SMI Holiday Classic: Top Guards

<p><strong>SMI Holiday Classic: Top Guards</strong></p> <p><strong>2023 5-8 PG [player_tooltip player_id="1131512" first="Authur" last="Johnson"] – Bowdon</strong></p> <p>Faced with double teams and 6-foot-6 on-ball defenders, AJ Johnson was held under his 32.9 point-per-game average but still managed to work his way to 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Johnson wasn’t able to get to his signature pull-ups, but when he was able to get a full head of steam and break the press, he could get into the paint and finish. Even when Johnson isn’t clicking on all cylinders, he still makes a major impact with the amount of fouls he draws. Johnson’s speed and shiftiness warrants whistles throughout the game as defenders try to keep pace.</p> <p><strong>2022 5-11 SG Kolton Drummond – Bowdon</strong></p> <p>AJ Johnson needs scoring help and Kolton Drummond provided it with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The football player drilled 4 threes, to help space out the floor. Drummond plays hard, especially when crashing the glass. Listed at 5-foot-11, his effort and energy make him feel taller.</p> <p><strong>2022 5-11 PG [player_tooltip player_id="1192661" first="Avery" last="Marshall"] – Harrison</strong></p> <p>A pair of early threes got [player_tooltip player_id="1192661" first="Avery" last="Marshall"] into an offensive groove early. He finished with 16 points, eight coming in the first quarter and eight in the fourth in Harrison’s 89-61 rout of Bowdon. Marshall is a good scorer with a lethal outside jumper. He had a few lollypop passes against the press that he will need to tighten up, but all in all, Marshall is a consistent offensive producer that has the firepower to match most guards.</p> <p><strong>2022 6-5 SG Zack Cepress – Harrison</strong></p> <p>Looking for a big guard that can finish through contact and has quality footwork around the rim? Zack Cepress has a prototype build on the perimeter. He’s long and strong. Cepress scored over smaller guards and was tough on the glass. Cepress’ length outside helps him defend. He had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.</p> <p><strong>2023 6-0 PG Oray Towns – Villa Rica</strong></p> <p>Foul trouble landed Towns on the bench a minute and a half in, but when he returned, he was able to orchestrate a transition offense that overwhelmed Mt. Zion-Carrollton pouring in 100 points. A reliable scorer, Towns didn’t have to fill it up himself, instead the junior sparked offense with his defense and let his teammates do the damage. He recorded 6 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals, his highlight play tossing an alley-oop off the backboard.</p>