Early Season Standouts: Shooting Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With these players we start to get into some more athletic and scoring-minded players, however, there are still a handful of guys in here that hang their hat on their defensive effort and find ways to make an impact across the board. Here are some off-guard names to keep track of as the season goes on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2141308"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Freeman has had a great start to his varsity career, dropping 20 and 15 points in Lake Stevens' first two games. He's really quick to the rim and a poised finisher around contests. Biggest thing I saw from him early on was his ability to bounce back. He missed a wide-open layup off of a nice backdoor cut in their first game and instead of hanging his head he immediately worked back on defense and ended up forcing a quick turnover. With his team back on the ball he drove down the middle of the paint for a nice interior finish. Then he started to get on a roll and converted an and-one on their next offensive possession. He showed some real mental resolve for a freshman and ability to focus on the next play.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["2205068"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Issaquah has had a few close games already and Crow has been a solid contributor in all of them. He's a guy that can really get it going at the basket. He's strong, can play through contact, and uses pivots and fakes well to throw off the defenders' timing. Look for him to continue heating up and helping the Eagles climb the ranks in the 4A.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["2172999"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"As up and down as Ward can be, when he is up, he can swing a game in a matter of possessions. He has highlight ability both with his passing and shooting the deep ball, and even continues to get stronger finishing over defenders at the hoop. He sometimes gets a little loose with the ball but has high upside if he can sharpen his ballhandling a bit.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1485586"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Simmons is a high-level defender that can defend every square foot of the floor. In their first game of the season he defended big wings, strong posts, and quick guards, showing he has the kind of defensive versatility that makes him a weapon each and every game. He's strong enough to absorb contact to the chest, moves his feet well, and has great hands to block shots or strip the ball away. Even though he had some offensive struggles in this game he came away with big defensive possessions that kept the game close.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1984449"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"He wasn't too involved in the offense in the early goings against Rogers, but he quickly got in a groove and started drilling shots after seeing one go down. He's a quick-fire 3-point shooter and has the burst to get to the rim and finish up over defenders. He's also usually pretty efficient, like he was against Rogers making the most of his touches over the course of the game.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["1551651"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Luz and Mt. Rainier had a tough opening night matchup against Puyallup, but that didn't stop Luz from posting a big night. He has a quick and low crossover and snatch that allows him to work heavily in the mid-range. But Luz also knows how to use his body going to the hoop and can get a lot of shots off inside even though he's only 6-foot-1. He's gone over 30 points in back-to-back games to start the season while also pulling down 10-plus boards and notching over five steals in both games.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["2173025"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"I am really excited about this kid after seeing him compete in their first two games of the year. His West Seattle team has already played two tough teams in Woodinville and O'Dea, and Pierce has been a big bright spot so far. He's a guy that can get downhill and has the athleticism to compete with a lot of players at the rim. Not only that, but he plays with energy and pace in every situation and has displayed some really nice consistency from 3-point range. Look out for him as West Seattle should have a lot more close games throughout the season.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["2021380"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"Another kid from West Seattle to get excited about is Janiwade. He has uncommon size and ability that has quickly vaulted him up as one of the high-potential players in his class. He has a great understanding of how to use his size advantage, whether it's needing a little less space to get jumpers off, or creating contact to get space for shots inside, he's done a great job using his physical advantages to score the ball so far. He's also been able to use that size to bully some smaller guards and block shots on the defensive end. Janiwade will be a big riser this year in the 2026 class.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":["2173096"],"_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"Showki has looked super impressive every time I've seen him, making life incredibly difficult for any defender who lines up across him. He has that quick burst, compact handle, and can change direction and speed in the blink of an eye. He's also got the ability to score from inside and out and has been a menace early on in the year for Sammamish.","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":9,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656fadea4d973"} /-->