2030 Watchlist: Crafty Point Guards

With the release of our initial 2030 watchlist, it's time to breakdown the prospects in various ways to bring light to their skillsets. With this being the crop of rising freshmen, you typically see the guards, whether they're smaller or not, play with much more polish than the lengthy wings or bigs that are still adjusting to their bodies. As we've been spoiled with over the years here in MD/DC, there's never a shortage of high-level guards from year-to-year and 2030 is no different.   With that being said, below are some of the more crafty point guards that are included on our watch list.    Galloway is one of the more creative lead guards you'll see in the DMV freshman prospect pool. He plays with tremendous pace, possesses an array of counters to maintain advantages on his individual defender in space and can knife his way to the rim where he can finish on tough angles. St. John's (DC) has churned out skilled guards with regularity and Galloway looks to be next in line alongside a number of other talented freshmen in their 2030 recruiting class.     Cooper heads to Loyola Blakefield where he should receive a great opportunity to earn minutes within the rotation. The [program_tooltip program_id='2077005' first='Team' last='Thrill'] standout is coming off a nice summer in which he shared on-ball duties, but didn't allow that to limit his playmaking as a passer. While Cooper is a capable scorer from all three levels of the floor, he's able to attack closeouts or attack his defender's top foot to get in the paint, force rotations and quickly find others for clean looks.     Hall is another guard on this list who will benefit from the workload he receives as a freshman at the helm of the offense. He showed glimpses of what to expect this summer playing with Maret in the EBA Pre-Live Warmup where he not only stood out with his shot making, but his ability to quickly process reads off the catch or the live dribble as a passer. He can use his low-center of gravity to establish an edge on his defender's hip, turn the corner and scan the floor before attacking the rim or dumping it off to a big man on the baseline. His twitch, tight handle and ability to play at different speed make him a tough assigment.     Tucked away in Howard County at Marriotts Ridge is Banks, one of the guards of this class who has the skill to catch your attention right away. The key for Banks moving forward is to expose himself to different levels of competition that will further polish his game in areas that all point guards need. For now, the southpaw is effective from the point of attack and has a tight handle with plenty of counters to tap into if his defender stands pat for the first few moves. He's shown the ability to finish floaters with touch, knock down three's with space and can make the primary read with timing.     Another point guard who joins a program with rich history at the position is Roberts at Sidwell Friends. A battle-tested lead guard coming from a standout summer with [program_tooltip program_id='2078457' first='Team' last='Durant'], Roberts brings a high level of feel, athletic pop and has the understanding of how and when to pick his spots. He's able to play off his quick first step and breakdown the defense, organize the offense in a half court setting consistently and make the simple, yet effective play to ensure trust from his coaches.     Speaking of rich history at the guard spot, St. Frances has had its share during its prominence playing in the BCL and MIAA A Conference. Brown looks to be the next in line as head coach Nick Myles brought in plenty of backcourt talent in his freshmen class. Brown is quick and shifty, which generates driving lanes that he can quickly exploit. Off the live dribble he's able to spray one-handed zip passes to either corner for shooters spotting up, use his eyes to manipulate defenders and free up others along the baseline or string out ball screen coverages just enough to open up the window he's looking for that results in scores.

With the release of our initial 2030 watchlist, it's time to breakdown the prospects in various ways to bring light to their skillsets. With this being the crop of rising freshmen, you typically see the guards, whether they're smaller or not, play with much more polish than the lengthy wings or bigs that are still adjusting to their bodies. As we've been spoiled with over the years here in MD/DC, there's never a shortage of high-level guards from year-to-year and 2030 is no different.