Class of 2029 Watchlist: PGs Who Made Their Mark

Last week we released our class of 2029 watchlist and there were tons of first-year high school players who made major impacts on the varsity level. Below are the top point guards we saw this high school season and ones to keep a close eye on over the next three years.    Nayab stepped into an on-ball leadership and decision-making role on day one of his high school career and he excelled from the start. The 5-foot-9 point guard is lightning quick with the ball in his hands, showed impressive feel as a scorer and creator and made an impact on the defensive end with his quick hands and instincts. Nayab helped the Dons to 19 wins while averaging 9.2 points and three assists per game while shooting 35% from the three-point line.     It was pretty easy to see that Reed would be an immediate impact varsity level player during his middle school years. The 6-foot-1 freshman had all the physical tools to take the reins of a program and he did just that in helping lead Palisades to a CIF Los Angeles City Section Open Division championship and a run to the CIF State Division II Regional Final. Reed was an inside-out scoring machine who also showed plenty of passing, creating and defensive feel throughout his freshman campaign.     Giran exploded onto the high school scene after scoring 31 points in his first-ever varsity game against eventual Southern Section and State Open Division champion Sierra Canyon. That scoring continued throughout the season as the 6-foot guard led the Rams in scoring with 24.2 points per game, helped Millikan earn an outright Moore League championship and an appearance in the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals. Giran's combination of perimeter shooting ability, isolation creating feel and a smooth, mature approach to the game will make him a highly-recruited prospect.     Servite had one of its best seasons in recent memory and Johnson was one of the main reasons for that. The 5-foot-10 point guard had the ball in his hands from the Friars' first game of the season and he continued to make big play after big play and big shot after big shot throughout the season. Johnson led his team in scoring with 16.9 points per game, dished out 3.7 assists per game and added in 2.1 steals to his overall production. Johnson's hard-nosed style of play helped Servite win 19 games - the most wins for the program in nearly 20 years.     No freshman matched what Conroy, Jr. did as a scorer. The 5-foot-10 point guard was nearly unstoppable in his first season of high school basketball as he averaged 26.7 points per game and connected on 36% of his 228 three-point field goal attempts this season. Conroy had two 40-point games, and seven 30-point games in leading the Crusaders to 24 wins on the season. Conroy has a wired-to-score feel to his game which lends to his confident off-catch and off-dribble shot-making abilities.     Arnold made his mark as a high IQ decision-maker, pinpoint accurate passer and as a player whose smooth feel for the game made it look like he never forced a shot or decision. The 5-foot-11 point guard was consistently poised beyond his years as a playmaker and orchestrator of offense in half-court and transition offense. When Arnold wasn't looking to get the ball into his talented big men, he showed the ability to knock down perimeter jumpers with consistency and scored craftily around the rim.

Last week we released our class of 2029 watchlist and there were tons of first-year high school players who made major impacts on the varsity level. Below are the top point guards we saw this high school season and ones to keep a close eye on over the next three years.