Battle of the Borders: Playmakers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This list is full of legit playmakers from every level at the Battle of the Borders. Take a look at this mix of young prospects to watch as well as some more established names with the skill to lead an offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2375378' first='Ira' last='Smith'] | Hoopland 16U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith is a rangy guard who can really get an offense buzzing, not just from his ability to get teammates involved, but also with his multi-level scoring prowess. He has excellent quickness and control with the ball, can create for himself and others off the bounce, and shows he can be a difference-maker on the defensive end as well with his length, quickness, and aggression.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2134767' first='Yoav' last='Ziklik'] | EBC Elite 17U | 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ziklik had an impressive senior season this past winter and is a point guard who can make plays on both ends of the floor with his quick reactions and reads. He made several high IQ passes to shift the defense, recognize overloads to find skips to open shooters, and ran the break in transition with great awareness. Defensively, he timed crossovers to jump ballhandlers and played with good positioning off the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2021612' first='Jackson' last='Skaggs'] | EBC Elite 17U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Skaggs is a kid who can knock down shots from the perimeter at a good rate but also shows some good ability to create off the dribble, find lanes to attack, and has good feel for making the right pass out of traffic. He had multiple tough finishes inside and was consistently able to beat his man off the dribble and get to the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2457264' first='Cole' last='Haizlip']</strong> | [program_tooltip program_id='2078823' first='Washington' last='Supreme'] 15U | 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Haizlip is a quick, aggressive guard who was crafty and tough getting inside. He found ways to get defenders off their feet or out of position with jabs and ball fakes, and was strong inside playing around bigger players. He played hard on ball defense and also showed a good stroke to knock down open 3s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1587980' first='Ismail' last='Guyo'] | Seattle Select UA 16U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He's one of the top guards in his class and for good reason with his size, ability to stretch the floor, and playmaking skills from the point. He showed off a high IQ, reading doubles, pinpointing passes to cutters and rollers, and uses ball fakes to create openings in the defense to attack. He's a tough matchup because he can pull you way out with his 3-point range, but is just as deadly dishing or scoring off drives.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1850300' first='Baaroc' last='Rivers'] | [program_tooltip program_id='2076260' first='FOH' last=''] 17U | 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He's one of the quickest players in his class and it was on full display at the Battle of the Borders. His defenders were pretty helpless most of the time as they tried to keep him out of the paint. He has the burst and athleticism to blow by defenders, split guys in the paint, and finish around contests at the rim. Rivers was able to draw a lot of fouls and continually broke down the defense with his penetration.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1631540' first='Nirvaan' last='Misra'] | [program_tooltip program_id='2076260' first='FOH' last=''] EYCL 17U | 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Misra is an electric playmaker who can burn you from deep, whether you get a hand up or not. The thing about his game that gets a lot of defenses off kilter is his ability to play decisively and with constant pace in the half-court. He's ready to go on the catch, either pulling the trigger on the shot or working to blow by defenders and knife inside. Aside from his scoring ability, Misra showed he also can make some pretty impressive dishes on the go.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2458230' first='Zhalei' last='Van']</strong> | More than Hoops 17U | 2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Van was excellent at taking what the defense gave him and always seemed to have a pass-first mentality. He was quick, controlled, a slippery slasher, and had great timing on his passes off drives. He used his dribble not just to create havoc in the paint, but also to shift defenders on the perimeter and create passing lanes to teammates on the interior. He's a smart, shifty guard who had a huge weekend for More than Hoops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2375278' first='Mac' last='Crews'] | Seattle Select UA 15U | 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crews shows a lot of potential as a scorer/creator who can find teammates and also score 1v1 when needed. He changes speeds well, is fearless attacking the hoop, and keeps his eyes up while attacking inside. He made several nice dishes off his penetration and created a lot of looks off his hard work to draw over help defenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->