Pre-Live Bump: Electric Guards

New readers: Use code Proia30     I drove up to Baltimore on Sunday to check out a high school AAU event to get several local groups some warmup bump before playing in front of college coaches later in the week. I got to see several games at the 15u, 16u, and 17u levels as a few teams worked new players into the rotation or welcomed back players that had been hurt the past few weeks. Let's dive into a few of the top backcourt players that stood out to me!      17p 5r 3a vs Melo   -The last name fits perfectly, as the WeR1 lead guard plays with great pace both in the halfcourt and in transition. He started things off with several transition buckets in the paint, snagged an O board and hit a baseline reverse layup off the window, ripped through and got the step to drive straight down the middle of the defense for the AND1 floater, knocked down a stepback 3 in transition, snatched a crossover back to hit another 3 on the next possession, swiped away the ball from his matchup off his leg on the baseline to force the turnover, and scored on a long stride euro step finger roll at the rim. Pace's ability to weave through traffic while keeping his dribble alive and his eyes up for passing targets really stood out. Love his long-term upside as a electric lead guard prospect.     20p 2r 1a vs Warriors (6/9 FG 3/3 FT)   -Just wrote about Nelson's performance in the CHSL playoffs and that carried over to this game in a hyper efficient outing for [program_tooltip program_id='2078456' first='DC' last='Premier']. Nelson hit his defender with a pump fake and stepped through the close-out to drill a 3 from the wing, hit a 3 from the opposite wing a few possessions later, knocked down a stepback 3 from the top of the 3, hit a big transition 3 to cut the lead to single digits, and crossed his opponent over from the corner before he drove baseline to hit an AND1 floater over the helper. Re-classifying to 2028 should give him ample time to add weight onto his frame but his stable of ball skills simultaneously give him a nice ceiling and floor as a prospect whose best basketball is ahead of him.     12p 6r 4a 4s vs Warriors HGSL   -Early has really grown on me as a prospect because of the substance to his game that balances out all of the flashy skill work. Love the way that he keeps his head up as soon as he grabs a defensive rebound or outlet to advance the ball as quickly as possible to get good looks at the other end before the opposing team can get set up. Early knocked down a baseline pullup jumper, completed a smooth high pickup lefty floater off the window, hit a hanging layup through contact off the window, and got the step on his matchup to finish at the rim several times in transition. What he lacks in explosiveness he makes up with in off-ball positioning at the defensive end of the floor, goading opponents into making crosscourt passes or post entries that he can pick off and take the other way. Love the stop n go pace that he plays with in ball screens to keep both his defender and the helper honest to either score or deliver passes to teammates at just the right time.     12p 2r vs Thrill (4/5 FG)   -Love the simplicity in Hill's game as a wing prospect that can really shoot it but also isn't afraid to attack the rim. Hill knocked down a corner 3 to start the game, scored off a putback at the rim, used his shooting gravity to hit his defender with an up fake and baseline drive to hit the layup off the window, then knocked down another wing 3 before the game was called due to moisture on the floor. Hill didn't look out of place athletically against a good stable of Thrill guards and can guard 1-3 pretty effectively as a nice new addition to this TTO National group.     24p 2r (9/11 FG) vs [program_tooltip program_id='2078456' first='DC' last='Premier']   -Most efficient and patient performance I've seen out of Briscoe as the leader of this Warriors team. Briscoe got things going with a floater off the window through contact, stepped behind a screen to hit a 3 (twice), cashed out a wing 3 off the catch, hit a stepback 2 in rhythm, stepped into a transition 3, and knocked down a DEEP pull-up 3 off the bounce at the end of a shot clock to put the nail in the coffin. He's smoothened his mechanics to get into his jumper much smoother and quicker both off the catch or off the bounce. The confidence he's playing with right now will be key to the Warriors' success down the stretch run of the season.     2p 2a 2r 3s 1 charge drawn vs Thrill   -There are very few players in the area that play harder than Mitchell on a nightly basis as a pesky defensive guard that makes noise in his minutes off the bench. Mitchell swooped in to rip away 2 steals from bigs in transition, missed a 3 but raced back to swipe the ball off the ball-handler's leg for the TO, hit a baseline drive floater, and hit his bigs with wrap-around passes in the key for assists. Love the tenacity and leadership that I see from him out on the floor regardless of the score of the game.

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