Double Trouble Invitational: Saturday Top Guards Pt 2

<p>We looked at half the guards that impressed during Saturday’s action at the Double Trouble Invitational at Mt Pisgah, let’s have a look at the other half:</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1054786" first="Justin" last="Mitchell"], SG, Atlanta Xpress Elite 2024 (Norcross)</strong></em></p> <p>In a tremendous match-up with TSF 2024, played the best all-around ball I’ve seen from him since first being impressed at SSA several times last summer, such a physical specimen already he can flat out blow-by you or straight up power through you, both sometimes get him in trouble, but when he harnesses the contagious enthusiasm and love for the game he has out there he can be a dominant force particularly on the offensive end.</p> <p><em><strong>Michael Pace, CG, Atlanta Xpress Elite 2024 (Mt Pisgah)</strong></em></p> <p>The future is bright at Pisgah for a program on the rise and coming off a dramatic A-Private title win, Pace is so impressive in his all-around game, aside from being a young player who can make young player-type decisions that we can over-anlayze, there isn’t a ton not to like - he can shoot it, handle it, drive it, pass it, rebound it, and defend it, that doesn’t leave much grey area making Pace as big a riser as there is in the 2024 class. </p> <p><em><strong>Corey McCray, PG, Atlanta Xpress Elite 2024 (Douglas County, pictured above)</strong></em></p> <p>Mitchell and Pace were so impressive it might have been easy to overlook the terrific contributions from McCray, the perfect athletic DCHS guard-type did the lion’s share of ballhandling in the terrific game with TSF 2024 and was among the fastest with the rock I’ve seen going back to November, just an explosive burst through the defense that no one could handle, he of course uses that speed to stand out as an elite on-ball defensive prospect, and if you sleep on his offense you pay a price.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="873090" first="Mansir" last="Williamson"], Atlanta Xpress Black 2023 (Centennial)</strong></em></p> <p>Picking up right where left off to end a tremendous regular season for the Knights, a man among boys when I saw him on Saturday, went out and took the game to the opposition in getting whatever he wanted from the perimeter or powering his way to the hole, with this kind of confidence he’s set to be among the must-see breakout starts of the summer.</p> <p><em><strong>Khalil Stead, CG, Georgia Fire 2022 (Woodland)</strong></em></p> <p>Fearless scorer attacks from all angles, not afraid to take the big shot and has a nose for finding a clever way to the basket, good speed with the ball in his hands and has nice range, can get lost on the south side of the ATL like many but not one to be missed this grassroots season on an excellent, south side of Atlanta-based Fire squad.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1047091" first="Kasheem" last="Grady"], Double Trouble Elite 2022 (Mt Pisgah)</strong></em></p> <p>Speaking of not missing a beat from the recently ended regular season, Grady looked sharp as a tack coming off his buzzer-beating bucket to win the A-Title, he has frightening potential in a team-lead role now that his game has expanded so far from the basket with such ease and efficiency, with the size, range and inside play effectiveness, the sky is the limit for his summer and senior season to come.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049036" first="MJ" last="Winter"], [player_tooltip player_id="598748" first="Caleb" last="Blackwell"], [player_tooltip player_id="870177" first="Kaden" last="McArthur"], Tomiwa Adetesoye, Guards, DT Elite 2022</strong></em></p> <p>It’s not hyperbole to say that the DT bunch was so good in dismantling a good Upward Stars team they all deserve mentioning, <strong>Winter (Mt Pisgah)</strong> did his high-level defensive and slick PG-play thing, <strong>Blackwell (Buford)</strong> continues to be one of my favorite risers with a variety of speedy offensive moves and shooting touch that is a tough guard, <strong>McArthur (Grayson)</strong> has a chance with this team to make a big jump with his ability to be a stabilizing force while also providing defense and timely scoring, and <strong>Adetesoye (Chattahoochee)</strong> gets better every time I see him with his scary athleticism and near unmatched versatility to play 4 positions.  </p> <p><em><strong>Curtis Givens, SG, TSF 2024 (Memphis University School, Memphis)</strong></em></p> <p>The state of Tennessee continues to come down to GA and do well, Givens was among the 2 or 3 best-looking players I saw all day, immensely gifted both physically already and blessed with a game that travels as he knocked down perimeter shots from all over and made smart, winning plays all game against Xpress, far ahead of his 2024 peers he sets up as a monster prospect.</p> <p><em><strong>Katayvon Jefferies and Lavonta Truvon Ivery, Guards, TSF 2024</strong></em></p> <p>Looking forward to seeing more of these two state of GA products, <strong>Jefferies (Newton)</strong> showed a nice all-around game with a nice balance of solid ballhandling, stellar defense, precise passing and a confident stroke, <strong>Ivery (Thomson)</strong> set up as one of the day’s best shooters as he knocked down a series of key bombs in the Xpress game that proved critical and he like all of TSF was exceptional on the defensive side.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>