DII District Finals in Columbus: Top Guards

<p>This article will cover the top guards I saw from the D II district finals games in Columbus. 7th seed Heath got the upset win over 1st seed Beechcroft 49-45, followed by 4th seed Linden-Mckinley winning their first district title since 2005 beating 3rd Bloom-Carroll 55-40. </p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="967170" first="Keylan" last="Williams"] (2022) - G 6’5 - Heath <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Leylan-Williams33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400773 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Leylan-Williams33-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">Williams came out the gates hot in this one. After the first quarter, he was feeling it. Played with a lot of confidence and energy. Loved his talk on the bottom of Heath’s 3-2 zone. He hit multiple threes in this one and finished 17 points. I loved his defense as well showing he is a real two-way player. Was a big-time rim protector and was super effective on the bottom of the zone. Had 7 blocks and rebounds. Uses his length and size very well along with his athleticism. The crazy part about him is he plays point guard for Heath and runs their team very well. I am a big fan of this kid.</p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1355161" first="LB" last="Towns"] (2022) - G 5’11 - Linden-Mckinley <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/LB-Town33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400775 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/LB-Town33-300x249.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="249" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">Towns had one heck of a game. He brought a tremendous amount of energy and heart. Did whatever it took to help Linden win in this one. He got big-time buckets inside and out, including a very deep three to end the third quarter putting Linden up 16. Towns is very quick and has some very quick moves. Has a tight handle on the ball and didn’t let Bloom-Carroll’s pressure bother him. He was causing havoc all game long getting multiple steals and played scrappy all game long.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/6FE585EA-910A-4F34-9580-55CF7A902922.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1385158 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/6FE585EA-910A-4F34-9580-55CF7A902922-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="921776" first="JJ" last="Simmons"] (2022) - G 5’11 - Beechcroft</b></p> <p class="p3">Simmons played big for Beechcroft. He found ways to score against Heath’s 3-2 zone and did it in a timely manner. He hit a big-time three to end the first that gave them the lead. Loved getting to the lane and using his great touch for floaters. He also showed off very good vision with his nice passes. Kept Beechcroft in this game.</p> <p class="p1"><b>Jared Rose (2022) - G 6’3 - Bloom-Carroll <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Jared-Rose33.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1400781 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Jared-Rose33-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></b></p> <p class="p3">Rose is a good-sized guard that consistently hit tough jumpers. Loves to operate in the mid-range and has a very nice back-to-the-basket game. He has great off-ball movement - reads screens well and is always on the move. He has a very nice low, hard, and quick rip thru when he is on the wing and wants to drive to the basket.</p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Malakhi-Armstead1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1400789 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Malakhi-Armstead1-300x219.jpg" alt="" width="312" height="228" /></a>Malakhi Armstead (2022) - G 6’0- Linden-Mckinley<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p> <p class="p3">Armstead had a very nice game last night. He hit multiple tough pull-up jumpers. Does very well at using his jab and being patent until the defense gave him what wanted. Brought very high energy and showed great passion in this one. Had multiple great takes to the basket. Came up big late. He also handled the pressure very well towards the end of the game.</p> <p class="p1"><b><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/2E57F579-0B29-4937-A882-C02EBC348651.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1385165 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/2E57F579-0B29-4937-A882-C02EBC348651-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>Jamari Strickland (2022) - G 6’1 - Beechcroft</b></p> <p class="p3">Strickland came out in this one very aggressive. Hit a three early and was finding attack lanes against Heath’s very long zone. This very long senior had very high energy all night long. Brought great defensive intensity and showed he can get in anyone’s shorts for 94 feet.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="p1"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1195115" first="Evan" last="Dozer"] (2022) - G 6’2 - Bloom-Carroll<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p> <p class="p3">Dozer is a nice player with a very good build. Wide frame and is a nice athlete. Had strong finishes and takes. Showed a good ability to make tough finishes with both hands. Strong rebounder, does a good job of going to get the ball no matter how it bounced off the rim.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>