3SSB Mishawaka: Scoring Guards

New readers: Use code Proia30     I drove out to Mishawaka, Indiana to take in Adidas 3SSB's second session full of talent from the high school age groups. In today's game, self-created buckets are at a premium, especially from the guard positions. In this article we will break down a few prospects that stood out for their ability to score the ball efficiently in winning efforts for their teams. Let's dive in!    21p 6r 2a 1s vs New Heights; 20p 7r 3a 2s vs Gamepoint   -Loved the decisions that Jones made throughout both games that I saw this weekend as a shifty floor general that sees the floor well. Jones manipulates the defense well with his eyes in ball screens, can improvise on the fly but makes good predetermined reads, hit smooth pull-up jumpers from all 3 levels, and did a great job of finding vulnerable pockets in the defense to create from as a dual threat floor general. Liked the value that he brings as a PG that can operate effectively on or off the ball as a movement shooter or connector from the wing.     19p 6a 4r 2s 8/14 FG 3/4 3P vs TN Impact -Johnson's ability to control the game at both ends of the floor really stood out as an aggressive 2-way lead guard. Johnson reads the floor well defensively and is in gaps which led to two steals and ensuing layups. He threw a perfectly-placed touch pass to feed the post around the defender for the and1 lay and showed an ability to throw really crisp jump passes off the bounce in the key to shooters. Johnson gets the step and keeps it in transition and in the halfcourt to not only score past the defense but also draw fouls around the basket. He knocked down a 3, dropped a defender with a double crossover to split the double and hit the floater, and applied a ton of ball pressure at the POA throughout the game.     21p 4r 2a 2s vs Wildcat Select; 13p 5r 1s vs New World   -Asare continues to impress in the early parts of the grassroots season in new threads with Team Loaded South. Asare is executing on hook pass/crack-back reads coming off of screens more efficiently to offset the paint scoring that he always seems to give his teams off of floaters and AND1 layups at the rim. It's difficult to bump Asare off his spot and he plays with good pace both in transition or in the halfcourt. I like the patience that he's taking in his shooting mechanics on 3s--mainly off the catch but also off the bounce-- to take that extra half second to square his hips to the rim before letting one fly from beyond the arc. I also have enjoyed seeing the progressions as a physical POA defender that is doing a better job of seeing the screen before it arrives to fight over the top whether his matchup accepts or rejects the pick-- a crucial skill for PGs to have in today's game.     13p 4r 2a 1s vs Warriors   -It was my time seeing Winiarski play and I liked his feel as a guard that could slot 1-3 in the lineup for an aptly-named Loaded VA 15u group. Winiarski makes great pre-catch reads to decide if he is coming off of step-up screens looking to get to the middle of the floor or to drive baseline to attack the rim with the absence of help defenders in the key. He plays with great pace in transition, makes good decisions in tight spaces in the key, can scale up or down in the lineup defensively to provide pesky but disciplined on-ball defense, and showed good vision with the ball in his hands that is always looking to throw passes over the top in transition to ensure that his team scores before the defense is set. Would not be surprised to see him have the longest career among the prospects on this team as a phenomenal sleeper name in the state of Virginia.       17p 4r 3a 1s vs Warriors; 23p 5a 2s 4/6 3P vs Loaded   -Easy to see who Bradley models his game after as he played with a face mask and donned #11 for ASAK, as he showcased the dribbling/scoring creativity that we've come to expect from Mr Irving. Bradley could shake free in a phone booth as a shifty guard that uses spin moves and in n out crossovers to get past his matchup to score anywhere he wants on the floor. Loved the balance and fluidity on his jumper from 8' to beyond the arc as a smooth-scoring guard prospect that doesn't need a ball screen to get to his spots in the halfcourt. His ability to change driving speeds and switch dribble tempos to throw his matchup off balance without over-dribbling really stood out over the course of the weekend despite facing different types of defenders.     25p 11r 1a 7/13 FG 6/10 3P 5/6 FT vs Loaded   -The movement shooter had a crazy stretch of five made 3s in a row in a nice 4-point win over Loaded and scored in double digits in 3 games this weekend. Cantrell moved well off the ball to fade to the corners for movement threes or lift to the wing for high percentage C+S looks. Love the consistency and quickness of his jumper off the catch but the willingness to make the extra pass once his shooting gravity led to harder closeouts. Cantrell's sprinting endurance to come off tight off of ball screens was huge in ASAK pulling off the upset win.

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