A-Town Showdown: Day 1 Standouts

<p>The A-Town Showdown was in full swing on Saturday as the event got underway at the LakePoint Sports Complex in Cartersville, Georgia.</p> <p>Games started at 8 a.m. ET and ran through until 8:30 p.m. ET as there was plenty of talent on the floor.</p> <p>Here is a look at the top standouts I saw on Day 1.</p> <p><strong>2021 guard [player_tooltip player_id="1011329" first="Jaeden" last="Marshall"] | 6-3 | Atlanta Celtics South/Richmond Hill</strong></p> <p>One of the few 30-point scorers on the day, Marshall was superb in a loss to the Atlanta AllStars. He had 34 points, finished inside and outside and kept possessions alive with his crafty ballhandling and jumper. In the first half, he went to the basket and was fouled and as he was falling, he hit the jumper then proceeded to the line. He beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer behind the volleyball line. Marshall continued his hard nosed play in the second half, attacking relentlessly. He was living at the free throw line. Any college coach looking for an alpha guard, look no further. This kid can go.</p> <p><strong>2020 guard [player_tooltip player_id="827982" first="Max" last="Jones"] | 6-5 | X-Factor/Clearwater</strong></p> <p>Signing his national letter of intent earlier this summer to the University of Tampa, [player_tooltip player_id="827982" first="Max" last="Jones"] simply wanted to play basketball this weekend with his old AAU squad X-Factor. He looks like he has been working hard in this downtime. Strong, lengthy and instinctive, Jones had 27 points in a loss to the Alabama Celtics this afternoon and then followed that up with a 38-point outing against the Atlanta Wolfpack. His shot is solid, but when he gets going inside, he is hard to stop. Jones looks college ready and Division II Tampa has to be happy about that.</p> <p><strong>2021 guards [player_tooltip player_id="714983" first="Tarence" last="Guinyard"], [player_tooltip player_id="818707" first="Tony" last="Green"] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id="527365" first="Troy" last="Boynton"] | Team Speights</strong></p> <p>Team Speights had two battles today, going 2-0 in wins over the Atlanta Timberwolves White and SOH Elite. Guinyard, a 6-1 guard at Lee had 27 points in the earlier win over Atlanta Timberwolves including a highlight-reel one-handed dunk (<a href="https://twitter.com/PHCircuit/status/1284567252600315904?s=20">VIDEO</a>) and 21 points in the second half to punch the win. He is confident on both ends of the floor.</p> <p>---Green, a 6-5 guard has really made strides over the last year and the Naples athlete had 21 points in the early victory, getting to the rack time and time again.</p> <p>---Boynton, a 6-4 guard was in full command of the offense with 14 and 17 points in the two games respectively. He is a high IQ prospect who makes the smart play more often than not.</p> <p><strong>2021 athletes [player_tooltip player_id="887019" first="Dequarrian" last="Ezell"] and [player_tooltip player_id="723758" first="Keshawn" last="Murphy"] | Alabama Celtics</strong></p> <p>Doubling as a football player as well, Ezell is a 6-0 Ramsay guard who is crazy strong and athletic. He opened my eyes in a big way in an afternoon victory over X-Factor. The confident and put together guard had 14 of his 20 points in the second half alone. Ezell’s mid-range is nice and his burst to the rim and through transition really separates his offensive game.</p> <p>---Murphy is a 6-10 Huffman center came to play after de-committing from Western Kentucky on Friday. Always vocal, he had 18 points in that same matchup and was using his quick feet and inside skillset to hurt the defense throughout. He is a true lengthy big man.</p> <p><strong>2021 guards [player_tooltip player_id="869629" first="Kristian" last="Ford"] and [player_tooltip player_id="537310" first="Darwin" last="Randolph"] | Georgia North Metro Elite</strong></p> <p>North Metro Elite went 2-0 and it was the performances of Ford and Randolph that boosted the team basketball. Ford, a 6-5 East Paulding guard had 25 points in an afternoon victory over Team Renegades. He caught fire from deep, netting six 3’s. He has a quick trigger and his advanced handles help him create openings for himself and others.</p> <p>---Randolph is a 6-0 Tennessee East Hamilton guard who averaged just around 14 points in the two games, pushing the ball on the break and making plays at the glass a ton. He plays hard and never stops hustling.</p> <p><strong>2021athletes [player_tooltip player_id="818777" first="Reggie" last="Luis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="818705" first="Taderrius" last="Davis"] | SOH Elite</strong></p> <p>Losing by just three points to Team Speights in a night outing, SOH Elite rallied behind two lengthy athletes in Luis and Davis. Luis, a 6-5 Columbus guard had 20 points and never stopped working. It was a slow start for him, but as the game settled in, his speed was there and he got going inside. Luis draws a lot of contact and is a frequent visitor at the free throw line.</p> <p>---Davis is a 6-7 Miami forward has gotten stronger since I’ve last seen him and it is paying dividends. He scored 14 points and was using every inch of his length to get past defenders and convert off the glass. Davis is really maturing.</p> <p><strong>2023 guard [player_tooltip player_id="820317" first="Kyle" last="Walters"] | Team Northside</strong></p> <p>Playing up, it was clear in the early going that 2023 6-4 Georgia Lovett guard [player_tooltip player_id="820317" first="Kyle" last="Walters"] was special. He played years ahead of his age, shot it from deep at a high clip and flashed endless confidence. Alongside a group filled with vocal and reliable guards, Walters is in a hybrid role for Team Northside as a versatile guard and wing. He scored a team-high 18 points in an early morning win over Star Ready Athletes and played hard all the way through.</p> <p><strong>2021 guards [player_tooltip player_id="806753" first="Brendan" last="Rigsbee"] and [player_tooltip player_id="949919" first="Max" last="Hrdlicka"] | Atlanta Timberwolves White</strong></p> <p>True team basketball is in the Atlanta Timberwolves DNA and guards Rigsbee and Hrdlicka fit the bill. Rigsbee, a 6-2 North Gwinett guard had a team-best 20 points in an afternoon loss to Team Speights. He is a pure shooter and someone who caught fire in the first half before playing rock solid in the second half. He can take over games.</p> <p>---Hrdlicka is a 6-6 Glynn guard who doubles as a combo guard and wing at his size. He gave all he had with 19 points and moved the ball around, grabbed boards and went inside for points. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: center;">.<a href="https://twitter.com/TarenceGuinyard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TarenceGuinyard</a> <br /> <br /> STEAL<br /> SLAM DUNK <br /> BODY‼️<br /> <br /> ???????????????? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PHCircuit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PHCircuit</a> <a href="https://t.co/iKFBo96dO8">pic.twitter.com/iKFBo96dO8</a></p> — Prep Hoops Circuit (@PHCircuit) <a href="https://twitter.com/PHCircuit/status/1284567252600315904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>