Capital City National Showcase: PGs

New readers: Use code Proia30     The first annual Capital City National Showcase was a great 2-day event held at Coolidge HS in Washington DC featuring top teams from all across the country. Today we'll cover the point guards that stood out to me from the event, some new to me and some not. Let's dive in!    24p 8a 1r 1s (7/10 FG 2/4 3P 8/8 FT) vs St James   -One if the if not the top performer of the event, Bivins put on a show with an efficient and balanced performance in a win over the St James. Like the way that he's building on the momentum from last season and this summer by playing much more aggressively and confidently at the offensive end of the floor. Bivins overcame some early TO troubles to finish with 8 assists, serving as an effective primary creator and connector on the wing to ensure that O'Connell got the best possible move. He hit a corner C+S 3, hit another 3 off the bounce, finished in the paint with a variety of stepbacks and floaters, and went a perfect 8/8 from the line. He's vacillating between scoring and passing within the flow of the game at a pretty high level. Thought that he did a better job of chesting up to ride over the top of screens and stay connected to a man as those defensive microskills will be very important for him at the next level. Big week defeating IMG Academy and The St James EYBL Scholastic team on back to back nights.     19p 8r 1s vs Sierra Canyon   -The Indiana commit overcame a slow 1H to ratchet up the ball pressure and turn defense into offense to ignite a 17-point comeback for the Mustangs in a win over #1 Sierra Canyon. Moody marshalled the troops a bit in timeouts as Mac made some good adjustments coming out of the 3Q to cut the lead down with sharper defensive rotations as the run n jump and full court trap schemes turned their opponent over. Moody hit some big 3s on the wing in transition, closed out possessions by chipping in on the defensive glass for some big rebounds in traffic, and hit both his FTs to put the game away. Loved the leadership, intensity, and communication on the floor as the vocal leader for a talented and deep McNamara group.     20p 3r 2b (8/14 FG 0/2 3P 4/4 3P)   -Liked the flashes from Nuñez as a prospect that is finding his way nicely as one of the leaders of a St James group that finally has all of their pieces healthy this season. Nuñez is comfortable on the ball--especially in transition-- but also can be effective off the ball as an unselfish prospect that skips the ball opposite while also using his size and athleticism to sneak in for some offensive rebounds. He's particularly comfortable tightroping the baseline to slice to finish at the rim or drop off to one of his bigs. Nuñez recorded a block both on and off the ball and should give this StJ some lineup versatility as a dynamic guard that can play 1-3 at the offensive end and guard multiple spots on the defensive end of the floor.     11p 1r 1s (4/7 FG 3/6 3P) vs Virginia Academy   -Bates is attending School Without Walls but due to the school not fielding a varsity team this season, he is competing with Cardozo this season and looks like he will be a big piece for a team that graduated some key pieces this offseason. Bates will give this team a secondary ballhandler, shooter, and scorer that can play well off of Fox-- and he looked good in that role against VAA. Bates hit a C+S 3 in the corner in transition, hit a 3 off the bounce     21p 5a 2r 3s (5/8 FG 3/5 3P 8/10 FT) vs Virginia Academy   -Probably the most balanced scoring display that I've seen out of Fox as he really had it going from all 3 levels. Fox was dynamic as both a passer and finisher in transition, hit shots from the midrange and perimeter, and baited defenders into fouling him both under the rim or beyond the 3 point arc with a series of pump fakes and pivots. Fox overcame some early TO issues to also serve as a playmaker for others--especially in transition-- but I'm looking for him to turn his paint touches into kickouts to open shooters or for him to use that scoring gravity in the halfcourt to draw 2 before making the play to a teammate. Fully believe that will come in time as the sophomore PG continues to develop this season.     3p 1r 2a 1s vs Cardozo   -Impact extended past the stats in this one as Blue serves in a crucial role as a vocal leader on the floor and on the bench. Blue made good decisions in ball screens, showing good feel for when to hit the roller and when to pump fake that direction before hitting the strong side corner for open looks. VAA moved the ball so well that some of those passes turned into hockey assists, but he set the table on a few bunnies that his teammates missed on the first attempt. Blue applies pesky, aggressive POA defense that makes it difficult to be screened in the halfcourt and disrupts the offensive flow of his opponents. With the full compliment of players finally healthy for this event, he should shine in a prominent role as rotations and minutes are sorted out over the course of the season.

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