Weekend in Review: Standout point guards

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The players listed below were among players I was able to watch, exclusively. These players participated in either the MAYB tournament in Edmond and the Fadeaway Hoops event in Oklahoma City.</span></p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="938861" first="Israel" last="Hart"] | Next Level PG | Midwest City ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Hart continues to show off an arsenal of talents, off-ball and on, appearing increasingly competent each weekend. A capable ball-handler, Hart captured the task of bringing the ball up the floor, facilitating the offense and commanding teammates verbally into sets. His attack moves seem to polish up each week, and his finishing skills have seen the same improvements. Hart also did a great job of drawing fouls and finishing through contact last weekend. When making off-ball maneuvers, however, Hart’s iQ for the offensive game was most salient, and it resulted in his racking-up of points. Hart also rebounded excellently and ran the floor from tip to finish, both indicative of his high motor.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #ffd6d6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="931235" first="J’Lynn" last="Counter"] | Oklahoma Chaos PG | Southmoore ’20</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Counter played at a high level again last weekend. The shifty ball-handler’s passing skills are perhaps his most college-ready talent. He provided great scoring opportunities for teammates with darts in motion, as his teammates benefitted from the spacing he allowed by drawing drawing defenders towards him. Another attribute that played advantageously into Counter’s hand is his change-of-direction speed. His shift offensively while maintaining control was habitually the first step for himself or his Chaos teammates to finish a set with points on the board. Defensively, his improvements from the high school season have been tremendous, and on one occasion, he even came up with a three-quarter-court chase-down block as he closed the distance with great focus and elevated fervently to collapse on the opposing lay-in attempt.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6; height: 21px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Kirk Cole | OK Flight PG | Southwest Covenant ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Cole showcased a great balance of scoring and facilitating, displaying the depth of his iQ-driven game. His skill-set includes hitting floor-stretching shots from far beyond the arch at a high efficiency. Defenders struggled to catch up to find a solution to his spot-up capabilities. With the ball in his hands, he also drove to the rack well and completed shots with contact or dumped off the rock into the hands of a capable teammate. The advantage he lent Flight was essentially this: you could not leave him open with any spacing or he <i>would </i>find a way to put point on the board.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="745359" first="Marlo" last="Fox"] | OK PWP PG | Sand Springs ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>We got to see Fox in full point-forward mode at the MAYB event, and it was certainly a sight. He played a versatile role offensively as the PWP primary facilitator as the team ran practically every set through Fox’s hands at some point, including a few that found him with the ball in the paint, back to the goal and backing-down opposing guards. He passed exceptionally from that position, and he even finished a few buckets in that spot. Fox also shot the ball well from deep The versed, multi-talented guard displayed one thing, if nothing else: he’s just getting started. Did a lot of point-forward play, trying to diversify his game and it is helping him.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="745384" first="BJ" last="Armstrong"] | OK PWP PG | Owasso ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Armstrong shot the ball really well out of the dribble. Also a competent slasher, Armstrong’s go-to hesitation move was applicable from either side and <em>mean. </em>He did not have to alter much as he was able to create separation with that same move numerous times before taking the ball to the rack. He also finished with above-average efficiency with either hand. His change-of-speed was key to his ability to utilize his attack moves and speed past defenders towards the basket.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">Nick Burchfield | Jets PG | Minco ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Standing about 6-foot-even, few prospects, pound-for-pound, were as impressive as Burchfield from either tournament. He’s sneaky fast, doing a lot of great things with the ball at a pushed pace. Offensively, Burchfield finished well at the rim with either hand, setting himself up to showcase his one-dribble pull-up. His lateral movement, quick first step and stop-and-go speed combined for him to be able to convert on more than a couple college-level tries at the basket. His technicality when shooting the ball was great, as well, as his mechanics hardly wavered even when tasked with finishing a deep shot or one with heavy contest. With the ball in his hands, Burchfield did pretty much everything the right way.</p> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;">Cooper Shirley | Jets CG | Minco ’21</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Possessing great hand-work and scoring iQ, Shirley was able to adapt to defenders and make the right plays with the ball. Shirley has a smooth, mechanically-sound shot and can pull up from deep out of the handle or lay down a hesitation maneuver to get to the rim. Off-ball, Shirley did some of his best work; floating to the corners and wings and converting on triples with a fiery-quick release. </p>