NEXT National Championships: Scorers and Facilitators 12U

The guard position is pivotal to a teams' success in today's game. These young players showed the skills that made them difference makers.    Charlie is an excellent shooter who has the capability of making long or mid-range shots. Whenever he found himself In isolated situations, Charlie showed the ability to beat his defender to the basket. He scored in this fashion numerous times throughout the game. Charlie is a very skilled player on the offensive side of the ball. He used teammate screens to free himself for clean looks at the basket. Most of the time it paid off because he nailed the shots. Defensively, he was great at jumping pass lanes and generating steals. The turnovers he forced led to positive outcomes for the team. Keep shooting Charlie!!     Clayton continues to be a hard-working player who can shoot the ball from deep. I watched him knock down two threes in the game against PE34 12U. This is my second write up of Clayton and he did not disappoint. He gives maximum effort on both ends of the floor. Whether it's chasing down loose balls, taking charges, grabbing rebounds or being a solid defender, Clayton was always around to make a play. He handled the ball and showed off his play-making ability with great passes. Most of his passes led to easy scores for his teammates. On defense, he applied great pressure on opposing guards. He forced numerous turnovers with his quick hands. This young man is the ultimate team player. Keep it up Clayton!!     A physical guard who played with aggression on both ends of the floor. AJ was great at getting to the basket and scoring through contact. There was a play where AJ took on two defenders and scored while being fouled. He calmly stepped to the foul-line and converted the three-point play. AJ excelled at rebounding the basketball. He had no problems attacking the glass regardless of who he went against. I was really impressed with this young man's defense. He forced multiple steals with great on-ball pressure and quick hands. I counted three steals he made from playing the pass lanes. AJ is a hard-working player who has a chance of becoming great in the future. I believe he's already an elite defender. Keep working AJ!!     Brycen is a shifty combo guard who plays fearless on the basketball court. Whenever he was in isolated match-ups, Brycen easily drove by his defender and made plays. Whether it was scoring at the basket or hitting teammates with flashy passes, Brycen always made positive plays. He scored on multiple pull-ups from the perimeter. When Brycen had open looks from beyond the arc, he did not shy away from taking the shot. Some he made, some he missed. His aggression on offense was constant throughout the game. One of his biggest strengths was his leadership. Brycen was always communicating with his teammates on both ends of the floor. A great player who will continue to improve his overall basketball skills. Keep it up Brycen!!     He is the prototypical floor general who is the catalyst in regard to making the offense go. He led the team in assists and ran the EWA offense like a coach on the floor. Monwell is a great ball handler and facilitator. Most of his passes led to scores for his teammates. His assists were always right on time and where they needed to be. Monwell's court vision was on point! Offensively, he excelled at getting into the paint and scoring. The floater was his shot of choice. He converted numerous baskets over taller defenders throughout the game. In some instances, he knocked down mid-range shots and scored baskets in transition. On defense, Monwell was great at applying on-ball pressure. He forced multiple turnovers and made ball handling difficult for the opposition. Keep it up Monwell!!     Cayden is a skilled point guard. He played his position like a true “floor general.” Cayden is a great passer who always set-up Minnesota Warriors players for high percentage shots. There was a play in the game, where Cayden made the perfect bounce pass to a teammate streaking down the lane. The pass was on the money and led to easy lay-ups. He finished the game with a number of flashy passes. Cayden showed the ability to beat defenders off the dribble and score in the paint. He's a good shooter from the perimeter and beyond the arc. During the game he knocked down multiple threes and numerous shots from mid-range. As he continues to grow and mature, Cayden has the capability of becoming an elite player in the future. Keep it up Cayden!!     Chantz is a tough minded guard who has the ability to shoot. He showed a firey mentality on the basketball court. Chantz played with no fear, despite being the smallest player on the court. He handles the ball, drives by defenders, knocks down threes and scores in the paint. This little guy had an impressive package of skills within the Venoms offense. Whenever he drove into the paint, Chantz's shot of choice was the floater. He always scored it over taller defenders attempting to block his shot. Throughout the game he knocked down multiple shots from beyond the arc. On defense, Chantz was a pest! His quick hands and good movement allowed him to force numerous steals from the opposition. I have always had a soft spot for the little guy. Keep it up Chantz!!     Nehemiah has a great ability to distribute the basketball to his teammates. He showed excellent leadership and a prowess to attack the basket. Nehemiah is a strong guard with a low to the ground makeup. His size and stature make him a tough player to guard for the opposition. He's strong enough to score through contact and quick enough to get around bigger defenders. Nehemiah is a good perimeter shooter who knocked down multiple shots throughout the game. On defense, he plays a ball-hawking style where he applied constant pressure to the ball handler. He forced numerous mistakes and turnovers. Keep it up Nehemiah!!     Zyrieon is an excellent pass first point guard. He is a high energy player who showed the ability to create for himself or teammates. Zyrieon is a great scorer who excelled at making floaters, mid-range jumpers and three-pointers. Anytime he was left alone behind the arc, Zyrieon knocked it down. This little guy is an excellent offensive player and facilitator. He lead his team in assists and showed great leadership by communicating on both ends of the court. Zyrieon was in "constant attack" mode whenever he was on the court. Defensively, he's a tough minded guard who pressures opposing players into mistakes. Zyrieon had no issues running Semo Basketball Club as the lead guard. Keep it up Zyrieon!!

The guard position is pivotal to a teams' success in today's game. These young players showed the skills that made them difference makers.