Week 1 Friday Night Action: Standout Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm addition to the wings and forwards who did their thing Friday night, a number of guards were spectacular as well. Here's part two of the series, this time focusing on them:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2867291' first='Jaden' last='Gladney'] | 6'1 G 2026 Hodgson </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Silver Eagles came up short versus the Ducks, but Gladney's versatile scoring gave them a puncher's chance. He knocked down the three-ball, slashed to the cup, got to the line, and got transition buckets. Gladney even posted up and got a putback. In the end, he led Hodgson on both ends. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2566681' first='Graling' last='High III'] | 6'4 G/W 2027 MOT Charter </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Visiting Tatnall, High III kept the Mustangs alive with his impact on offense and defense. He fired from three without hesitating, hitting two in the first quarter and another after halftime. His contribution on the other end was even louder as he disrupted a lot of what the Hornets were trying to do. High III crept behind opposing players for steals and closed ground instantly on his rotations to alter jump shots. Foul trouble cut his performance short, but he still put up 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks in three quarters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3149525' first='Ellis' last='Jarrett'] | 5'10 G 2026 Tatnall </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Hornets' home opener, Jarrett caught fire early. Whenever one of his teammates drew an extra defender, there he was shot-ready to fire from three. And when the defense rotated, so did Jarret. He wisely moved around off-ball to drain a quartet of jumpers from deep, in the first half. Then he drilled another in the third. The senior sleeper swing the rock when he didn't have a clean look and played gritty on-ball defense as well. He totalled 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2770688' first='William' last='Warfield'] | 6'0 G 2026 Odessa </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a game that went down to the wire, Warfield shredded the Hodgson zone with his play off the catch. He knifed into the defense as a driver and cutter for touch shots and got to the line. Warfield also slid into open windows for catch-and-shoot treys. Finally, down 1 with 6 seconds left, the senior guard caught the ball in the corner, drove baseline, drew the foul, and knocked down both free throws to give the Ducks the victory. He led with 15 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2611922' first='Michael' last='Wright'] | 6'1 G 2026 Concord </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the road at Delcastle, Wright lived in the paint. Defenders struggled to keep him out of the lane because he would use a quick hesi to get a step on them, then use his broad shoulders to turn the corner. And once he got to the rim, Wright scored with a variety of touch shots - floaters, scoop lays, and extension finishes. Not to be ignored, other guards had a tough time getting by him on defense too because they couldn't bump him off his spots. His 20 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals made the difference in the Raiders' win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->