Late Season Standout Sophomore Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The clock keeps ticking and with the approaching end to the AAU season it's time to check in on who's coming up in the Washington hoops scene. These guys were just freshmen a couple of months ago but have already shown big improvements heading into their sophomore seasons. Here are some standout guards to know who have been performing well as of late.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1685502' first='Darius' last='Alexander'] Tacoma United <strong>Spanaway Lake </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The speedy guard is a menace in transition, finding lanes to push the ball, remaining controlled with his head up, and seemingly always finding the right pass. He not only finds the right pass, but he consistently puts it on target and on time, drawing defenders up with his pace before dishing to the open man. He's an exciting player to know for this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2174677' first='Darius' last='Imperial'] </strong>Tacoma United <strong>Life Christian </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Imperial was lights out from 3-point range in their latest tournament. He started one game hitting three of four from deep, getting shots off quick, from way back, and pouring them in one after another. He has the ability to spur some big runs with his sharp shooting and helped Tacoma United set a blistering pace from the jump.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2174679' first='Jabez' last='Boyd'] </strong>Tacoma United <strong>Life Christian </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rangy guard was effective on both ends for his team, manning the top of the 3-2 zone, covering ground, and showing good side-to-side burst to stifle guards. He's got some handle too and found room to slash or run the break and make a play. He also hit a couple of threes and played an all-around solid game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1587980' first='Ismail' last='Guyo'] Seattle Select <strong>Nathan Hale </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guyo plays with a different sense of confidence and calm than most players his age. He always looks composed, shoots the three-ball really well, and is on balance and ready to burst out of dribble moves to go either direction. He's another guy that times his passes to perfection and understands how to set plays up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2021612' first='Jackson' last='Skaggs'] Seattle Select <strong>Bellevue </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He can get a little streaky with his shooting but does a great job remaining a threat on the catch. When he is hitting from outside that readiness forces hard closeouts and opens up lanes for him to attack. He was on point from three in their last tournament and was able to open up space to drive inside where he displayed some playmaking and ballhandling potential. When the defense went zone he was able to dice it up and show he's more than just a shooter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2021603' first='Jake' last='Sprangers'] Seattle Select <strong>Roosevelt </strong><em>'26</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sprangers is a 6-foot-5 guard with a smooth stroke from outside, but he also showed some improvement scoring off the dribble and has some innate scoring ability one-on-one that still hasn't fully been realized. There's some sneaky athleticism there too, and he showed glimpses of a pretty versatile player.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->