Prolific Point Guards

New readers: Use code Proia30     I got out to several games in different leagues this week and came away impressed with several point guards that led the way for their team. Some of these floor generals put up gaudy stat lines, others impacted the game beyond the box score for their team-- but all of them left a tangible imprint on the game. Let's dive in!      19p 3r 1a vs Crofton   -The sophomore combo guard showed great feel as a mover off the ball that found open pockets in the defense to serve as a connector and scorer around the paint. Coard started things off with a C+S wing 3, got 2 feet in the paint pretty regularly on his drives to the rim, hit a huge wing 3 with 44 seconds left in the game to cut the Crofton lead to 2, and threw a nice dime to cutter to start OT in a good road win for SP. The balance of playing unselfish basketball while still remaining aggressive within the flow of the game was impressive to see from a sophomore that has carved out a big role for this Severna Park team.     26p 4a 1r 1s 1b vs St. John's   -The Stags picked up a big league win at home against SJC and Meeks was a big reason why. Meeks started things off by showing the point guard progression strides that he's made this season: hitting a cutter for a layup, throwing a crosscourt dime to the shooter, and driving middle to draw two before throwing a perfectly-placed lob to his big for the 2-handed flush. Meeks' trademark scoring chops were also on display as he got to it from all 3 levels for Coach Jones and his staff. Meeks hit a pull-up 3 off the bounce, a wing 3 off the catch, picked up his dribble from volleyball line and laced a deep 3 off the pivot before the shot clock expired, hit a 1-dribble pull-up middie, and had perhaps the play of the game when he drew a foul going to the rim at the end of a shot clock to hit both the contested layup aas well as the ensuing FT to give DeMatha the final cushion that they needed to close out the game. Definite 1st-Team performer and in the running for WCAC Player of the Year for the combination of individual development and team success.     10p 11a 6r 1s 1b vs Crofton   -The Gettysburg soccer commit was probably my favorite find of the week as the straw that stirs the drink for Severna Park. His understanding of spacing concepts and drawing two defenders to open up scoring opportunities for his teammates translates well from the pitch to the hardwood. Moden started things off with a drive and drop off to a backdoor cutter, then assisted on a drive and kick to the strong side shooter, scored off a one dribble baseline pull-up in traffic to answer a Crofton run, drove around the defense and got downhill for the layup off the window, executed a middle drive and hit the cutter for the game-tying bucket to send it to OT. In the extra frame Moden executed a nice ATO set with a give n go to cutter, started out with a fake drive back towards top of key from the wing then hit his opponent with a spin move to get downhill and lay off it off the window to give SP a 2-basket lead that they did not relinquish. Loved the way that he kept his head up to constantly find cutters while probing the defense throughout the game.     16p 3r 1a vs Bullis   -Desire hit some HUGE shots throughout the game to give G Prep the series sweep of the defending IAC champs. Desire came into the game and hit a huge contested wing 3 to break up a Bulldogs run and start a personal trend, hitting 4 of his first 5 shots to go along with 2 made FTs. I loved the way that he got into gaps in the defense to make plays for teammates, collecting several hockey assists as the ball moved around the horn to find the right look. His back to back 3s gave Georgetown Prep the lead heading into the fourth and final frame, where he continued to make plays for the Hoyas and hit two more free throws to close out the game.     15p 2r vs Severna Park   -Frost is an absolute bucket, one of the better one on one scorers in the county that operates at a high level from the midrange to the rim. He didn't have his best shooting performance in this one but made up for it by getting to the rack. Frost started things off with a great cut from the wing for the backdoor lay, hit a 3 off the bounce in the secondary break, rejected a screen and got into a downhill drive to finish with the inside hand lay just past the defender's outstretched hand, and hit his opponent with a double cross into the drive to the middle to knock down a pull up 2 in the paint. His quickness with the ball in his hands makes him a difficult player to guard in the halfcourt.     15p 3r 1s 1b (3/5 3P) vs Severna Park   -Denton started things off with a splash when he swatted an opponent's shot from behind then splashed a 3 in transition at the other end. He picked up where he left off in the 3Q with B2B C+S wing 3s, then had a huge bucket late in OT when he raced it in transition to score at the rim to make it a 5 point game. His quick twitch drives to the basket were huge in forcing defenses to rotate throughout the game.

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