Mayhem on Military: MD/DC Upperclassmen Standout Guards

Mayhem on Military has become the mark of the beginning of the high school season in the DMV over the past few years. This year was no different as Marc Stern from Capitol Hoops put together a loaded schedule over the course of the weekend to prepare fans for the year ahead.   We'll start our standout content with the MD/DC 2026 guards.    It was more of the same from the No. 2 overall player in our MD/DC 2026 rankings in their season opening win over Winston Salem Christian. The 6-foot-6 southpaw went for 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting while pulling down eight rebounds in the 72-63 victory. Samuels' long-range shot wasn't falling at the rate that it usually does, so he did his damage attacking closeouts and exposing gaps or getting out on the break for finishes at the rim. When things slowed down, I liked how he took his matchup in the mid-post, used his size to his advantage, and knocked down a couple fadeaways jumpers with soft touch.     Meeks put on a show in DeMatha's come from behind win over Mount Carmel on Saturday as the 6-foot-1 sharpshooter canned the game-winning three to lift the Stags over the reigning BCL champs. Meeks was relentless with his approach, but the first half didn't offer much from an efficiency standpoint. The value with Meeks is that at any time, he can get hot and change the course of a game and that's what he did here when he ripped off five-straight points in two possessions to make it an even ball game. With unwavering confidence, Meeks buried a three from the left wing off a stepback over his defender's hand to put DeMatha up three with less than twenty seconds on the clock. Cold-blooded scoring mentality.     Shackleford has to shoulder much of the on-ball initiating for this Friendship Tech group, which has a very young roster. He's more effective as a secondary playmaker, but even in this case the 6-foot-3 strong-framed guard got downhill going to his right with regularity and embraced contact on the way to the bucket. Time after time again, Shackleford seemed to be finding an angle to get his floater off or draw enough contact to force the ref's whistle. The overall ball security and decision-making as a passer still needs some work as indicated by his nine total turnovers, but when you factor in his usage percentage for this team going against a swarming Highland defense, it tends to be at least a little more understanding. Shackleford's game-high 24 points weren't enough to withstand Highland's attack, but his team showed fight under his leadership to make a late game push.     Knight's performance on Saturday despite taking a tough loss to Bullis brought me comfort to why we have him in the top 25 of our MD/DC 2027 rankings. What he lacks in size he brings in absolute toughness and grit playing with his hair on fire defensively and tapping into his top-notch speed getting to the rim on drives. Another small DMV guard who doesn't allow misses to impact his effort, Knight was the catalyst to Jackson-Reed nearly pulling out the win over Bullis as he led with a game-high 20 points, pulled down five boards, dished out three assists and collected three steals.     Mahan is one of those shooters that make you think the ball is going in the second it leaves his hands. The release isn't textbook, but there's something about the fluidity that makes it look like such a confident stroke and although he struggled early to find his mark, he'd join Knight in the Jackson-Reed effort. The 6-foot-5 guard scored his 15 points on 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 beyond the arc.     Duran is in the same club as Mahan in that whenever the ball leaves his hands, you consider it a make. For the 6-foot-1 combo guard though, everything about his shot is beautiful. When he's in rythym and the confidence is flowing, Duran can put on performances like he did in Saturday's win where he followed Samuels with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 on triples in 21 minutes. He has good spatial awareness and frequently finds windows on fades or lifts when others penetrate. He has pre-catch footwork to quickly establish balance and get into his shot, which makes the window of error for his defender closing out minimal.     We've documented quite a bit here on Prep Hoops MD/DC that this season will be a breakout campaign for Veney and it's off to a good start. The 6-foot-3 combo guard plays with great balance and presents as a three-level scoring threat. The weakest level of that approach is beyond the arc, but the mechanics and load-up are solid, which makes me a believer in the long-term track. In two games this weekend, both of which were wins for the Cadets, Veney averaged 16.5 points on 42.3 percent from the field and went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. He also averaged four boards and 3.5 assists as St. John's stands 2-0 with wins over Archbishop Spalding (MD) and Georgetown Prep (MD).     It was a slow, murky start for both Parlow and Mt. Zion Prep as a team in the first half of their game against PG Christian Academy, but the second half was a different story as Parlow found his flow and his team went onto win by a commanding final score of 54-32. The long-limbed, 6-foot-3 shotmaker led the Warriors with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and was active in the passing lanes as he registered four steals. His improvement as a playmaker off the bounce comes to light in ball screen actions, but Parlow isn't a guy that the ball sticks with. He's good at getting off of it to quickly relocate and only needs a split-second to get his jumper off. The production and efficiency thus far for Parlow have been steady.     Clinton Grace (MD) notched their first big DMV win of the season in this event over Sidwell Friends (DC) 64-50. The win comes a day removed from winning the National Classic bracket at the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions in Illinois. Lyons took home MVP honors of that tournament and would take MVP honors in their win over Sidwell churning in his 19 points on an impressive 7-of-9 shooting from the field. The dynamic lead guard used his blend of size, length, twitch, and athleticism to create driving opportunities for himself. Sidwell changed up their defensive coverage multiple times to try and slow down the Clinton Grace pace and flow, but there was no answer for Lyons. In the open floor, he finished electrically. He may have not racked up his usual assists numbers, but the gravity and attention he demands from the defense opens up the floor for others in a similar manner.     Similar to Meeks, Owinje is another shooting guard who doesn't allow his last miss to impact his confidence. That was clear in the first half of their game against Sidwell when Owinje struggled mightily to get any of his looks from outside or in the paint to fall in his favor. Nevertheless like he has in plenty of other games under head coach Devin Paige, the 6-foot-6 guard came through in the final two frames with huge shots to help build the insurmountable lead. He also did his due diligence on the glass pulling down five rebounds and while the percentages weren't great, Owinje led the Eagles with 20 points, several of which came in the second half when Clinton Grace was able to establish complete control.

Mayhem on Military has become the mark of the beginning of the high school season in the DMV over the past few years. This year was no different as Marc Stern from Capitol Hoops put together a loaded schedule over the course of the weekend to prepare fans for the year ahead.