Elite Spring Hoops Showcase: 6 Standout Guards (Part 3)

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 3 and takes a look at 6 standout guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 3-part series focused on the top guards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with [player_tooltip player_id='3357253' first='Tre' last='Simmons'].   2028 [player_tooltip player_id='3357253' first='Tre' last='Simmons'] 6'4|PG (Lincoln/Stockton) - Lakeshow 3SSB 16s    The 6-foot-4 lead guard had his skill set on full display this past weekend at the Showcase, highlighting his elite point guard skills, as well as his ability to impact multiple aspects of the game on both ends of the court. Simmons has a strong handle on the ball, keeps his dribble alive and head on a swivel to survey the floor, has good size and poise to make timely decisions with the ball in his hands, and has the moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover, toss-cross, behind-cross, between-cross, and hesitation to put constant pressure on the defense, and can score the ball from 3-levels off the dribble, using his strong and physical build to bully his way to the basket with the ability to score through contact at the basket. Simmons is accurate with the jump-shot from the mid-range to the 3-point line with great body control and footwork to get to his shot spots, elevation to lift and shoot over his defender, and timely use of the spin-move or fadeaway jumper to increase separation from his opponent, which he showcased several times over the weekend. What impressed me most was Simmons' court vision and play-making, as he made countless reads in tight windows with passes that did not seem open to teammates cutting off the ball, that dazzled those in attendance. Simmons made these reads off the drive and kick pass, out of the pick and roll action, or up the court in transition, as he is a high-level rebounder that looks to push the tempo off the glass. Defensively, Simmons has the strength to hold up against taller players in the paint, the lateral quickness and active hands to sit on his opponent, getting into their dribbling space, generating steals and turnovers that often led to easy transition points. The feel and control of the flow of the game combined with his size and skill set is what makes Simmons a player to keep an eye on over the Spring and Summer and will likely see offers start coming in by the end of Summer.   2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2843567' first='Anthony' last='Smith'] 6'4|PG (Clovis) - Lakeshow 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-4 point guard showed his ability to impact the game playing on or off the ball, as well as improved perimeter defense, using his length and athleticism to show flashes of elite on-ball defense. As a Central Cali native, I am very familiar with Smith's game, but it was great to see him on this stage with a team that is loaded with talent, as he would have to adjust to playing off the ball more often than with his high school team, which he did very well. Smith is a 3-level scorer that can create his own offense or move off ball screens and cuts to get open looks off the catch, gets good lift on his pull-up jumper to shoot over most perimeter defenders, uses the crossover, hesitation, wrap-behind, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, has a good burst off the bounce to get by his initial defender, and is a creative scorer at the basket with the Euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups in his arsenal to evade shot blockers. What caught my attention most this past weekend in Smith's game was his play-making and perimeter defense. Smith has great court vision and makes good decisions with the ball in his hands, finding teammates off the drive and kick pass, out of the pick and roll action, or up the court off the rebound in transition to find players ahead of the defense. Smith has a lengthy and athletic build, which he uses to stay in front of his opponent, showing off the lateral quickness and footwork, as well as the active hands and instinct to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to turn defense to offense. Big Spring and Summer coming up for the standout sophomore.    2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2843825' first='Myles' last='Staples'] 5'8|PG (Oakland Tech) - Team California 16s    The 5-foot-8 point guard displayed shifty moves, crafty shot-making, and tough perimeter defense for the talented Team California roster early on Day 1 of the Showcase. Staples has nice handles, moves to get his defender off balance, using the hesitation, crossover, and behind-cross to keep pressure on the defense, in both halfcourt and transition play, plays with good on-court speed while under control, and is a crafty scorer at the basket, with the floater and reverse lay-up in his bag. Staples has good court vision, able to make reads in tight windows off the drive and kick, finds teammates up the court for easy buckets, and gets the ball to his teammates in stride out of the pick and roll action. Staples can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch, which opens up lanes for him to attack off the shot-fake or the dribble drive.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='3038305' first='Wyatt' last='Swan'] 6'|PG (Dougherty Valley/San Ramon) - Team Just Respect 17    The 6-foot lead guard had an outstanding showing in the first game I was able to watch live at the Showcase and he displayed an impressive array of shot-making against RHO Elite 17s. Swan has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to see where the openings are in the defense, uses the hesitation, the low-crossover, behind-cross, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, has a good burst off the bounce to get by his initial defender, and is accurate with the mid-range jumper, showing versatility on the jumper using the spin-fade, step-back, and the traditional pull-up shot with good footwork and body control. Swan moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, and has creative finishes at the basket, with the Euro-step used several times to get by shot blockers. Swan has good court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick, changes pace and direction to keep the defense guessing, and is an advantageous on-ball defender with quick hands.    2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2689698' first='Kaden' last='Vales'] 5'11|PG (Saint Mary's/Albany) - Jaylen Wells Elite 16 P32   The 5-foot-11 point guard controls the flow of play for the JWE 16s, but can also create his own shots. Vales has quick handles, keeps the dribble alive to put pressure on the defense, changes direction and pace with good control to find openings in the defense, and is a crafty scorer around the basket. Vales gets good acceleration off the dribble, gets to his shot spots, and is effective with the pull-up jumper from the mid-range. Vales has good court vision to find teammates off the drive and kick pass and is a solid on-ball defender.    2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2484218' first='Parks' last='Weaver'] 6'4|PG (Folsom) - Team Lillard 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-4 guard put on a master class at the point, was up to his usual sharp-shooting from beyond the arc, and highlighted his underrated defensive prowess at the Showcase. Weaver has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string to survey the defense, has elite court vision and decision making to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass, to players cutting off the ball when posting up his defender, puts it in the pock out of the pick and roll action, and makes pin-point passes up the court to get ahead of the defense. Weaver has a variety of moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover, the wrap-behind, hesitation, spin-move, and toss-cross to get his defender off balance, has a quick burst of speed off the dribble to get his defender on his hip, changes pace and direction when on the attack, with the body control to to score through contact at the basket, using the Euro-step, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot blockers. Weaver showcased his elite perimeter shooting, with accuracy on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble or the catch, and the lateral footwork, active hands, and relentless on-ball pressure to deflect, poke the ball out, or jump passing lanes, turning defense to offense routinely. Weaver continues to expand his overall skill set and is emerging as a top tier two-way lead guard that controls the flow of the game with the ball in his hands.

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 3 and takes a look at 6 standout guards from the Showcase Division, which is a 3-part series focused on the top guards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Tre Simmons Tre Simmons 6'4" | CG/SG Lincoln-Stockton | 2028 CA-N .