3SSB Invitational: Standout Rising Junior Guards

Ladera Ranch, CA - The Adidas 3SSB Circuit wrapped up its season with the Earn Your Stripes Invitational hosted at the beautiful OGP Ladera Sports Complex, which features 8 courts, 7 used for games and the other court used as the event's hospitality center. The tournament featured 75 Adidas teams, with a majority in the 17u Division, as well as numerous nationally ranked players from the classes of 2026 through 2029 on display. The facility was also packed with D1 coaches, and other divisions, over the four day event, given this was the final live period of the club season. This article takes a look at 9 standout guards from the 2027 class. There is no ranked order to this list of players, but in alphabetical order. This article will be followed by a part two looking at the rest of the standout rising junior lead guards.     Anderson has had a productive Summer, as he was named MVP of the U16 FIBA AmeriCup Championships, leading Team USA to the title. The 6-foot-4 lead guard brought that stellar level of play to the 3SSB Invitational, and put down one of the best individual performances of the event in a win over Wildcats Select to earn a spot in the Consolation Game, with back to back threes to tie the game, as well as a steal and game-winning lay-up as time expired to give Game Elite the win. Anderson is a physical and athletic guard that has a strong handle on the ball, keeps his dribble alive to survey the floor, has the height, precision, and patience to make difficult passes to teammates cutting off screens or moving off the ball to the open spot, and routinely finds players in the corners for open looks off the dribble drive and kick out pass. Anderson has elite moves to create space from his defender, with the use of the hesitation or the hard pound dribble into the crossover to get down hill, and a quick burst of speed off the dribble to get his opponent on their heels, which opens up the court where he has an array of moves and shots to score the ball from 3-levels. Anderson looks to get downhill off the bounce, makes good use of his physical build to get into his opponent's body, where he uses the spin move to get by his defender for the lay-up or to create space for the pull-up jumper. Anderson is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble or the catch, has great body control on shots from within fifteen feet of the basket, is a great positional rebounder, the bounce to alter shots at the basket or on the perimeter, and is an outstanding on-ball defender with active hands to create steals and turnovers to get in the open court. He plays with great pace and feel for the game and rarely is rushed into poor decision making with the ball in his hands.      Barnes had a sensational showing in his team's opening game win over Jalen Green Elite at the 3SSB Invitational, as he would display his ability to create for others or shots of his own, with the ability to score it from 3-levels. The 6-foot-3 guard has a smooth stroke on the jumper, is efficient from beyond the arc off the dribble or the catch, has a smooth handle with shifty moves to create separation from his defender, has quick acceleration getting down hill off the bounce with a creative lay-up package, and has great body control through contact on shots within 15-20 feet from the basket. Given his shot making ability, Barnes also displays elite court vision, combined with quality decision making, to find open players when on the attack off the drive. Barnes plays with good pace and feel for the game, is under control when using his on-court speed, and makes use of the crossover or in-and-out dribble to keep his defender back peddling. Of the players in this article, Barnes is the only rising junior guard that was playing up in the 17u division and there was no doubt he belonged.      Bradley had his impressive handles and shot making on display at the Invitational, and did all he could to keep his team close in a loss to ETG on Day 3 of the tournament. The 6-foot-1 lead guard keeps the ball on a string to weave through the defense, shifty moves to generate space from his defender with nice use of the double-crossover to get his opponent off balance, and is creative on finishes around the basket. Bradley has nice touch on the floater down the lane, is accurate with the 3-ball off the dribble, and has the court awareness to find open teammates off the drive and kickout pass or the drop off pass to players in the dunker spot. Bradley is a solid on-ball defender and plays with a little flair to his game while maintaining good body control.      Brown did not have the hottest hand scoring the ball in the game I watched live at the Invitational, but his control of the flow of the game and ability to set up teammates for success, along with his play on the defensive end showed his impact on all aspects of the game. The 6-foot-2 guard has a physical build, a strong handle to keep his dribble alive while observing the floor, impressive court vision to make the correct reads, and the strength to zip the ball all over the court with accuracy to find open teammates in stride. Brown uses the crossover and hesitation moves to get his initial defender on his hip, the body control and footwork to use the spin move to evade his defender, with touch on shots close to the basket. Brown is a solid on-ball defender with active hands to rip the ball from his opponents or jump passing lanes to deflect the ball and get out in the open court, which allows him to put points on the board, even if the jumper is not falling.      Evans was in his bag in a solid win over Mass Rivals, where he displayed various moves to create scoring opportunities from 3-levels. The 6-foot-4 combo guard is active on the boards with the handle to push the ball up the court, uses his length to disrupt his opponents vision on the perimeter, as well as poke the ball out to get out in transition. What caught my attention was Evans ability to create his own offense. Evans has good movement off the ball to get open looks off the catch, used the crossover to create space from his defender with good lift on the mid-range jumper, and displayed countless ways to score at the basket, as he used the Euro-step move and the spin move off the attack to evade his defender. Evans is a player to keep an eye on with good size and skill to keep moving up the list of impressive 2027 prospects.      Foster, the backcourt mate of nationally ranked top 15 Nasir Anderson, put on his own display of top-notch guard play in his team's win over Gamepoint on Day 2 of the Invitational. The 5-foot-11 guard was a perfect complement to Anderson, as he is quicker and shiftier, with a dribble he keeps low to the ground to prevent defenders from getting into his dribbling space. Foster has a quick burst of speed off the bounce to get by his initial defender, is a creative finisher around the basket over height, makes good use of the hesitation and change of pace to keep his defender guessing, and moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch with accuracy on the 3-ball. Foster has good body control and is able to take contact in the air and still complete the lay-up.      Gill had a strong showing in a tough 2-point loss to Game Elite, and proved to be a nice compliment to fellow backcourt mate Jaylen Gunther. The 6-foot-2 combo guard displayed good handles, the moves to create off the dribble, has nice touch on the floater off the Euro-step move to get by his defender, and has good body control to absorb contact down the lane for the lay-up. Gill moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and was effective with the catch and shoot 3-ball. Gill also made good decisions and the court vision when playing off the pick and roll action, finding his bigs rolling to the basket in stride.      Gray is coming off a huge week of play in Rock Hill at the 3SSB Championships winning the 16u Title with Team Lillard, and he kept that level of play going at the Invitational. The 6-foot-1 guard is a player that I have seen since his freshman season, as he was more of a back-up player behind Cal commit TT Carr, but he has really come into his own over the past year. Gray keeps the ball on a string to survey the floor, makes great use of the wide crossover to shake his defender, is able to find the angles to get to the basket and finish through contact with tough lay-ups, and moves fluidly off the ball with a quick release on the catch and shoot 3-ball. Gray has a smooth flow to his game, plays with great pace and control with the ball in hand, has the court vision to find players in shooting motion, and has active hands and instincts to tip the ball and get out in the open court. Gray will be a key piece for Branson this coming season and his confidence continues to grow as one of the top guards in California.

Ladera Ranch, CA - The Adidas 3SSB Circuit wrapped up its season with the Earn Your Stripes Invitational hosted at the beautiful OGP Ladera Sports Complex, which features 8 courts, 7 used for games and the other court used as the event's hospitality center. The tournament featured 75 Adidas teams, with a majority in the 17u Division, as well as numerous nationally ranked players from the classes of 2026 through 2029 on display. The facility was also packed with D1 coaches, and other divisions, over the four day event, given this was the final live period of the club season. This article takes a look at 9 standout guards from the 2027 class. There is no ranked order to this list of players, but in alphabetical order. This article will be followed by a part two looking at the rest of the standout rising junior lead guards.