Midwest Melee: 14U Best of the Guard/SF Talent

With over 40 teams competing at this year's Midwest Melee, we had no shortage of talent at the guard/SF positions. But in this recap, we'll attempt to look at some of the best players at those positions that we saw this weekend.    As a 7th grader, Decari was actually playing up an age group this weekend, but he still found a way to put on an impressive display of talent against guys a year older than him.   Decari's 3-point game is sensational. In a Saturday win, he buried two step-back 3-pointers to start the game, setting the pace for a dominant win. He went 3-3 on 3-pointers in the first half of that game, and was a constant threat from distance during the 2-day event.   In leading his team to the finals of the Gold bracket, Decari also showed a nose for the ball on defense. He had a nice chase-down block on what looked like a wide open layup, and he's relentless against whatever offensive player he's matched up against.   Decari acknowledges his ability to score and pass at a high level. He has excellent court vision, and can drive hard in the paint, draw a double team, and kick the ball to an open man outside.   Decari will be a dangerous combo guard once he hits high school.     Sam might have been the best point guard I watched over the weekend. He has insane abilities for his age, and was instrumental in leading his team to a Gold bracket championship.   Sam is everything a team could want in a PG: he has wicked handles, he controls his dribble, and has a knack for finding an open man when setting up the offense. He also showed off some elite footwork when he's driving to the bucket.   Sam is especially talented when he's on a fast break. He has the speed to beat a defender coast-to-coast, but he also has the court vision and awareness to find a better option when he needs to.   Sam's also an elite defender, annoying his opponent into turnovers or bad passes. He told me after his semifinal win that he's proud of his hustle and defensive intensity.   Sam also has the clutch nature that you want in a PG. During a 2OT contest in the semifinals, he scored the game-winning bucket on a deep jumper; sealing [program_tooltip program_id='2076459' first='Breakaway' last='']'s spot in the finals, which they won in a route.     Accardo is the kind of defensive player who you hate to see coming up against you. During his team's win over OG Elite, I saw him collect at least 3 first half steals. His hands are so active that he had a couple of takeaways from inbounds passes, just because he stuck with the play and didn't let off his man.   On offense, he is an elite distributor. He was dishing out no-look passes, and running the offense comfortably. And he's a crafty ballhander, who shows impressive footwork when he's on offense.     Andarious has the perfect combination of speed and skill that you'd want in a combo guard. His quickness allows him to dice up the defense on his way to the hoop, and he showed off an impressive floater that he can drop over taller opponents.   He looks comfortable when he's running the point. He has a confident command of the offense when he has the ball in his hands, and can beat the defense at every level. This is the kind of player who wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.   He shoots the 3-ball with confidence, but he's also strong when going right into the teeth of the defense, or showing off his midrange game. He told me after one game that he's confident playing defense and finishing at the rim.     Ore is a tough player on his Fleet Elite squad. He goes out every game trying to play aggressive and wrangle in rebounds on both offense and defense.   He plays well on the baseline and can hit a midrange jumper when it's called for. He's got speed and grit, and told me that he enjoys being a lockdown defender.   Ore also said after one of his team's wins that one of his main objectives is getting better every game.     Luke is another one of the members of a [program_tooltip program_id='2512324' first='Wisconsin' last='Legends'] team that went wire-to-wire with the eventual tournament champions from [program_tooltip program_id='2076459' first='Breakaway' last=''] Academy.   This is a kid who's strong and agile. He can put his head down and take the ball right at the rim for an and-1; or he's able to pull up for one of his smooth 3-point strokes.   Luke's a lockdown defender, who can poke the ball away and turn a steal into a layup. And he's never going to give up on a play when he's on defense; you can't lose track of a player like him because he'll chase you down for a block or a turnover.     What stood out the most about Noah are his dribbling skills. This kid is masterful when he has the ball in his hands, and he's really good at deceiving the defense with where he's going with the ball. He makes difficult passes look easy, and somehow finds passing lanes that seem too narrow to weave a ball through.   Noah also has quick feet, and plays an evasive brand of basketball on both sides of the floor. He's awesome when he's in transition, and if he's running the offense, he has a knack for escaping double and triple teams.   He's also a lockdown defender. In spite of his size, he's able to stretch for deflections and steals; and he can convert layups on a fast break.   Noah says that he plays with full effort from start to finish. He's a team player, who's unselfish, and helped keep his squad cool during tense moments of the Silver bracket championship.     Ethan was pressed into playing a lot of minutes for his Rebelz team this weekend. With only a 5-person lineup, he played every second of his games on Saturday; and still was a standout-even if it came in losing efforts.   Ethan dropped 19 points in a matchup with [program_tooltip program_id='2622592' first='Flight' last='Athletics']; which was nearly half of his team's 40-point total that game. He's a solid 3-point shooter, and has a confident stroke at all times.   He's strong going to the basket, and is capable of getting you an and-1. And as a passer, he can bring the ball up the court, stop on a dime, and distribute when a situation calls for it.   Ethan says he's worked hard on perfecting the primary 3 facets of the game: shooting, defense, and distribution.

With over 40 teams competing at this year's Midwest Melee, we had no shortage of talent at the guard/SF positions. But in this recap, we'll attempt to look at some of the best players at those positions that we saw this weekend.