Playoff Time: Off Guards to Know

The playoffs are well underway, and we've got a handful of off-guards to know out of districts 2 & 3. These guys can all score the ball at a high rate and have been elevating their game at the biggest time of the year.    Gill is a smooth shooting guard who can create space at a high level along the perimeter. Stadium is a team that can get the pace up and create havoc on defense, so Gill's playmaking and shot-creating are pretty vital not only throughout the course of the game but especially in crunch time when his team needs a bucket. He excels from 3-point and the midrange but also has the creativity to get tough buckets inside. Stadium faces a loser-out game at Rogers (Puyallup) tomorrow and will need to win another knockout game after that to clinch their spot in the state tournament.     Sumner has been rolling as of late, winning 11 of 14 games in the new year with an average margin of +13.0 points. Hyppa is a big part of what they do, showing some great space creating moves outside to free himself up to knock down threes, but also playing the role of playmaker, moving defenses and finding quick passing windows off the bounce. He was instrumental in their recent win over Skyview where he also showed the reactions to steal the rock when ballhandlers played loose.     Johnson has been a steady scorer for Auburn all season long and his ability to knock down shots off the catch, create his own shots off the bounce, and hit with touch from different levels has been a big reason there was little falloff from last year for the Trojans. They sit at 21-1 and punched their ticket to the state tournament Friday with a win over Rogers (Puyallup). Johnson's confidence in being a creator and shot-maker has helped ease the pain of losing transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1451033' first='Jaylen' last='Petty'] and kept the Trojans as a real contender in the 4A.     Norrah has really elevated his game this season, particularly in 2025. He's an exceptional athlete, not necessarily one who will play above the rim, but his lateral quickness, strength, and short burst separate him from a lot of guards in his class. He's been a key scorer for the Wolverines as they marched to a 16-5 regular season record and has been able to find his rhythm by attacking the hoop early on to set up his perimeter shooting. Bellevue starts their district run as the 2-seed in District 2 and faces a West Seattle squad who is 3-0 in the playoffs tomorrow night.     Roy has been a big riser this season and it starts with his ability to hit behind the arc. He's a pure shooter who's been heating up down the stretch and has been able to work to other areas of the floor off his perimeter catches thanks in part to his deadly outside shot. He makes good, quick decisions with the rock, can come off the catch and hit a one or two dribble pull-up, and has been a key perimeter defender for the Bulldogs. He'll be a kid to watch as Garfield heads into the district playoffs and pushes for a state tourney run.

The playoffs are well underway, and we've got a handful of off-guards to know out of districts 2 & 3. These guys can all score the ball at a high rate and have been elevating their game at the biggest time of the year.