EYBL Vegas: The Top 15u Guards

LAS VEGAS — EYBL made its lone west coast stop last weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Nike-based circuit had its teams inside a 20-court facility as some programs sharpened up for Peach Jam and others battled it out to earn a spot in the summer's most prestigious club/travel event. Below are the top 15u guards we were able to get eyes on.    Jackson performed well in a high-level 15u game we watched between Brad Beal Elite and Houston Hoops. The wiry 6-foot-4 guard scored 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting and added six rebounds and two steals to his stat totals. Jackson, who also plays wide out at East St. Louis, has clear physical and athletic tools that lend to him being an elite two-sport prospect and his best attribute on the hardwood is how his defense leads to offense. Jackson's length, physicality and lateral speed allowed him to pressure and contain opponents, while his quick-twitch reaction time and instincts led to him disrupting passing lanes.     Hill is what I like to refer simply as a "basketball player." The 6-foot point guard is as smooth and savvy as they come with the ball in his hands and his ability to control the pace and tempo of a game gave a glimpse into his all-around basketball IQ. Hill was effective as a scorer and creator in ball screen action where he used change of pace and direction to get to his spots where he scored with a pull-up jumper, floater or crafty finish with either hand. Where Hill stood out the most was with his decision-making in transition. He hit teammates in stride with kick-ahead passes and took a measured approach to his drive-and-kick game. Hill dished out 20 assists to only seven turnovers in Vegas.     Pless is a super smooth scoring guard who can play on or off the ball with his balanced offensive skill-set. At 6-feet-4, Pless has intriguing positional size to go along with his off-catch and off-bounce shooting consistency and ability to break defenders down in isolation to get to the rim. The Arizona-based sophomore scored 15 points on 7-for-13 from the field in the game we saw against Vegas Elite.     Reed's combination of strength, physicality and toughness makes him a difficult player to contain at the 15u level. The 6-foot-1 SoCal-based guard has a football-like build with some basketball athleticism and fluidity mixed in which he used to his advantage by playing bully-ball when needed or draining threes when defenders sagged off. Reed is a prospect who can impact the game in a variety of ways, especially with his offensive and defensive rebounding ability.     Giran is one of the smoothest scorers in the 2029 class out west and he didn't disappoint in the Vegas EYBL session. The 6-foot-1 guard is an efficient, multi-level scorer with or without the ball in his hands with his ability to knock down open catch-and-shoot threes, navigate ball screens with precision to get to his mid-range jumper or crafty at-rim finishes and attack closeouts where he uses his pace and vision to create for teammates. Giran averaged 19.2 points per game during Session IV.     Johnson might have been the best pure athlete we saw at the 15u level and he brought plenty of basketball skill, too. The strong-framed rising sophomore had a handful of highlight-reel dunks that showed his explosive and powerful finishing ability around the rim. Johnson also had his three-point and mid-range jumpers dialed in and finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from three in the game we watched against Brad Beal Elite.     There are very few freshmen in the country who can score the way that Conroy does. The physical 6-foot-1 guard is a ball-in-hand shot creator whose combination of strength, first-step explosiveness and ability to manipulate defenders with the dribble and change of speed and direction allows him to generate clean looks from every area of the floor. Conroy is an elite perimeter jump shooter with deep range off the bounce and off the catch. He also impacted games with his ability to rebound his position. Conroy averaged 26.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and four assists per game in Vegas.     We were able to take in one Team Why Not 15u game on the weekend and it just happened to be the on that Arnold dominated. The 5-foot-11 point guard scored 25 points on 10-for-15 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range all while impacting other facets of the game with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. What Arnold lacks in physical strength and explosive vertical athleticism he makes up for with his ball-on-a-string handles with savvy vision and an elite basketball IQ to create for himself and others with paint touches.

LAS VEGAS — EYBL made its lone west coast stop last weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Nike-based circuit had its teams inside a 20-court facility as some programs sharpened up for Peach Jam and others battled it out to earn a spot in the summer's most prestigious club/travel event. Below are the top 15u guards we were able to get eyes on.