Border League: Best Guard Defenders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LAS VEGAS — The Border League has established itself as the premier fall high school/prep school basketball event on the west coast and the 2024 edition was no different. The event features many of the top high school and prep school prospects from around the country in a high level hoops showcase. We were in attendance at Coronado and Desert Pines high schools over the weekend and below are the best guard defenders we saw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1630643' first='Angelino' last='Mark'] | Sherman Oaks Notre Dame</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mark is one of the most explosive athletes in the country and, when you add his strength, motor and length into the equation, it makes him one of the more disruptive on-ball and passing lane defenders at the guard position. Mark was using all of his physical and athletic tools to his advantage over the weekend and it resulted in him forcing high-level guards on the other side into high volume, low percentage shooting games and multiple steals and deflected passes that jump started transition offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Darius Bivins | Bishop O'Connell (VA)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bivins isn't your traditional big, physical and long on-ball defender but the 5-foot-10 point guard is smart, savvy and used his quick hands to pick-pocket opposing guards. The junior opened the game by cleanly stripping an offensive player of the ball and finishing off the play with a dish to an open teammate. Bivins continued his theft of the opponent throughout the remainder of the contest and finished with five steals in a win over Sierra Vista.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1595670' first='Ikenna' last='Alozie'] | Dream City Christian (AZ)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alozie's combination of size, lateral speed and vertical athleticism allows him to guard multiple positions on the perimeter and even serve as a viable rim protector in as the last line of defense in transition or when coming over to help on drives. The wiry 6-foot-3 combo guard contains the ball, keeps offensive players in front, forces opposing players to do what he wants them to do in ball screens and has great recovery speed if he gets hit on a screen. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1630629' first='Isaac' last='Williamson'] | Roosevelt</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williamson is one of the premier perimeter defenders in California and he's always taking on the challenge of shutting down the opposing team's best guard. This past weekend was no different as the 6-foot-2 combo guard was sitting in his patented defensive stance throughout the weekend, pressuring the ball when needed, turning the opposing ball handler multiple times before reaching half-court and meshing in perfectly with Roosevelt's team defensive scheme.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1225317' first='Jeremiah' last='Green'] | AZ Compass</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green can really occupy and contain the ball when pressuring opposing ball handlers in transition situations and isolation offense. He uses his strong frame and base to absorb the bumps of physical drivers or make a smaller ball handler feel him on drives and force them away from the basket or to be off-balance. Green showed some very high IQ communication skills when getting his team organized in transition defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">JJ Mandaquit | Utah Prep</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mandaquit is one of the strongest point guards in the country as both his upper and lower bodies are both finely tuned and built to allow him to play a physical brand of basketball. While he possesses a burly frame, The 6-foot-2 senior still has plenty of lateral speed to contain the ball on drives or slide his feet and keep an offensive player in front in isolation. Where Mandaquit's strength comes in handy is when he gets switched onto a big as he can hold his own physically down low. Mandaquit is also a great communicator in team defensive situations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->