Week 5 Scouting Report: Standout Guards

<p>I had the opportunity to attend two Week 5 matchups. The Bishop Lynch Friars went on the road and defeated the Melissa Cardinals 57-49 on Tuesday, and the Prosper Eagles earned a 65-64 victory over the Arlington Bowie Volunteers on Friday thanks to some late game heroics. </p> <p>Here are seven standout guards from this past week’s action:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="779864" first="Imo" last="Essien"] | 2021 | 6’1’’ Point Guard | Bishop Lynch HS</strong> - Essien is a talented all-around floor general. The senior guard had a great night shooting from distance on Tuesday, burying four threes vs. Melissa. He hit triples off the bounce as well as from the catch. He also did some playmaking, displaying good vision and finding teammates within the flow of the offense for assists. The Old Dominion commit can create for himself and for others, which is the true sign of a great lead-guard. Essien finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. </p> <p><strong>Neal Utrup | 2021 | 6’2’’ Shooting Guard | Prosper HS</strong> - Utrup did an excellent job penetrating and getting high-percentage looks against Bowie. He beat defenders off the dribble for easy layups, but also displayed the ability to throw on the brakes and utilize angles for stop-and-pop jumpers. Additionally, the 2021 two-guard made some big-time plays down the stretch. The senior captain made a catch-and-shoot three in the fourth quarter that helped the Eagles position themselves to escape with a win on Friday. He ended the night with 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists. </p> <p><strong>Alfred Washington | 2021 | 5’3’’ Point Guard | Arlington Bowie HS</strong> - Don’t let his height fool you. This guy can really play. Washington possess a terrific feel for the game. The Bowie point guard likes to use his speed and quickness to push the tempo on offense but plays with great pace and understands when to slow it down. He handles the ball extremely well too. Washington had a good game distributing the ball vs. Prosper, finding teammates in a variety of ways. All that said, I was most impressed with his performance on defense. He moved his feet and showed tremendous lateral quickness, refusing to let opposing ball handlers get around him on the perimeter. </p> <p><strong>Justin Maina | 2022 | 5’9’’ Combo Guard | Melissa HS</strong> - Maina is a gifted three-point shooter with some serious range. He converted on four threes vs. Bishop Lynch, and all of them came from NBA range or deeper. He is fearless when it comes to letting it go from behind the arc. You better be ready to defend him as soon as he crosses half court, otherwise he will make you pay. The junior guard knows how to get his shots in rhythm and is great at utilizing screens and ball fakes to afford himself some extra space on the perimeter. He accounted for 16 points Tuesday night.</p> <p><strong>Phoenix Bramhall | 2022 | 5’11’’ Point Guard | Melissa HS</strong> - Bramhall is a tough-nosed one-guard who defends and facilitates very well. He had a good game passing the ball, contributing four assists on Tuesday as well as some hockey assists. The junior floor general takes good care of the basketball on offense and sets his teammates up with accurate passes that they can then turn into easy points. On defense, Bramhall has quick hands, hustles to get into position, and is willing to sacrifice his body in order to get stops. This is one of those players who is going to empty the tank every time he steps on the court. </p> <p><strong>Kelby Valsin | 2023 | 6’0’’ Combo Guard | Arlington Bowie HS</strong> - Valsin scored in a variety of ways on Friday. The sophomore guard is a crafty scorer who can get a bucket from just about anywhere on the floor. He is agile when he drives to the basket, evidenced by a gorgeous Euro step layup in transition. He also showed some savvy when he got to the rim on another occasion, utilizing a pump fake to get his defender to leave his feet and subsequently jumping into him to draw the foul for a three-point play. Furthermore, Valsin added a pair of catch-and-shoot corner threes to his scoring total, ultimately accounting for 17 points and five rebounds vs. Prosper. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787334" first="Addison" last="Harmon"] | 2023 | 6’2’’ Point Guard | Prosper HS</strong> - Harmon had a successful night shooting the ball on Friday, dropping four triples against Bowie. He is comfortable shooting from any location behind the three-point line. His jumper is a pure and he displayed a high IQ with his shot selection. He was both efficient and effective with all of his touches and had a solid game playing on and off the ball. The 2023 prospect was great at passing out of bad-looks as well. He got the ball to his teammates in advantageous situations and had success feeding his bigs down low. Harmon contributed 14 points in Prosper’s win. </p>