and down the court with elite guards all night.

Mike Miles Mike Miles 5'11" | PG Lancaster | 2020 State #161 Nation TX – Point Guard 2020
Mike is an athletic point guard that loves throwing down ferocious dunks and has great playmaking ability to go along with his strong jumper. His driving skills are unmatched at the high school competition he is facing in 5A, constantly making defenders look silly jumping out of their shoes with tight euro steps and strong finishes. He loves fighting through contact and challenging defenders at the rim. He is great at finding tight angles to open shooters and dump off passes when he is driving into the lane. He is also good at getting to his favored spots in the midrange by simply stopping on a dime and rising over defenders. He has a very quick first step and seems to be running at a different speed than everyone else on the court.

Kealan Ferguson- Point Guard 2021
Kealan has a dynamic ball-handling ability and a herkie jerk style of moving with the ball which lands him easy opportunities in the lane and creates open shots for his teammates. He has an explosive first step and long strides that allow him to put his body into a better position than his defenders as he blows by them. Ferguson has all the tools to become a smart point guard at the next level and looks to create for his teammates more than he creates for himself. Ferguson also showed great intensity and a good motor to remain active on the defensive and plays engaging on-ball defense and displayed extreme mental toughness.

Markies Sykes- Guard 2022
Markies is a young guard with great potential who played good minutes for an elite high school basketball team. He is good at finding openings in the defense and is smart with maintaining spacing for his teammates to have room to facilitate. He is a scrappy guard on the defensive end who hustles for every loose ball and fights for every inch of positioning. He got a good number of offensive rebounds and tip-ins for an undersized younger guard. He brought the hustle and energy to this team, on multiple occasions forcing a turnover and getting the crowd and his teammates reengaged on the floor.

Wade Taylor Wade Taylor 6'0" | PG Lancaster | 2021 State #103 Nation TX – Guard 2021
Wade is a great ball-handler with a unique finishing ability who likes to push the ball down the defense’s throat in transition. Contact does not seem to bother him either as he constantly finishes tough and ones. He also has a tough step-back jumper and shoots very well off of a live dribble. His offensive game is deadly at this level, as he is a complete three-level scorer with a knack for hitting tough three-pointers. He likes the one dribble sidestep jumper, from the three-point line and even smartly in the mid-range.

Jalen Williams Jalen Williams 6'4" | SF Lancaster | 2021 State TX – Guard 2021
Jalen is a smart defender who always seems to be in the right position to contest shots, even in the paint. The first thing I notice about him was his intense full-court defense and ability to trap the ball, picking up elite ball handlers the entire length of the court. Williams was also in great position to make easy rebounds for himself on the offensive end of the floor as well as leaping up and over others to get defensive boards. He had multiple big putbacks in crunch time that he finished with plus the foul that was all created on his inside positioning on the offensive side of the court.