Under-The-Radar 2023 Combo Guards (1/2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out my analysis on some prospects who need to be on your radar with how they produced during the live period. These guys really were turning heads every time they were in the gym! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1212913' first='Bobby' last='McWard']&nbsp; </strong>2023 6'2 McKinney Christian Academy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bobby is a high level shooter with an ability to punish you off the dribble, or with his feet set. He is great at quickly setting his feet and rising up, even with a defender in his grill. His ability to handle the ball and get his shot off was very impressive. He calmly takes what the defense gives him every time down the court, and has the ability to score from all three levels of the floor. He even displayed an ability to back down his opponent and score in the midrange with a tight turn around. However, he does not just hunt for his own shot, he can create open looks for his teammates as well. When I saw him play, he whipped some high level cross court passes to his teammates. What I was the most impressed with was how accurate he was whipping a one handed passes after coming off of his live dribble. His ability to accurately fire passes into the corners makes him a dangerous weapon in the half court. &nbsp;He is a high level ball handler who specializes in the Chris Paul game of keeping his defender on his back hip, he slowed up and forced his opponent to take bigger steps to cut him off, or simply give up on the play in the half court after he had them beat. He is an aware playmaker, who is also a dynamic scorer. McWard has all of the tools in his bag to become a real weapon at the point guard or the combo guard position at the next level with his ability to see the floor and create his own shot.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong><u>Adrian Mumphey </u></strong>2023 6'5 Chapel Hill High School (Dallas Showtyme 17U Black Elite)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adrian is a skilled guard who is an elite finisher but can also score the ball from all three levels but also has good point guard instincts with an ability to fire tight cross court passes that hit his teammates in their shooting pockets. I was blown away by the ease in which he finished and got around defenders in the paint with euro steps and crafty finishes to avoid defender's arms. He was great at using his frame to fight through contact as he gets downhill but also as he goes up for a strong layup or dunk. Where he made a difference was his ability to play the 3 and D type role on his team. He is an elite on ball defender with active hands and a real knack for poking the ball free and running on the fast break. He took on the best matchup in all the three games that I saw him play in. He is a willing rebounder on both ends of the court, and allows his aggressiveness to bleed through into that aspect of his game to fight for positioning and leaping to clear the glass. I would like to see him work on his decision making when operating out of the pick and roll on the wing.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Idalius Coleman </strong>2023 6'3 Chapin High School, TX (EP Starz 2023)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Idalius is a high level player who thrives off of his ability to do it all in both the half court and the full court. He has all of the tools to become a dominant combo guard at the next level. He scored at will from all three levels of the floor, and has the confidence to shoot over the top of any defender. I loved how he hunted for his own shot from everywhere on the floor, he really took what the defense gave him every time down the court. He even showed an ability to play with his back to the basket at the high post and make good decisions or take a bigger and slower defender off the bounce. He has a fluid handle and makes great one handed passes up the court to his streaking teammates. He facilitates the game at an incredibly high level and can pass his teammates open. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Jarek Schmittou </strong>2023 5'10 Churchhill High School (SA Fire 17U)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jarek is an aware combo guard who can score off the catch from beyond the arc, create looks for his teammates and also hunt his own shot across all three levels. I was very impressed by the ease in which he scored off the live dribble, constantly creating space with his crossovers and the threat he is to score in the paint. Schmittou scored very well but also was unselfish and routinely found his dominant big man on the block, showing off his ability to provide crisp and timely entry passes into the post. He understood the kind of mismatch he had on his team, and loved using it to manipulate the defense and force them to send two defenders at him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Caleb Barrett </strong>2023 6'4 Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Dallas (Team Grrr)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caleb is an aggressive combo guard who specializes in his ability to get into the teeth of the defense with his handle. I was blown away with his foot speed and how quickly he got by defenders with a crossover. He loves getting into the paint and forcing the defense to react. I loved watching him attack the rim and finish over taller defenders, but also make the smart dump off passes to his bigs whenever they turned their attention to him. His aggressiveness allows him to attack the rim time and time again, constantly slashing and putting real pressure on the middle of the defense. I would like to see him work on his ability to score from the perimeter, especially with a live dribble. With the amount of space he is able to routinely create with his crossover, he should be able to separate himself across the other two levels of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->