Pitt Jam Fest-2023 Guards

It was a packed weekend of hoops for for the team here at Prep Hoops MD as we took in the scene at Pitt Jam Fest. There was also no shortage of prospects considering the entire event reigned in more that 700 teams in total. For this article, I’ll be looking at the 2023 guards who caught my eye in the games that I caught. [player_tooltip player_id="1378453" first="Ruben" last="Rodriguez"] | 6’2 | Team Final Red I had a number of coaches ask me about Rodriguez coming into the weekend. It was my first time seeing him in action and while the first game I didn’t walk away incredibly impressed, I dedicated time to watching him in other games on Saturday and Sunday. After seeing Rodriguez more, I chalked the first game up to just a rough showing. He’s a crafty lead guard who is super quick with the ball end-to-end. He has some wiggle to his game that allows him for paint touches where he dissects the defense with no-look passes. He gets to the rim in a hurry and has sneaky athleticism that allows him for electric finishes. While his jumper isn’t his primary strength, he hit his fair share throughout the weekend while proving himself as as active defender both on and off the ball. Low and mid major programs are keeping close eyes on him moving forward. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/KJ-Gardner.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1437373" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/KJ-Gardner-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1164831" first="KJ" last="Gardner"] | 6’2 | Global Squad Gardner was another combo guard that caught the attention of college coaches in attendance. He’s a 6-foot-2 southpaw with an intriguing frame that should fill out nicely as he matures. He’s a good athlete that can make plays around the rim on both ends. Gardner can create for himself off the dribble and isn’t afraid to attack the basket while inviting contact in the air to convert on finishes. He’s a capable shooter off the catch, but has to improve on his balance and pace as a shooter off the dribble. Becoming more of a point guard will be at the forefront for Gardner as the summer progresses. His skill set, potential and intangibles all contributed to low major programs starring him on their roster packets. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Hawkins-Alex-Head-Shot.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1168999" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Hawkins-Alex-Head-Shot-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1159448" first="Alex" last="Hawkins"] | 6’3 | Global Squad Hawkins was another guard on this Global Squad team that wrapped up a productive showing. He’s technically a 2022, but prep schools are interesting in seeing if he would consider doing a post-grad prep season to help his stock. Nevertheless, Hawkins is a two-way player that can hang his hat particularly on the defensive end where he can match up against either guard position, has good instincts as a help side defender and can rotate to deter shots at the rim with his jumping ability. This past weekend he was making his impact on the offensive end as a driver. He’d get to the cup and finish creatively to avoid opposing bigs’ outstretched arms while also being determined enough to take on hits while in the air. [player_tooltip player_id="957108" first="Farrell" last="Crowell"] | 6’3 | District BC Crowell caught my eye back at Spring Jam Fest when he had a few impressive stretches through games, but over the past weekend he put forth complete games that made his deserving of being included on this list. At 6-foot-3, he has a burley frame that absorbs contact and can also make him a tough check for smaller guards when he gets into the paint. It seemed like he was finishing a floater on half of his takes to the basket, but also converted on a few mid-rangers off the bounce and shots from three off the catch. It was good to see how often he got into the paint, but Crowell wasn’t a tunnel vision scorer. He showed good instincts of finding his open shooters along the perimeter as he forced defenders to rotate. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Webster-Terrell-Head-Shot.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1218896" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Webster-Terrell-Head-Shot-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="957046" first="Terrell" last="Webster"] | 6’3 | Team Takeover National Webster left an impression on me shortly after tip off against the NJ Roadrunners. He’s a lead guard who can play both on and off the ball. He creates for himself with an array of crossovers and hesitation moves, but also has good understanding of movement off the ball to put him in good position for looks at the basket. While he’s great in transition, Webster is also very effective in isolations where he used his quick twitch ability to get into the paint and take what the defense gave him. He has vision to spot his bigs along the baseline, shooters on the opposite side of the court and the body control to float soft-touch rainbows into the rim. Webster was also spearheading an aggressive full court press as he shot through passing lanes and recorded multiple deflections in the win. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/Tre-Green-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1437370" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/Tre-Green-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1277444" first="Tre" last="Green"] | 6’3 | Team Melo Green has put the area on notice after a big individual year at Glenelg Country. His natural ability to put the ball in the basket at a high rate is what makes him so attractive as a prospect. That paired with his southpaw approach and his three-level scoring prowess should make for a solid low-to-mid major prospect when all is said and done. He’ll spend next season at Bridgton Academy where he can further develop his overall skill set and his body against good competition. Green has the potential to really blossom into a solid Division I prospect who could thrive as a scorer off the bench as soon as he steps foot on a campus. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-8295.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1439746" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/04/IMG-8295-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1280950" first="Kamal" last="Francis"] | 6’2 | Team Melo Francis did a nice job as the floor general for this Team Melo squad. He always had his eyes up whether it was in the half court or in transition looking for any windows where cutting teammates could be delivered the basketball. His vision was on display as he hooked up with [player_tooltip player_id="1277444" first="Tre" last="Green"] cutting along the baseline for what was the game-winning bucket in Elam ending fashion. Francis also made over a half dozen three’s while I was watching. Multiple came off in-bounds plays where he would pass the ball in and utilize screeners to free himself, quickly set his feet and get the ball off his hands with squared shoulders.