Top Pure PGs of the Summer

I spent most of the past two months on the road covering the HS Scholastic Live Periods, UAA, 3SSB, EYBL, and the NBA Academy among others. The best-built teams always start with a floor general but I would like to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on the pure PGs that sacrifice their own success and stats so that their team can win basketball games. Let's dive in!      -Really enjoyed watching Goodman run his team against NBA Academy groups that all had superior length, size and athleticism. He averaged 22p 4r 51% FG with a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio over 6 games. Goodman took care of the rock while blitzing past his matchup to get into the gaps and force help defenders to make decisions on the fly. A knockdown shooter from beyond the arc, he hit floaters in the paint and beat his opponents to spots around the rim. Think he's one of the more underrated players I've seen this summer.     -Caught a few games of Tomes at the US Open event in Rock Hill and came away impressed with the calm control he has over the pace of the game. A pure PG that doesn't get sped up by traps or ball pressure, he plays with great pace by switching up the cadence of his dribbles to protect the rock while his teammates begin their movements within the offense. His ability to knock down 3s allow him to play off the ball with other PGs without losing his rhythm. If he can add more vertical pop and burst off the bounce, I believe he'll start to receive more national recognition for his play.       -Impressed at Philly Live 2 with his ability to run the show to create looks for a roster that needed a table-setter. With a rotation of play-finishers in the frontcourt that ran the floor hard, Altobelli drew 2 and executed timely dimes through some tight windows both in transition and in the halfcourt. Has the IQ to get into his defender's chest in transition to create space to finish but will always reward a rolling big or shooter outside the arc for running the floor with a timely pass. The unselfish play style opens up the floor space for him to create his own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ykFIuT-pew">offense</a> when it's the right look but the tight handle allows him to navigate through and around the defense to find the right shot for his team every possession.     -The way Lawson is able to get paint touches creates so many easy looks for his team, both with SFA and [program_tooltip program_id='2076999' first='Team' last='Melo']. The lefty bullies his ways to spots and is always probing the defense to get to the second level to force the helpers to scramble before he can get to the rim. Elite rebounding at his size allows him to start and finish fastbreaks to change ends in less than 5 seconds while extending offensive possessions to give his team a better second look at the basket. When you have a floor general that can give you a minimum of 8p 8r 8a on a given night coming off the bench OR starting, you have a player that can win you games.     -Definitely has the ability to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Sx-UzSlk4">score</a> and shoot at a high level but he can really pass it well with either hand off the live dribble. Impressed during DMV Live as a guy that can make reads off of a ball screens but really excels in the open floor to make split second decisions to deliver a dime through a tight passing window. Playing in a new context with the George School after transferring in from St. Peter's Prep, Miller focused on getting his shooters easy looks while creating simple finishing opportunities for the undersized bigs on the roster. Really interested to see him in a new role on a George School team that lost its starting PG to transfer after the first scholastic live period.

I spent most of the past two months on the road covering the HS Scholastic Live Periods, UAA, 3SSB, EYBL, and the NBA Academy among others. The best-built teams always start with a floor general but I would like to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on the pure PGs that sacrifice their own success and stats so that their team can win basketball games. Let's dive in!