King of the City: 2028 Guard Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I attended the annual&nbsp;<em>Hoopers Only</em>&nbsp;<strong>King of the City&nbsp;</strong>AAU Tournament at the Phhacility in Phx. I watched two days of action on Friday and Saturday, March 29-30. I watched around 30 teams play one or two times in the 2 days of action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here are some of the 2028 Guard Standouts I viewed</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1873639' first='Grant' last='Mattingly'] Central (AZ Select 16 UAA)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top freshman point guards plays at his own pace. The ball is on a string for him and he can cross his man over and get to the paint at will. He uses the euro game about as well as you can and will score with polished fall aways and put backs. He makes players around him better.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2692800' first='Jayden' last='Wong'] Basha (AZ Gremlins 15 Black)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled combo guard from all three levels. He will score with quick bursts to the basket, mid-range jumpers and shoots the three. He is a very good passer and plays the game smartly. He can get to his spots and shoot it with a nice handle. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2560322' first='KJ' last='Iten-Pauley'] Canyon View (Elevate 15U)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized combo guard can put points on the board. He will shoot it with mid-range pull-ups and can get hot quickly. He is very fast and quick with the ball in his hands to get a step on his defender to the basket. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2452472' first='Zechariah' last='Haslerig'] Centennial (Elevate 15U)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring lead guard has a nice handle and makes good reads. He will score with and-1's in traffic and the southpaw has a quick burst to get into the lane. He will score it or earn trips to the free throw line putting a lot of pressure on the defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2692866' first='Ace' last='McKinley'] Basha (AZ Select 15 UAA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A decent sized twitchy athletic two-way combo guard. He can score it in transition plus he will defend multiple positions.&nbsp;He likes the mid-range pull-up and can turn the corner with his speed to get to the basket. He uses his huge wingspan to keep defenders in front of him. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2281702' first='Caleb' last='McDaniel'] South Pointe (AZ Grassroots 16)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A true point guard who will drive and kick it. He has a yo-yo handle and he will thread the needle. He is undersized but uses his speed and handle to gain some separation to score. He can hit the three with some range or get a step on a defender. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2552765' first='David' last='Rossling'] Basha (UH Elite 15)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled scoring point guard can light up the scoreboard in a hurry. He has a deceptive fast first step to blow past his opponents and get into the lane. He has good body control on the break to finish off layups and he can hit the three with range and a quick trigger. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2466075' first='Jayvein' last='Moody'] Mountain Pointe (AZ Select 15 UAA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top scoring combo guards in the freshman class locally. He will score with dribble drives, advanced footwork inside after he bursts past his initial defender plus he is a deep perimeter shooter from mid to the three. He can throw it down on the break and he is a better passer then he gets credited with. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2766915' first='Hudson' last='Novak'] Notre Dame Prep (AZ Select 15 UAA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring guard is one of the better standstill three point shooters in the class. The lefty gets the ball off his hands so effortlessly and lets it fly with some size. He is also a very good passer making pinpoint passes to his teammates.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2109028' first='Malachi' last='Kaffey'] AZ Compass Prep (UH Elite 15)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An almost old school pure point guard with a high feel for the game. He makes the game very easy for his teammates as he is always looking up to facilitate. He will always make the extra pass to a fault. He can score in transition, drive it to the rim with his speed with the ball or use the floater game.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2552773' first='Davis' last='Mason'] San Tan Charter (UH Elite 15) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring guard can get to the basket and score it from all levels. He is a good passer who sees the court well for position. He can catch and shoot from the three point line off the catch and has an advanced middle game.&nbsp;He does not shy away from contact and plays the game with confidence. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2550840' first='Austin' last='Turner'] Higley (UH Elite 15) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the tallest combo lead guards in the class. He can score and defend. He will play inside to defend bigger forwards and then guard smaller point guards. He can score it in transition and dunk it easily and loves the euro game to get to the basket and handle contact well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->