2023 Watch List Breakdown: Guards (Part 1)

<p>We will take an in depth look at the guys we included in the 2023 watch list and why we included them. We will start by taking a look at part one of the guards list, looking at seven guys we think you should keep an eye on moving forward.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="992531" first="John" last="St. Germain"] | 6’0” PG | STAB</strong></p> <p>St. Germian’s resume is as good as anyone’s in this class as he’s played high level basketball since he was in eighth grade when he helped Miller School to a state championship appearance as an eight grader. A strong guard that plays with great pace and great feel, he’s a guy who changes speeds and changes directions extremely well and has the poise of someone much older than he is. He’s a dual threat guy that can score from multiple levels and shoots it well from deep, but he also can make others on the team better with his vision and playmaking ability.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="992530" first="Trevor" last="Smith"] | 5’11” PG | Woodside</strong></p> <p>Smith comes from a basketball pedigree that is extremely impressive and he has seen as much early attention from college coaches as anyone else on the watch list as he already holds early offers from Florida, Virginia Tech, Murray State, ODU, St. Louis and ETSU. He’s a lead guard that plays all out on both ends of the floor as he guards the length of the floor and really thrives in transition with his end-to-end speed and finishing ability. He has a good base skill set both on and off the ball and he has great toughness and a competitive fire you can’t teach either.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999619" first="Yuri" last="Manns"] | 6’2” CG | LC Bird</strong></p> <p>Manns is another guy who comes from a great basketball pedigree as his father and LC Bird Head Coach Troy Manns played at Virginia Tech and has been a successful coach at both the college and high school level. Manns still has a ways to go in some areas including strength and ball handling but he’s still growing and showed flashes of brilliance in his freshman year. He’s a knock down shooter that moves well without the ball and can create his own shot when on the ball, and as he continues to grow into his body he’s got tons of potential moving forward.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999624" first="Mason" last="So"] | 6’0” CG | Bishop O’Connell</strong></p> <p>So was a starter in the WCAC as a freshman and is part of an extremely talented but young group at Bishop O’Connell that should be very good moving forward if they all stay together. He’s highly skilled and a very cerebral player that plays with a chip on his shoulder and he doesn’t back down in a conference that has some of the best players in the country in it. He’s a guy who can shoot it from deep at a high clip, scores it well from multiple levels and has a knack and feel for the game that makes him well beyond his years.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999626" first="Khalil" last="Williams"] | 6’2” CG | Potomac School</strong></p> <p>Williams is a guy that reclassified at Potomac School and had a great freshman year with them as a guy who can both score it and distribute for others. He’s a knock down shooter from deep and it’s one of his biggest strengths off the ball, but he’s also a guy who can make plays off the bounce and make others better with his ability to run the pick-and-roll and get in the lane at will. He’ll be one of the top guards in the NOVA area if he continues to improve with time. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999627" first="Wesley" last="Williams"] | 6’0” PG | Independence</strong></p> <p>Williams is at a new school in Independence that was open for their first year this year and didn’t have a senior class, so he was thrown into the fire from day one and responded extremely well. He’s a highly skilled guard for his age as he’s a guy who can get in the lane off the bounce, he’s a great finisher through traffic and he can shoot it from deep as well. He’s a dual threat guard that can make others better too and he’s a hard nosed guy who sets the tone on both ends.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="999629" first="Sam" last="Brannen"] | 5’11” CG | Norfolk Collegiate</strong></p> <p>Brannen was a big contributor for a NoCo team that made it to the state championship game this year, and with [player_tooltip player_id="793100" first="Jordan" last="Battle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="954020" first="Tristan" last="How"] graduating he should have the reigns and be the go-to guy moving forward. Brannen is a guy that can play on or off the basketball, and one of his best attributes is his ability to shoot it from deep at a high clip. He’s a guy who gets after it on both ends of the floor, he has good feel as a scorer and has shown poise well beyond his years.</p>