Henrico's Best: National Scoring Guards

New readers: Use code Proia30     New Balance held a regional event this past weekend at Henrico Sports Center to showcase some of the top talent in the Northeast from their circuit. I mainly watched the local DMV teams compete but got an opportunity throughout my two full days there to check out teams from outside of my region compete at a high level. Let's breakdown some of the best scoring lead guards that I saw!      29p 4r 3a 4s vs Halifax Elite   -Edwards was really good in both viewings this past weekend as the straw that stirs the drink for a scrappy The Lab team. Edwards regularly snagged the defensive rebound and drove it coast to coast for the layup, used the backboard well for runners on either side of the rim, proved effective in side PnR opportunities as both a shooter and play-maker, and filled it up as a scorer that can create his own shot from all 3 levels. Edwards was also very aggressive off the ball defensively to jump passing lanes to ignite the fastbreak heading the other way while he also showed a knack for fighting over bigs well to deny entry passes or body up with them on post touches around the rim. Edwards is tough, physical, and celebrated in the success of his teammates on converted AND1 buckets just as much as he was for his own-- played through injury and several hacks at the ball, just an absolute gamer.     -Loved the moxie and creative flair that Goodman showed as a PG prospect that can really boogie on the perimeter. Goodman attacked his matchup off the bounce well from the wings, as he used pre-drive jabs or an in n out crossover to get his defender on their back heels before jetting to his spots in the halfcourt. Goodman knocked off long twos off the bounce after ducking under a hard closeout, scored on baseline pullup's, and finished through contact well around the rim. His ability to instinctively probe the defense and generate paint touches was a huge jolt of energy for his team's offense at different points in the game. Guards that can create their own shot and effectively create advantages without a ball screen are becoming more and more valuable in today's game-- which only raises his floor as a long-term prospect.     -Mason's dynamic athleticism really stood out over the course of the weekend as a downhill slashing guard that wills his way to the rim. I liked the decisiveness of his drives from the perimeter, catching the ball in Spain actions and either using or rejecting the screen to get downhill to finish with authority. Mason was active on the offensive glass to create extra possessions for his team but also served as a switchable guard that closed out possessions at the defensive end of the floor with blocks or deflections or rebounds. He broke the game open with a putback dunk with one hand and later sliced backdoor from the corner to catch a pocket pass in stride and throw down a 2-handed poster dunk at the rim. Loved how contagious his energy was for the rest of the team, emboldening more timid teammates and flipping the momentum in games.     22p 4a 2r 5/6 3P vs DC Assault   -His team lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer but Flores was a consistent offensive force throughout the contest as a heady guard that knows what his teams needs each possession. Flores started things off with two transition buckets, knocked down a corner 3 (5/6 on the night from 3), was an unselfish passer from the wings adept at taking a side step to create a great angle for post feeds to his bigs, lost the ball and got it back to drill an off-balance 3 from the wing, hit a tough contested three over a long closeout to cut the lead to 1, froze an opposing big in the key with a pump fake and step through lay off the pivot, and raced out in transition to collect the go-ahead lay in transition with 7 seconds left. Loved how easy it was for him to vacillate from playmaker to scorer to off-ball shooter to give his team lineup versatility and efficient scoring throughout both halves.     -Caught the last three quarters of an early morning game and came away impressed with Porter as a heady guard that played 1-3 for his team. Porter has good positional size, showed active hands defensively both on and off the ball to swipe away out-of-control dribbles, got to the rim at will because of how well he used ball screens in the half court, showed good body control going to the rack to float and finish through the contact on several occasions, and hit a long stepback 3 from the left wing late in the game. His ability to get to his spots in the halfcourt even when he dealt with double teams or blitzed ball screens really stood out as he calmly worked through his progressions to find an open teammate because of how well he kept his dribble alive in small spaces. The combination of feel, positional size, pace, and ball skills spell a nice long-term floor for this Ohio prospect.

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