3SSB Invitational: Standout Rising Junior Guards (Pt. 2)

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, part 2, takes a look at 8 standout guards from the 2027 class, following the previous article that covered 9 other 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 look at the standout wing/forwards from the rising junior class from the Invitational.    As I got to the gym on Day 2 of the Invitational, Garner Road and NY Wiz Kid 16s were in the last few minutes of their game, and realized after a few possessions that Griffin was a player I wanted to see for an entire game. The 6-foot-2 Griffin did not disappoint in a loss to Mass Rivals, where he displayed quality lead guard skills and the ability to impact both ends of the court. Griffin plays with good pace, controls the flow of the offense, surveys the court well with the court vision to find open teammates in the half-court setting, as well as in transition, keeps the ball on a string with shifty movement to weave through the defense, and has nice touch on finishes at the basket or the floater down the lane. Griffin is efficient with the 3-ball off the dribble, with the use of the crossover to create the space needed to get his shot off.     Gunther was cooking all weekend long at the Invitational, and seemed to take his game to new heights when the competition got tougher. The 6-foot-1 lead guard had a stellar showing against Garner Road and top 10 nationally ranked Jordan Page, and followed that up the next day with an electric showing in a tough loss to Game Elite and Top 15 nationally ranked Nasir “Rudy” Anderson. Gunther keeps his dribble alive and moves with purpose, keeps his head on a swivel to survey the defense with the precision to find open teammates off cuts or the pick and roll action, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks from beyond the arc off the catch, which he connected on with regularity. Gunther has shifty moves to keep his defender back-peddling, with use of the in-and-out and wide crossover dribble to create space, can stop on a dime for the mid-range jumper, and has a nice burst of speed off the bounce with great touch on the floater, either down the lane or off the baseline drive. Relentless motor and fearless of the big moments, as Gunther hit big shot after big shot in the two games I saw him play live, and he left impressions on scouts and coaches in attendance.     Harris had an outstanding game in a close win for Compton Magic over New Heights 16s, as he would take advantage of more shot opportunities with rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2746607' first='Josh' last='Lowery'] playing up with the 17u squad for the Invitational. The 6-foot-3 combo guard was in his bag offensively, as he has a strong handle on the ball to keep defenders from crowding his dribbling space, a good burst of speed off the dribble to get into the teeth of the defense, and uses his strong build to finish through contact, or his athleticism to finish with creativity on the lay-ups. Harris has the moves to create space from his defender, makes good use of the change of pace and direction to get open, and is accurate with the mid-range jumper driving down the lane. Harris is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble or off the catch. Defensively, Harris has good footwork and lateral movement to stay in front of his opponent, strong hands to rip the ball out, and the timing to jump passing lanes and get into the open court where he can take flight for the power dunk. I was able to see Harris at 3SSB Session 1 and his perimeter shot mechanics and efficiency have made progress, which goes well with his elite athleticism and lock-up defense.     Page was one of the top overall prospects at the Invitational regardless of class, and he had his all-around game on display in a win over Wildcats Select on Day 2 of the tournament. The 6-foot-6 guard/wing has a physical frame and elite athleticism to defend multiple positions on the court, with the size and length to guard bigs, as well as the footspeed and lateral movement to stay in front of perimeter players. Page has active hands to poke the ball out or tip the ball away from his opponent to get out in transition, where he is explosive and throws down some dazzling dunks, as well altering shots in the paint and on the perimeter. Page has a strong handle on the ball, uses the crossover and between the leg cross to get space from his defender, gets great lift on the jumper off the dribble with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and uses his strong build to bully his way through contact down the lane or off the baseline drive. Page is a good facilitator in the halfcourt setting and finds teammates when attacking the basket. There were not many aspects of the game that Page did not impact at a high level, which is why he is currently ranked #10 in the updated 247 Sports 2027 player rankings.     I recently saw Ramirez with his high school team at the California Live Scholastic tournament at the end of June, where he is the primary ball handler, but is more of a play maker for Mater Dei, as he plays alongside one of the best pure shooters in the country in rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1956507' first='Luke' last='Barnett']. The 6-foot-3 lead guard is the primary option for Gamepoint 16s and he showcased his offensive arsenal in a tough loss to Game Elite on Day 2 of the Invitational. Ramirez has the court vision and decision making to find open teammates with precision from the top of the key or off the dribble drive, can light it up from the 3-point line off the bounce or the catch, and is a creative finisher around the basket over height. Ramirez is effective at backing down perimeter players, uses the spin move to evade his defender and score at the basket, has great body control on the fadeaway jumper, and plays with nice pace with the ball on a string to weave through the defense, making him tough to guard with his ability to create for others or get his own buckets. Another tough lead guard that took on every challenge from some of the nations best players and matched them shot for shot.     I first saw Smith a year ago with his high school team in a Fall preseason tournament at Clovis West in Fresno, and the skill and shot making was evident. Smith has continued to improve his shooting efficiency, as well as his array of moves to score the ball, which was evident at the 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, where he was named Player of the Game en route to Team Lillard winning the 16u division. The 6-foot-1 combo guard continued his high level of play at the Invitational showing the moves to create separation from his opponent with the crossover, wrap around cross, and between the leg cross and quick release on the jumper with accuracy from the 3-point line. Smith keeps the dribble alive with a purpose, weaves through the defense to get to his shot spots, has touch on the mid-range shot and the floater, and gets great acceleration off the bounce to get by his defender with creativity on finishes around the basket. Smith can run the offense and find open teammates, but he is at his best when he is hunting his shots.     Udean was one of the better pure shooters in the 16u division at the Invitational, which was my takeaway from seeing him live at 3SSB Session 1 in SoCal back in May. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard can score in volume and light it up from beyond the arc with limitless range on the 3-ball. He moves fluidly off the ball and is ready to catch and fire as soon as he receives the pass. Given Udean's marksmanship from downtown, defenders are forced to close out beyond the 3-point line, which opens up driving lanes. Udean has the handles and shifty moves to get by his initial defender, has nice touch on the floater or the pull-up jumper, and has a nice burst of speed off the dribble with the ability to finish with creativity around the basket. Udean is a pure scorer that can also run the offense and does a solid job defending opposing guards.     White had a strong showing in a tough loss to Compton Magic 16s during the evening portion of Day 2 play at the Invitational. The 6-foot-4 lead guard has good size and skill to run the point with the court vision and precision passing to make the correct reads, a strong handle on the ball to prevent opponents from poking the ball away, and gets down hill with purpose with the strength to finish shots through contact around the basket. White has good body control on the mid-range jumper off the dribble, nice touch on the floater down the lane, and can space the floor with the 3-ball. Defensively, White has active hands to create steals to get out in transition, the bounce to alter shots at the basket or on the perimeter, and the build to defend perimeter players and contend with bigger players off switches.

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, part 2, takes a look at 8 standout guards from the 2027 class, following the previous article that covered 9 other 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 look at the standout wing/forwards from the rising junior class from the Invitational.