ZGXL The Launch: 16U Guards

There were too many standout guards in Atlantic City to name them all. But here are a few from the 16u games that popped:    In their third game of the day, Burgess made plays on- and off-ball to lift his team to a big win over Moore Brothers Elite, after a slow start. He routinely made smart passes, finding the open man with skips to the corner and darts into the paint. On the break, he always kept his head on a swivel, quick to throw long outlet passes or hit his teammate trailing behind. Not the biggest guard, Burgess made hustle plays on the glass and drained a pair of spot-up threes.   10p 7r 6a 1s 1b     Coates was a fastbreak merchant against [program_tooltip program_id='2450598' first='WeR1' last=''] HGSL, tilting the floor for his team every time he got a steal or a defensive board. Then versus [program_tooltip program_id='2450598' first='WeR1' last=''] UAA, he was a bit more calculated. He used ball screens to get his jumper off and to create openings in the lane. Finally, with the score tied and the clock winding down, Coates sped by his defender off the dribble and called GAME with an inside-hand finish. 16p 9r 3a 1s 12p 4r 3a 1s     Unencumbered by his stature, Demby brought his A-game when his team knocked off [program_tooltip program_id='2450598' first='WeR1' last=''] UAA. The Chester-product made shots like his life depended on it, draining catch-and-shoot threes from NBA range and falling out of bounds while pulling-up from distance. Equally important, Demby spread the ball around, getting everyone involved and putting them in position to score.   15p 3r 6a 2s 1b     Holden went on a rampage in the first half versus Him League P32. He turned defense into offense, racing from end-to-end after he picked the pockets of opposing guards. In the midst of his defensive effort, Holden bombed on the defense in the first half. He rained down four threes in the first half, three pull-up jumpers and one catch-and-shoot.   24p 5r 5s     Jones only made one field goal against Him League P32, but his fingerprints were all over the game. Every time he intercepted a pass on defense, he instinctively quarterbacked R1's transition offense, getting them bucket after bucket. When he created off the bounce, it was usually to set-up someone else, but he got off a floater of his own. Jones cleaned the glass too, including a couple offensive rebounds. 4p 4r 5a 4s

There were too many standout guards in Atlantic City to name them all. But here are a few from the 16u games that popped: