4A-6A Semis/Finals Standout Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched the Semi Finals of 4A with Tucson&nbsp;<strong>Sahuaro</strong>&nbsp;defeating&nbsp;<strong>ALA Gilbert North</strong>&nbsp;55-51 on Monday. Wednesday night I viewed<strong>&nbsp;Liberty&nbsp;</strong>defeating&nbsp;<strong>Pinnacle</strong>&nbsp;79-77. Friday night I watched the 5A Finals of&nbsp;<strong>Ironwood</strong>&nbsp;defeating&nbsp;<strong>Casteel</strong>&nbsp;55-31 and finally Saturday I watched&nbsp;<strong>Liberty&nbsp;</strong>defeat&nbsp;<strong>Sandra Day O'Connor&nbsp;</strong>69-63.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were the standout Guards</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1135515' first='Noah' last='Gifft'] Ironwood (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top shooters in the AIA. He gets the ball off his hands very quickly and he squares to the basket as best as you could. His range seems to be from parking lot and the <strong>Embry Riddle </strong>commit can make off balanced runners off the dribble. He will rebound and take a charge. He had 27 of the 55 total points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1305181' first='Tommy' last='Randolph'] Pinnacle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic scoring lead guard can drive and kick to make plays and scores it a variety of ways. He will hit the catch three he gets to the FT line in bunches, with speed dribbles and can crossover into a jumper. He is a very good defender and will block shots. He had 24 points in their slim playoff loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2365469' first='Domonic' last='Okeke'] Pinnacle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A physical lead guard is a fierce on-ball defender. He collects steals and will take it the other way for a layup. He scored on layups in traffic, mid-range pull-ups, he cuts when he should and can hit the catch three. He will hustle for loose balls and brings a football type of mentality to the court. He scored 16 points in the loss.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1135901' first='Aiden' last='Dunne'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A cerebral and highly skilled lead guard can facialite and score. He made some nice passes up the court to kick start their break and can score on dribbble drives and launch his pretty jumper from the three point line.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2279967' first='Jason' last='Cullum'] Sandra Day O'Connor&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong framed point guard is a good on-ball defender and brings toughness to the court. He will score with layups in traffic and some and-1 tough buckets. He usually takes care of the ball and brings that senior leadership.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2279895' first='Stephan' last='Miller'] Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger scoring guard is quickly becoming one of the better three level scorers in the AIA. He can dribble drive by defender and score with floaters after a nice hesitation move. He will hit the catch three but his sweet spot is the mid-range pull-up. He can score on put backs and kiss it off the glass. He scored 28 points in the semis and 13 in the Chip.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1354953' first='I'yar' last='Shadowvine'] Ironwood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A diminutive point guard who guided his team to the Chip. He has speed on speed with the ball in his hands to go along with his toughness. He will drive by and score with contact in the paint and has deep range on his threes. He will rebound despite his size and will steal the ball with his quick feet and hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369213' first='Amare' last='King'] Casteel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic taller combo guard handles a lot of the lead guard role. He can drive by his initial defender and get to the basket plus he can post up and go to work as he can rise up over the defender with his bounce. He rebounds the ball unusually well and is a top of the box shot blocker, which is slowly turning into the norm for him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1217315' first='TayVion' last='Wilson'] Sandra Day O'Connor</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled scoring lead guard can shoot it with catch threes and pull-ups. He has the mid-range pull and will score in transition and reverse layups in traffic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1286022' first='Ryan' last='Nelson'] Pinnacle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong framed combo guard has good size and skill. He can get downhill and score thru contact using his build in the lane plus shoot it. He will rattle in threes off the catch or pull and seems to get hot quickly. He will defend on the ball with his strength and quicks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1494967' first='Dylan' last='Novak'] ALA Gilbert North</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring PG will let it fly from deep with confidence and range. He made a few eye popping passes, which he is one of the better junior passers in the AIA. He collected a few steals in the passing lanes and has a polished floater game. He was Region Player of the Year.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285501' first='Cezer' last='Sotomayor'] ALA Gilbert North</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard who plays on or of the ball. He makes smart reads and he will hit the three off the catch. He is becoming their top defender on the ball and that coveted 3 and D type of guard. He was Region Defensive Player of the Year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1950902' first='Ayumu' last='Lara'] Sahuaro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough scoring combo guard who can score and make plays. He weill drive and kick it to a shooter and he plays perfectly off of Llamas. He will pull-up from mid-range and hit corner threes off the catch.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1893665' first='Cisco' last='Llamas'] Sahuaro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A dynamic scoring PG is quick on quick. The ball is on a string for him and he can blow by his defender. He will euro step down the lane and score or make a play. He is a really good passer up the court and will throw it perfectly to a teammate. He can rattle in threes off the catch or dribble and he is the engine that makes the Tucson team go.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->