Week 2: 2026 Guard Standouts

In between the first tournament of the local HS season and with 3 other tournaments starting today, I wanted to reflect back on some standouts from regular season games this week. It's always important to show love to the seniors, so we will start with the 2025 prospects that impressed us the most this week. Let's get it going!    16p 6r 1a 1s 1 charge drawn vs Mt. Carmel   -Moultrie was a whirling dervish of productivity in a home matchup with Mt. Carmel, forcing the action offensively to pace the Cavaliers to a win. Moultrie hit an extension lay off the curl, grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast before scoring at the rim, then hit a halfcourt 3 before the halftime buzzer to close out a productive 1h. The junior guard picked up right where he left off in the 2H with a great backdoor cut at the end of the shot clock for the lay through contact, hit a spinning floater of glass, had a great 1-handed dime to the roller off the center line drive, and relocated well off the ball for a 3 late in the 4Q. Because of how strong he is with the ball in his hands as a driver, would like to see him keep his head up on drives to keep his weight from being over his toes-- which leads to overbalancing for a travel or late pass to a teammate that isn't always on the mark. Overall, thought he performed well at both ends of the floor and is hitting the glass harder to help his team.     16p 5a 2r 2s vs Riverdale   -A prospect that has really grown on me since the beginning of the preseason as a productive passer that operates well above the break as a distributor that can also hit shots off the catch. Lyons was one of the few bright spots for CG in this one. The junior guard had a great one-handed dime through the air to a rolling big for the uncontested layup, split a double team at the top of the key for a floater off glass, and shot the ball well from behind the arc to lead a late CG comeback. Captaining a team that lost 6 rotation players and several starters from a year ago, but I think Lyons is up for the task and expect him to put himself on D1 radars before season's end.       7p 6a 5r 6s 1b vs Clinton Grace   -McLaughlin does whatever, and I mean whatever, his team needs to come away with the win. He's always around the ball defensively and makes his matchup pay for putting the ball down in front of him. A tighter handle allows him to take advantage of a lower center of gravity to get to his spots in the halfcourt to create for his teammates. His ball pressure forced at least 10 turnovers, with him coming away with 6 steals that often led to easy buckets at the other end of the floor. A capable C+S threat from the perimeter, McLaughlin has done a better job of turning down contested looks in favor of ducking under a closeout to find a teammate on the opposite side of the floor. A chasedown swat from behind accentuated his effort in a big local rivalry win at home to start off the season hot for the Knights.     10p 9r 2a 2s vs Spalding   -Wilson is beginning to show that there is more to his game as an athletic off-guard prospect that is locking in more on the defensive end of the floor and using his athletic gifts to attack the glass looking for rebounds. The junior's ability to get two feet in the paint is being maximized by his kick-outs to shooters, as he has replaced wild foul-drawing putback attempts around the basket in lieu of looking to find a teammate. With the athleticism to guard up or down a position, he's getting to collecting more deflections off the ball and is tracing the ball much better on-ball to force tie-ups, block shots, or discourage passing windows.     10p 5a 3r 3s vs Mt. Carmel   -Savvy floor general takes care of the rock and finds teammates well in the halfcourt, but his scoring within the flow of the offense is beginning to look more natural. Carter walked into a 3 early in the game, threw a 1-handed whip pass from the top of the key to a teammate on the opposite block, then hit a stepback three towards the end of the shot clock. His play down the stretch of games isn't always loud but is often effective, picking his opponent's pocket and scoring a layup before dishing out two assists in transition to put the game out of reach for good. His IQ off the ball to time his digs down to the low block to come up with a steal or force a turnover often lead to good things for the Cavaliers. He will need to continue to put on weight and bump his matchup off their driving line to the rim to cut down on some easy layups that he allows, spurning the "sidestep and swipe for a steal" attempts to stay in front of his matchup and force the issue at the rim. But I have faith that he'll get there as a prospect.     9p 3a 2r vs Loyola   -First time seeing Thompson with the Gaels but came away impressed with his well-rounded skillset. Thompson serves as a great connector for MSJ-catching a swing pass on the wing and moving it to an easy scoring opportunity with a different teammate as quickly as he can. Thompson is an effective mover and screener off the ball that understands when he needs to get out of the ballhandler's way and doesn't inadvertently bring his defender to serve as a helper that cuts off his teammates' drives to the basket. Scored all of his points on the perimeter, including a big 3 to put MSJ up 1 late.

In between the first tournament of the local HS season and with 3 other tournaments starting today, I wanted to reflect back on some standouts from regular season games this week. It's always important to show love to the seniors, so we will start with the 2025 prospects that impressed us the most this week. Let's get it going!