Huckins Rouse Basketball Tournament: Guard Studs

On Friday, December 19th, I attended the Huckins Rouse basketball tournament at Middlesex School in Concord, MA. Though I wasn't able to attend Saturday's action, I watched every participating team play their first game.   To begin my coverage, here are some guard standouts.    White is developing into one of my favorite players to the watch in the entire region. The 5-foot-11 guard is obviously undersized, but he has the heart of a LION. Against Holderness, his squad was massively overmatched, but he kept them in the game with a slew of ridiculous mid range shots, three balls, and absurd finishes at the hoop. The southpaw has insane quickness, and his conditioning is perhaps the best I've seen of any high school player in awhile. He doesn't sit out at any point and is in go-mode every single possession. He's a special competitor and player, and high D3 programs should be all over him right now.     Cruz didn't have a crazy number of points in Holderness' convincing win over BB&N (because he didn't have to), but the junior point guard really impressed me with his composure and skill in the paint. He took undersized guards in the post again and again, and he was relatively successful scoring over them and getting his teammates involved when the help came. The southpaw is an awesome finisher in the paint, and he's only going to continue to improve his strength and physical attributes as he gets older. He has a bright future ahead and should be looked at by D3 programs.     This was my first time seeing Badoian play in person and I was impressed with his ability to confidently and comfortably run an offense. The 5-foot-10 guard is a brick wall and has good ball handling skills, so he's not easy to press or turn over in the full court. Once he gets in the half court, he's extremely unselfish and will make the simple play consistently, even if he doesn't get any stats for it. He's also able to take over and be more aggressive on takes to the hoop and mid range jumpers when his team needs it, and he can make an open three. D3 programs should be interested.     Echevarria is one of the more fascinating players in the region in terms of how he can change his game given who he's facing. Against Kents Hill, the 5-foot-10 guard got to the paint at will and showed off better facilitation ability than I've ever seen from him. He had some special passes off the bounce and consistently got wide open shots for his teammates—he wasn't even really looking to score, because he didn't need to. Instead, he raised his teammates' confidence. Echevarria is a big time maestro who should be LOVED by the Trinity coaches next year.     Farrell has the ability to play both on and off the ball and is a total knockdown shooter when he needs to be. The 6-foot-1 guard has a beautiful release and can miss 10 in a row while still thinking he'll make the next one (and he probably will). With the rock, he has tons of speed and quickness and is a lot bouncier than you'd think. Defensively, Ferrell more than holds his own and is pretty feisty. Top D3 programs should be all over the junior guard, especially if he continues to grow and develop physically.     Washington was a significant bright spot for Kents Hill on Friday. The 5-foot-9 guard is insanely quick offensively and can get into the paint and then create for his teammates consistently. He also hit a good number of off the dribble threes. But most impressive was Washington's defense. He slides his feet quite well laterally and has amazing hands, so he gets tons of steals and is a total nuisance to dribble against. He's a bulldog who will keep Kents Hill in a good number of games this season with his competitive spirit and two-way play. D3 player for sure.

On Friday, December 19th, I attended the Huckins Rouse basketball tournament at Middlesex School in Concord, MA. Though I wasn't able to attend Saturday's action, I watched every participating team play their first game.