GASO Duncanville 2023 Shooting Guard Prospects

Check out my analysis on some of the top 2023 shooting guard prospects who really shined during their time on the court at the Great American Shootout July Live Period in Duncanville! There are plenty of college coaches in attendance, and some of these kids in attendance have a real chance to turn some attention their way. <strong><span class="pn-player-link"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="1212657" first="Keith" last="Richard"]</span>&nbsp; </span></strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">2023 6’2 South Oak Cliff High School (Urban DFW Elite 17U)</span> Keith is a lightning quick prospect who sees the floor at a high level, and is great at using his shiftiness to dominate the game on the offensive side of things. His ability to read the defense and make quick decisions allowed his teammates to get easy looks in the paint, as well as on the perimeter for himself. He is a true point guard as he operates the pick and roll, knifing through the defense and forcing a second defender to make a decision. He calmly and confidently got to his spots in the mid-range and the lane, getting to his floater with real consistency. He always put just the right amount of touch on the ball to get it above the help defender and softly into the basket. I was very impressed with his ability to score from the perimeter, calmly knocking down shots off the catch from beyond the arc, but more importantly confidently attacking his on ball defender. Defensively, he is aggressive and knows how to use his active hands to poke the ball free and run coast to coast. Richard has all of the athletic tools and awareness to play on or off the ball at the next level. <span class="pn-player-link"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="1354638" first="Max" last="George"]</span> </span> <span style="text-decoration: underline">2023 6’3 Steele High School (CCYA Elite)</span> Max is an intelligent player who thrives at knocking down shots at all three levels. I loved watching him work on getting to his shot at the mid-range and spotting up along the wings and corners to knock down shots beyond the arc. He is great at flashing to the mid-range at the high post when the defense is confused from his teammates attacking the rim. He got a plethora of open looks from his ability to find weak spots in the defense. He is a special defender as well, his size allows him to consistently defend positions 1-3 and some undersized forwards. He is great at moving his feet and staying in front of his opponent. I loved watching him work as a help defender, he knew when to come over and trap the ball, as well as his work hedging on the pick and roll and forcing the ball handler to make a different decision. <strong>Kevin Piedra </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">2023 6’1 Taft High School (Elevate Elite SA)</span> Kevin is an aware shooting guard who looks to be the ideal glue guy on any team he steps on through his ability to catch and shoot, or attack the defense through the high post and in the corners. I was very impressed with how well he operated with his back to the basket, making crisp cross-court passes to set up a teammate for a better shot opportunity. Piedra always seems to be making just the right pass to set up a teammate, either within the half court making touch passes after drawing the attention of the defense. I was most impressed with how well he consistently made 3/4 court passes to find streaking teammates. On the defensive end of the court, he does all of the little things necessary to be successful as an on ball defender. He is a great help defender, using his active hands to poke the ball free from opponents driving into the paint. Since the last time I have seen him play, he has really worked on his handle and his ability to control the pace more as a combo guard. <strong><span class="pn-player-link"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="892165" first="Levi" last="Rutledge"]</span> <span class="info-box"> <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/levi-rutledge/"> <span class="player-img"><img class=" ls-is-cached lazyloaded" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Levi-Rutledge-150x150.jpg" data-src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Levi-Rutledge-150x150.jpg"></span>&nbsp; </a></span></span></strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline">2023 6’5 Brentwood Christian School (ATX Lockdown 17U)</span> Levi is a huge guard with a great feel for the game and high basketball IQ. He is a smooth scorer off the bounce and can do damage in the mid-range or beyond the arc. I was very impressed with how well he is making shots off the bounce, confidently rising up every time no matter the outcome of the possession the time before. His confidence in his shot from all areas around the arc was very impressive, however he is not just a stand up shooter. He is a great decision maker with the ball and has a real ability to create open looks for his teammates. Rutledge operates well out of the triple threat where he is explosive in turning the corner on his opponent. I was very impressed with the ease of which the scoring came from him in this area.&nbsp; He is great at finishing at the rim off the bounce, a skill that generates him a ton of easy and efficient offense. His ability to euro step around defenders and find space when there is none was very impressive. He is good at moving around contact at the rim and contorting his body to get a better look for himself. &nbsp;