2021 Guard Prospects at Hoop Review Pt II

<p>November 21-22nd Prep Hoops was in attendance at the Sac Hoop Review Event in Oakland CA. There were more than 200 prospects who participated in this two day showcase.  There was good play at the guard position. Here’s my take on the c/o 2021 unsigned guards who played at this event. </p> <p><em><strong>Ben Almarez 6’1 Guard, Lincoln</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Almarez</strong> </em>is the ultimate competitor. On a team with no real height, he excels in the open court, and plays hard on both ends. He’s crafty enough to find ways to score over bigs in the paint. He has good shot selection, whether it’s on drives, pull up jumpers, or in transition, his shot goes in more often than not.  He’s a feisty on ball defender, low stance, arms away from the body, and good lateral movement to stay close, and annoying. </p> <p><em><strong>Tejuan Hale 6’4 Guard, Oakland Tech</strong></em></p> <p>In the games I saw him play on Saturday, he continues to show his versatility as a prospect. He’s can play the point guard position, good handles, vision and solid passing. He’s strong, and hard to guard when it comes to getting into the paint. He has a good inside game, with the jumper in the key, power moves off two, and put backs. At 6’4 he has the strength, and toughness to be a good rebounder.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775747" first="Jarin" last="Edwards"] 6’2 Guard/Forward, Bishop O’Dowd</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Edwards</strong> </em>played two games Saturday, he has improved since I last seen him play. He’s a strong, and thick prospect who has improved his skills away from the basket. He’s a few pounds lighter, better conditioned, and is an improved ball handler. He had some success playing on the perimeter. I saw drives into the paint, and a mid-range jumper. He ran hard in transition to fill the lanes, he got a couple of put backs for 2, and a nice jump hook to get his shot off over taller players. He works hard defending taller players in the post area.</p> <p><em><strong>Robert Smid  6’4 Guard, Atwater</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Smid</strong> </em>showed up on Sunday, with lots of energy and firepower on the offensive end. The 6’4 guard really looks to score when he has the ball in his hands. He’s under control most of the time, and uses a variety of moves from various angles, including pump fakes to get defenders off balance. He had a couple of nice spin moves, and reverse layups coming from the baseline. <em><strong>Smid</strong> </em>has good range, and is a willing passer. Always in attack mode. He's on Wright's Watch list</p> <p><em><strong>Malik Cotta 6’0 Point guard Lincoln.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Cotta,</strong> </em>a solid pass first point guard with good handles, who makes good decisions with the ball. He shows patience running the half court offense, throws a nice lob pass, he has good vision in transition making long and strong passes up the court to find shooters spotting up. He’ll get to the paint, stop on two, kick it out, or use a nice pull up jumper in the key for points. He had a couple of nice spin moves to finish his shots over bigger players in the paint.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>