The Best Guards at the MADE Hoops Rivalry Showcase

<p>LOS ANGELES — MADE Hoops brought its Rivalry Showcase and West Mania events to Southern California with an impressive 15-court, all under one roof set-up at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Rivalry Showcase, sponsored by the Army National Guard, featured matchups of top shoe circuit teams and top players across various graduating classes. Below we break down the best guards we watched.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Aidan Diggs | 2028 | Vegas Elite</h4>   <p>Diggs is one of the most polished scorers in the 2028 class and he had his three-level ability on display Saturday. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard gets to his spots efficiently off the bounce and is best when getting to his left dribble pull-up jumper that he shoots with elite elevation and balance. Diggs, who finished with 16 points in a win over Power 5, also showed strides to his playmaking and passing.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Aiden Groce | 2027 | AB Elite</h4>   <p>Groce impressed with his two-way playmaking ability. The 6-foot-1 point guard used his lightning quick speed in the open court to attack driving lanes, earn paint touches and create shots for open teammates with timely and accurate drive-and-kick passes. Defensively, the unranked junior applied pressure on the ball and contained opposing ball handlers on the perimeter. Groce scored 10 points and dished out a handful of assists in the win over Team Iverson.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Beckham Black | 2027 | AB Elite</h4>   <p>Black is widely considered one of the top prospects in the country in the 2027 class and it was easy to see why that's the case. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has the ability to take over a game as a scorer or facilitator with his advanced feel, smooth pace and high level of confidence. Black is smooth and explosive with the ball in his hands and lulls opposing defenders to sleep to then blow by and get into the lane where he can score with a floater or with an above-the-rim finish. The junior scored 15 points in a win over Team Iverson.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Chase Lumpkin | 2027 | JET Academy</h4>   <p>The long, wiry and fluid combo guard has a knack for scoring and did it in bunches as he finished with 21 points in a win over Dream Vision. Lumpkin, a 6-foot-4 junior, knocked down a handful of off-bounce threes over contested hands and his ability to use the dribble to create space from defenders and flow smoothly into his jumper was his most effective offensive tool. Lumpkin used his crafty ball handling and changes of speed and direction to create in half-court isolation situations.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Christian Cast | 2027 | Power 5</h4>   <p>Power 5 fell to Vegas Elite but Cast did all he could to keep the Wisconsin-based 3SSB team within striking distance. The 6-foot-3 combo guard used his smooth three-point shooting ability and physical driving and scoring to tally 22 points in a variety of ways. Cast connected on four triples - both off the catch and off the bounce - and his strong frame and steady ball-handling allowed him to get to the rim, draw contact and score or get to the free throw line.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Delton Prescott | 2027 | AZ Unity</h4>   <p>Prescott is your prototypical floor general point guard who can manage a game as a facilitator or take it over as a primary scorer. The 5-foot-10 junior is one of the fastest players with the ball in his hands but is rarely out of control in transition or half-court settings and seems to always make the right decision. Prescott scored 20 points in Unity's win over Oakland Soldiers with driving layups and pull-up jumpers and created countless other scoring opportunities for teammates.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2435372' first='Josiah' last='Nance'] | 2027 | Vegas Elite</h4>   <p>Nance missed a decent chunk of his junior high school season due to injury but looked to be in great shape to start the club season. The 6-foot-3 lefty was connecting on pull-up jumpers, explosive finishes around the rim and used his physicality and ball skills to drive by his defender and finish through contact around the rim. Nance finished with 23 points in a win over Power 5.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Justin Wise | 2027 | JET Academy</h4>   <p>Wise can be categorized as a high-volume tough shot maker whose savvy and confidence make him a lethal scoring threat off the bounce. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard has deep range and gets great elevation on his true jump shot which makes him a tough cover and a threat to score at any moment. He connected on three triples en route to 15 points in JET Academy's win over Dream Vision.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2241513' first='Lyris' last='Robinson'] | 2027 | AZ Unity</h4>   <p>Robinson made his name out west as an elite three-point shooter with a quick release and deep range off the catch and off of movement. While he knocked down two three-pointers in a win over Oakland Soldiers, many of Robinson's 15 points came off of aggressive downhill drives and strong finishes around the rim - an improvement to his offensive package that makes him an even more intriguing recruit in the 2027 class.</p>

LOS ANGELES — MADE Hoops brought its Rivalry Showcase and West Mania events to Southern California with an impressive 15-court, all under one roof set-up at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Rivalry Showcase, sponsored by the Army National Guard, featured matchups of top shoe circuit teams and top players across various graduating classes. Below we break down the best guards we watched.