A-Town Showdown: Saturday’s Best Scoring Guards Part 1

<p>Most point guards are also scoring guards these days, at least in their minds many times, so these true 2-guards had a notable first day at the A-Town Showdown.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>First half of day:</strong></em></span></p> <p><strong>Nehemiah Bloodshaw (We Get Buckets (TN) 15U)</strong> - A stout 6-1, Bloodshaw was a physical mismatch in the day’s opener with JC Travel Sports Ducks, he was able to get to the basket virtually every time he wanted, he was most comfortable using the bounce to get to the basket and draw contact, he didn’t stray too far from the painted area so he didn’t make a living from deep but had the stroke to take it out that far from what I could see.</p> <p><strong>Noah Chatman (Tampa BayHawks (FL) 16U)</strong> - One of the more complete players I saw the entire weekend was Chatman, at 6-2 with a college-ready body already he was simply too tough a guard for anyone the HYPE Hawks threw at him, he showed the full package of offensive excellence, power drives into traffic or along the baseline, open court brilliance with and without the ball, a great understanding of the mid-range, and superb defensive instincts as well, a player with D-1 ability for sure.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870185" first="DJ" last="Potts-Heard"] (HYPE Hawks 16U, Cherokee)</strong> - Potts-Heard had just recently joined the HYPE program, so it was clear he was ingratiating himself with his new teammates, but his skill level as an offensive player hadn’t gone anywhere, he’s one of the summers best pure shooters so far to my eyes, absolute perfect-looking stroke and all the confidence to go with it, lots of lift, speed with and without the ball, and when he locks you down on defense you know it as that exceptional foot speed leaves no gaps, a recent official transfer to Cherokee means the Warriors have yet another backcourt weapon to throw at opponents.</p> [caption id="attachment_1020361" align="alignleft" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/20200718_104516-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1020361 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/20200718_104516-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="598780" first="Chance" last="Thacker"][/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="598780" first="Chance" last="Thacker"] (Atlanta All-Stars 16U, Providence Christian)</strong> - Another week, another outstanding showing for Thacker, who is forcing the hand of evaluators everywhere to move him up their lists, he plays a hybrid role at times because he’s such a good ball-handler but his future at the 2 is bright, he’s a master driver of the basketball, plenty quick enough to blow by you and with the added body strength we’ve been noting he can push past you as well, he’s been shining playing up with the 17’s as well, solid shooter all the way out the arc, in my book he’s one of the summer’s real breakout talents so far.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1020674" first="Jordan" last="James"] (SEBA F.C.I. Warriors 17U, Kennesaw Mountain)</strong> - Another breakout star this summer season has been James, he had yet another impressive showing in A-Town, he has an ease about how he dominates you that has to be impressive to next-level coaches, he appears to not be expending a ton of energy, meanwhile he’s making you look bad from the arc all the way down to the rack, a big physical frame allows him to nudge his way to the basket versus much bigger players and his craftiness in scoring means more times than not he’s looking at an and-one, a monster riser as he heads to this winter.</p> [caption id="attachment_1020365" align="alignright" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/20200718_132514-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1020365 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/20200718_132514-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1020672" first="Nick" last="Hein"][/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1020672" first="Nick" last="Hein"] (SEBA F.C.I. Warriors 17U, Kennesaw Mountain)</strong> - Not one who appears to like being overshadowed, Hein too has made a huge impression the last few weeks, like James he can out-physical you but also possesses a first step that is very impressive in creating offense for himself or others, has the deadly combination of a ton of confidence from 3-land but also a willing abandon to drive it hard right at you, also a superior passer and defender he has an all-around package as an athlete and basketball player which if it hasn’t caught the eye of recruiters very soon will.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1020673" first="LePra" last="George"] (SEBA F.C.I. Warriors 17U, Sprayberry)</strong> - I unfortunately only got one look at SEBA over the weekend, and George had a quiet afternoon offensively against the Atlanta Aztecs, but his skills are undeniable and he probably would have been better featured in my point guard write-up, but what makes him a riser is the ability to take over the game from either the lead guard or slide to a wing and turn on a scorer’s moxie from off the ball, he like his other 2 guard mates will continue to turn heads this summer.</p>