Dynamic 16u Guards at 3SSB Session 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LADERA RANCH — Session 1 of the adidas-led 3SSB circuit tipped off last Friday morning with some of the top prospects from around the country making their way to OGP Ladera for the three-day event. Below are the most dynamic 16u guards we watched on the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Blaze Johnson | 2028 | Atlanta Celtics</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson is a big, physical and smooth combo guard who showed impressive playmaking and scoring feel. At 6-feet-3 and a sturdy 175 pounds, Johnson used his shoulders, balance and downhill speed to bully through contact and finish at the rim. Johnson also knocked down open catch and shoot threes with time and space. He averaged 17.3 points per game on the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Jeylan Womack | 2028 | Team Loaded</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Womack impressed with his three-level scoring ability and his knack for taking and making tough shots off the bounce. The 6-foot-5 combo guard was best in isolation situations where he used a quick left-to-right and right-to-left crossover to create space from defenders for pull-up jumpers from three and mid-range. Womack also used his burst of speed to blow-by defenders for at-rim finishes and ranked seventh in scoring among 16u players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2868676' first='Juleeyan' last='Williams'] | 2029 | Compton Magic</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams is trending as one of the best combo guards out west in the 2029 class and continued to back that up over the weekend. The 6-foot-3 freshman has an advanced scoring feel which manifests in his shot-creating and shot-making ability from all three levels of the floor. Williams' explosive first step and blow-by speed allowed him to get into the lane where he scored with craftiness and physicality. Williams also impacted the game on the boards as he finished with two games of double-digit rebounds. Williams averaged 20.3 points and eight rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Kevin Wilson Jr. | 2028 | D1 Minnesota</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wilson was a microwave type of scorer who - once he saw one shot go down - would pepper in a handful more jumpers, both contested and uncontested. The 6-foot point guard led the 16u level in scoring with 24.3 per game and knocked down 16 threes at a 43 percent clip. Wilson was a confident shot-maker off the bounce and off the catch who also flashed passing and playmaking ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Kingston Gould | 2028 | Southern Assault</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gould stood out with his elite feel for the game which led to high IQ passing, playmaking and scoring opportunities. The 6-foot-2 Texas-based prospect showed poise under pressure, made smart decisions and reads out of ball screens, hit teammates with timely and accurate passes and picked his spots to score without forcing shots. The most impressive part of Gould's game was the ease in which he broke pressure and his willingness to advance the ball up the floor in transition. Gould averaged 18.8 points, five rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2412268' first='Maurice' last='Carter II'] | 2028 | Compton Magic</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter was one of the quickest guards we watched all weekend - regardless of age group - and that, combined with his open court speed, explosive vertical athleticism and aggressiveness in transition led to him score at the rim with ease. Carter finished among the top five scorers in Session 1 with 19.3 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->