SWAIC Combo Guards On The Rise

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Session 1 of the SWAIC tournament was hosted in Houston this past weekend at the Legacy School of Sports Sciences by none other than the commissioner himself, Mr. Marcus Sloan. Sloan never fails to put on a tournament short of excellent with great teams and premier matchups taking place throughout. Let's take a look at some of the Day 1 standouts who made sure their names were on the rise…</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaylen Pazon- Shaun Dumas Academy (2023 G)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaylen had a big weekend for his Lions squad, going 3-0 throughout the tournament, but his most influential game on the stat sheet had to be on Thursday against Good Vision Academy, when SDA took home the victory 60-58. Jaylen had a total of 18 points on 7/12 shooting from the field and also added 3 of 4 shots from the foul line. Pazon showed determination as his teams motor on the offensive end, driving to the basket at will and rising up for a couple of outside shots over the defense as well. One thing I cannot mention enough is Pazon's vision. He always has a sense of where his teammates will be on the court and does not ever hesitate to make the extra pass. Jaylen has a bright future ahead of him as one of the leaders of this Shaun Dumas team and will continue to be a source of mass production in the points and assists columns at the offensive end of the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Said Mobasher- Colorado Prep (2023 G)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Said was a constant source of energy for his Colorado Prep team in their Thursday game against PSAT, despite coming up with the 70-61 loss. Colorado did well hanging with the bigger sized Panthers most of the game, but eventually size ran its course. Said was never afraid to do whatever his coach asked of him, whether that was crashing the boards or bringing the ball up the court and setting the offense in motion. Mobasher ended the contest with 19 points on 7/8 shooting and 2/2 from the free throw line in this closely contested matchup. Said has a bright future ahead of him and will only continue to heighten his ceiling as conference play wages on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Me'Khai Taylor- Shaun Dumas Academy (2024 G)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor proved to be a huge difference maker for his team in their Thursday victory over GVA Prep, 60-58. Me'Khai excels at crashing the boards on both ends of the court and is a physical specimen, capable of being a catalyst for a squad on both offense and defense. Taylor is highly accurate from the free throw line and will always make the defense pay for sending him to the foul stripe and is very vocal on the defensive end, always keeping his teammates informed. Taylor scored 13 points on 4/7 shooting and 5/8 free throws on Thursday night and was a critical player on the court for the Lions. I think it is pretty obvious for me to say that Shaun Dumas Academy will continue to make a big time impact as conference play continues this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787325' first='Nazar' last='Mahmoud']- Spring Creek Academy (2023 G)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nazar was easily one of the most entertaining guards to watch in this conference tournament as he just picked the other teams apart with his play on the offensive end in all three of their contests. Mahmoud is a big point guard who, due to his size, is often able to get past his defender to the basket at will and also pull up on the perimeter in the face of his matchup and use his wingspan to always get the shot off. Nazar scored 16 points on 5/12 shooting and 3 of 4 free throws in Thursday's blowout victory over Inglewood Prep. Mahmoud also finished the game with 7 rebounds and 5 assists as well, showcasing all of his skills from multiple facets of the game. Nazar will be a great prospect to recruit for some coaches at the collegiate level who are looking for size at the PG position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->