MIAA Underclassmen: Guards to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The calendar has flipped to November, which means we've reached the start of the basketball season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Across New England, public schools will soon be gearing up for tryouts and with that in mind, we've decided to highlight underclassmen and upperclassmen to watch from each of the six state associations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prospects will be broken down into guards, wings, and forwards; with freshmen and sophomores being considered underclassmen and juniors and seniors being categorized as upperclassmen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today, we'll start by taking a look at five underclassmen at the guard spot out of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2832788"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6907f37f3b938"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Araujo, a sophomore guard at <em>Xaverian Brothers</em>, has the chance to be one of the top underclassmen in the MIAA this winter. He's an aggressive, downhill guard that knows how to get to his spots off the bounce. He does a nice job of protecting the basketball, can spray it out to teammates when he gets a piece of the paint, and has nice touch as a finisher over size in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kamari Day","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Charlestown","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6907f37f3ba28"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Day, a sophomore guard at <em>Charlestown</em>, is one of the better underclassmen lead guards in the region. He's got a quick first step and uses it to his advantage defensively, where he does a nice job of hounding opposing ball-handlers and keeping them out of the paint. He sees the floor well on offense, already knows how to play out of ball screens, and has the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Teddy O'Neill","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Swampscott","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6907f37f3bae4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">O'Neill, a sophomore guard at <em>Swampscott</em>, is coming off of a strong travel season and is primed to be a breakout performer this winter. He gets it done as a multi-level scorer, plays at different speeds with the ball in his hands, and does a great job of finishing plays around the rim with creativity. His ability to score the basketball, in the half-court and in transition, stands out every time he takes the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Aiden Richard","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2029","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Tewksbury","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6907f37f3bb9d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Richard, a freshman guard at <em>Tewksbury</em>, could make his presence felt in his first year of high school ball this winter. He's another terrific scorer of the basketball, both as an on-ball creator and off-ball shooter. He makes shots with range, showing a quick release and understanding of how to leverage his shooting to open up driving lanes, where he finishes with athleticism at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2969369"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6907f37f3bc0e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Souza, a freshman guard at <em>Winthrop</em>, is a creative ball-handler that knows how to create scoring opportunities for himself and for others. He's got good positional size, plus length, and the ability to create and get to his spots off the bounce. He makes plays as a passer and driver and does a nice job of getting into the paint off the bounce, where he shows the ability to finish with athleticism, length, and skill around the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keep an eye out this week as we unveil underclassmen wings and forwards to watch out of the MIAA!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->