Philly Point Guard Standouts

7p 12a 4r 6s vs Penn Charter   -By far the best passer that I saw this weekend, Gray plays with great pace and pushed the tempo to get easy buckets in transition to put the game out of reach. He has the ball on a string, is really hard to trap/double team, and takes care of the ball in traffic. I saw the full repertoire of passes throughout the evening: lobs from halfcourt, pocket passes in middle PnR, chest passes over the top to lead his teammate to the rim, baseline bounce passes, wrap arounds, etc-- he always has his head on a swivel. Gray also applies a ton of ball pressure and rips away steals without being whistled for fouls to initiate a brand new fastbreak. Loved his game as a throwback pure PG that knows exactly where the ball needs to be placed for each of his teammates and creating advantage opportunities for his team without a ball screen or a set play.     12p 3a 1r 3s vs West Nottingham   Udo has grown at least 3 inches to put him over 6' and the new size allows him to see the floor much better and navigate around ice ball screen coverages to keep his dribble alive in the halfcourt. Udo plays with phenomenal pace and vision coming off of ball screens, showing the IQ and understanding of rotations by immediately hitting open teammates. His best stretch started with a sweep and blow by to get past the big on the perimeter before hitting the floater. Udo followed that up with a great wrap around pass on the baseline to an open shooter before blowing by his matchup at the top of the key before hitting the reverse lay off the window just past the outstretched arm of the big. Truly believe that as he runs the show for a talented Westtown team filled with bigs and shooters, college coaches will begin to take notice of his advanced feel and ability to run a team.     -Knight looked really good as the head of the snake for a Jackson Reed team that lost its starting point guard and two other starters to graduation. He pushed the pace in transition, hit shots from the perimeter off of ball screens, thrived off the ball as a C+S guy, was really pesky defensively, and showed off his finishing bag in the paint. Came away impressed by his improved shooting mechanics (especially off the bounce) as the dribble pick-up into his shooting pocket is much quicker and more efficient. Also came away impressed with his decision making with the ball in his hands and the wiggle he has as a guard that can maneuver in some tight spaces. He's also seemingly put on muscle and is more comfortable playing through contact as shown on a beautiful bump in lay off the window to start the game and a spin move on the baseline before finger-rolling it with the left hand in the center of the paint. In an area and class that has a ton of point guard talent, Knight should really shine as the primary scorer and ballhandler for a JR team that has been the team to beat in the DCIAA for the past few years.     23p 2a 3r 4s vs West Nottingham   -Jackson showed an ability to drive the ball into open gaps into the defense and consistently made the right decision to score or pass to an open teammate in the advantage situation that he created with his drive to the rim. He showed good vision off the bounce, changes speeds well and can turn really sharp corners coming off of ball screens, and showed a ton of moxie throughout the game by fighting for loose balls or playing through contact. Jackson hit a face-up AND1 3 off the kickout and hit the FT to make it a 2-possession game with 5 mins left in the game and almost brought his team all the way back. Love his speed in the open court and aggression at both ends of the floor as a guard that can thrive both on or off the ball because of his feel.     -First time seeing Baker this weekend and came away impressed with his ability to create space with his dribbling in the halfcourt. Baker wasn't getting a ton of help with ball screens but didn't need them at times--smoothly getting into his pull-up jumper off the bounce or creating better driving angles to the rim. Came away impressed with his finishing bag around the rim as he hit layups with either hand and timed euro steps/spin moves well to get past bigger defenders to score around the basket. Baker cashed out a contested 3 from the wing off a swing pass, came off a screen with pace but on balance to knock down a 3 off the one-more from the corner, and changed speeds well off the bounce as the only ballhandler creating advantage opportunities in the halfcourt vs a swarming Pallotti defense     17p 2a 3r 1s vs Bridgeport Prep   -Loved the moxie and toughness to overcome a slow start with some turnovers in the first half to be a really pesky scorer that kept the game close for most of the 1H. West didn't allow the score or a bad play to affect his approach as he continued to attack the paint and take open shots from the perimeter. West hit a slow euro into the lay off glass after the defender flew by him in transition, hit a 3 (3/5 from 3 on the night) off the bounce at the top of the key, and showed great passing feel in the halfcourt. West's ability to handle the rock despite a slight frame and against taller defenders shone through as a young prospect with a bright future given his current skillset.