DMV Live: VA PG Breakout Candidates

New readers: Use code Proia30     As we stand less than a few hours away from the beginning of the scholastic live period, we will break down a few candidates that should impress college coaches enough to receive their first scholarship offer or raise the level of their recruitment with a few standout performances. The DMV is never short of point guards that take advantage of the big stage to get their name out at a national level. Let's dive into a few names from the state of Virginia that I think are due for a big weekend as high level floor generals that get the job done!    Gray stayed on with the Blazers through the coaching change and gives his team a foundational piece to build around as an absolute game-breaker of a point guard that does everything required to win basketball games. Gray applies a ton of pressure on-ball at the point of attack to blow up ball screens and disrupt offensive flow, is incredibly dynamic as a passer and finisher in transition, and plays with the necessary urgency to make timely but effective plays in clutch moments. His energy and fight are contagious culture-setters as Coach Shamsudeen looks to continue building a program at Bethel. As college coaches continue to espouse their search for HS prospects that can step into a role to contribute to winning right away, I expect his translatable skills to stand out in a game that is missing true table-setter point guards.       -McQueen makes his official debut in new threads for an O'Connell team that will be missing some backcourt depth during the first scholastic live period. He gives the Knights a versatile guard that uses his size to score on the block or over smaller defenders on his way to the rim, create from the top of the key, and earn trips to the charity stripe to generate offense for his team. His size gives the Knights some lineup versatility as he can comfortably guard 1-3 and provide serviceable post defense on 1-4 switches. Although he is young for class—he has good feel for when to create for a teammate and when his team needs him to score, love how he understands how to utilize his pivot to escape double teams to create better passing angles.     -Jefferson transfers into Bethel after playing a big role in Gainesville's first ever run to a state title game. The southpaw lefty creates driving angles with smooth but low crossover dribbles and has the quickness to reactively improvise to defender's lunges at the ball to change course on his path to the rim. His blend of ball-hawking POA defense thanks to a quick set of hands pairs nicely with his ability to knock down shots off-ball as a movement shooter that sets his feet quickly to get off clean looks at the rim. His ability to score his points within the flow of the game should give the Blazers a much-needed scoring punch as a guard that can fill it up from all 3 levels.     -Bryant served effectively as a change of pace guard in a stacked backcourt for Gillion in his first season and should enjoy a breakout year for the renegade squad. Bryant has added weight to his frame, is playing through contact much better in the paint as a result, and has rounded out his game to score on midrange pull-ups and earn FT attempts that get him into a scoring rhythm. He plays the game with a chip on his shoulder but understands how to channel that passion into being a pesky on-ball defender that can defend either guard spot. With his trademark ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc both off the bounce and off the catch, I'd expect LM and MM coaches begin to place their chips on his long-term development here early given the versatility that he brings to the table.     -It's a little early to expect college scholarship offers at this stage in his career, but I think Winiarski should put himself on the map with college coaches as a name that they need to know in the Commonwealth State with a productive first season of HS basketball under his belt. Winiarski has great positional size, understands what type of shot his team needs on each possession (post touch, pin down, pick n pop with his bigs, PnR, etc), finishes well through contact in the key, and can really shoot it well from all 3 levels even when facing a range of different defensive archetypes. Love his moxie when facing defenders that do their best to rough him up pre-catch or on his drives to the basket as he usually finds ways to throw off their timing with slow euro steps or reverse pivots to create advantage possessions for his team.

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