Run n' Slam: Landon's Standout 2024 Guards

After a long weekend of top-level talent at the Run n’ Slam in Fort Wayne, here are the top 2024 guards that stood out to me throughout a great weekend of hoops that did not disappoint.   Trey Buchanan - 5’7" - Grand Park Premier Black Buchanan is a shorter guard who uses his speed and physicality to make plays. He is a natural point guard who can handle the ball very well and sees the entire court. He attacks He did have the tendency to get going way too fast and out of control, but that is kind of expected from younger guards. He also struggled from the outside. Despite these things, he is a promising young player who has a lot of potential leading GPP Black 2024.   Ryan Clevenger - 5’10" - Grand Park Premier Black Clevenger is a short combo guard who can do a little bit of everything. He is aggressive on his drive to the hole and knows how to finish despite his size. He also sees the court pretty well which allows him to find the open man. His outside shot wasn’t the best, and he will need to improve on that in order to really take his game to the next level. Nonetheless, with tons of room to grow, Clevenger is a future player to watch for Division three teams.   J.C. Cottrell - 6’1" - TPE Cottrell is a bigger 2024 guard who can do quite a bit well. He isn’t the best ball handler, but he can bring it up the floor without anyone worrying he will turn it over. He is very athletic and knows how to use his length to make plays. On the offensive end of the floor, he is a knock-down three-point shooter, and he sees the court extremely well which allows him to set up others every time. Cottrell is still young, but I was extremely impressed by the young man on Friday night.   Alex Graber - 6’5" - Summit City Elite Graber is a smaller guard who loves to get out and run as much as possible. He has great vision and is a solid passer which allows him to be very smooth in transition. He also provides Summit City Elite with a sort of calming presence when he has the ball in his hands. In addition to running the point, Graber can score both from the outside and around the rim. He has smooth handles which allow him to get anywhere he wants. Graber is going to be a player to watch for Homestead next season.   Devon Lewis - 5’9" - TPE Lewis is a very small guard who can score the ball very efficiently. He is smooth with the ball in his hands, and he has a good looking outside shot. Being a smaller player, he definitely shies away from contact which makes it tougher for him at the rim. He is continuing to grow and develop as is his game, and he will be an interesting player to watch once this happens.   Asher Noland - 6’0" - Grand Park Premier Black Noland may have been the best shooter than I saw in the 2024 class this weekend. He never once hesitated to pull it from the outside, and he knocked down nearly every one. He also showed a ton of range, pulling from 23 feet a couple of times. Not only can Noland score from the outside, but he is also a physical player and doesn’t shy away from contact. With his very good body control, he was able to finish through contact time and time again. Noland should continue to grow and improve, and he should be a very good player in the future.   John Parent - 6’1" - Summit City Elite Parent is another smaller Homestead guard who showed a lot on the offensive end of the floor. He has a very smooth shooting stroke and knocked down a pair of outside shots in this one. He also made some nice moves driving to the rim and finishing around the bigger defenders. Obviously, Homestead is loaded with talent, but Parent could be one of their better scorers in a couple of years.   [player_tooltip player_id="1158196" first="Andrew" last="Pliett"] - 6’6" - Indiana Elite Focus Premier Pliett is a smaller guard who is extremely quick with the basketball and knows how to make plays all over the court. He is a smooth finisher around the rim and has a very quick release on his mid-range floater. On the defensive end, he is incredibly scrappy and reads the passing lanes well. He needs to bulk up a little and learn to slow down when he has to, but it was a very good performance for him in this one.   Cole Shively - 6’1" - Tipping Point Shively is another smaller guard who played the point very well. He is quick with the ball which allowed him to have multiple solid takes past his primary defender to the hole. He also showed the ability to finish either through the defender or around with a nice euro step. In addition to scoring, he saw the court pretty well and had a couple of nice steals by reading passing lanes and just out-hustling his opponents. Shively is a player who always plays hard and should remain on the radar in the coming years.   [player_tooltip player_id="1158205" first="Nolan" last="Swan"] - 5’10" - Grand Park Premier Black Swan is a point guard who plays like your traditional point guard players. He is entirely pass-first-oriented and sees the court very well. If he sees a player that is open, you had better bet that he will find a way to get them the ball. He is also extremely active on the defensive end of the floor. He moves his feet and keeps his opponent in front and barely ever got beaten off of the dribble. Both he and his game are still developing, but he could be a very good guard for Tipton in the coming years.   Cadell Wallace - 5’7" - TPE Wallace is a smaller southpaw guard who played a pass-first-style game in this one. He handles the ball really well and can make almost any pass. He sees the court well and will always find the open man. He struggled at times scoring the ball on Friday as he was rushing some of his shots, but he had a good shot stroke and his floater looked really promising. Wallace should continue to grow, and if he can improve his shooting, that will allow his game to really elevate.