Philly Live: Emerging Backcourt Studs

New readers: Use code Proia30     I spent the weekend taking in HS basketball at two different live period events: DMV Live at DeMatha Catholic in Maryland and Philly Live in Pennsylvania. The goal was to see as many high-level players and teams as possible to get a pulse for talent both in and outside of my area of the DMV. Philly Live had a broad base of talent across over 240 teams competing in front of college coaches. In this article, we'll zoom in on a few emerging guards that really impressed with their play. Let's dive in!      7p 11r 6a vs Hazleton   -Got to see a different dimension of Brown's game as a play-making guard that has added a ton of tools into his toolbox this offseason. Brown started things off with a transition 3, jumped a passing lane for a steal and a threw a beautiful bounce pass with some zip on it to a streaking teammate at the opposite foul line for the assist, finished an alley oop finger roll through contact, and lifted from the baseline to block an elbow jumper to ignite yet another fastbreak opportunity for his team. Brown's ability to impact the game on the class and ignite fastbreaks with beautiful outlet passes--often through traffic to hit his teammate perfectly in stride-- raises his ceiling as a long-term prospect with a ton of upside as the engine for a good Dunbar team.     11p 3r 1s 1b vs Neumann Goretti   -I wish I had gotten over in time to stat his second game to capture the development to his shooting but nonetheless came away impressed with the upgrades in Shime's game. The handle has sharpened to get him from the wing to the rim quickly by taking advantage of his long strides. He's increased his lateral mobility, speed, and vertical pop to become a switchable threat at the defensive end and a versatile wing at the opposite end. His help rotations to challenge shots at the rim raise the collective level of play of the teammates around him and I love how his activity has picked up. At the offensive end- he knocked down perimeter jumpers off the catch, threw down some big dunks in transition, and is a much better off-ball mover to give GZ a mobile connector or play-finisher in the paint. The physicality and improvements to his physique from the football field are transferring over well to the hardwood.     19p 2r 4s vs Linden   -Tarawally was exceptionally good at bullying his way to his spots in and around the paint as one of the lead guards in new threads with Carroll. Tarawally took a steal 94' feet to lay it in at the other end, was first to the floor a few possessions later to collect another steal, got the switch on the perimeter and drove to the elbow before hitting a fader off a spin move, scored on a stride step extension lay, scored on an isolation mid post fader out of the timeout, and finished the game with a backcut AND1 layup off the window. If he can utilize his paint touches to create for the drop man or the near side corner shooter on a more regular basis to take advantage of his scoring gravity, I think he can unlock a new dimension in his game.     7p 6r 1a 1s 2b vs Neumann Goretti   -Love that Waheed is going out and MAKING things happen as a much more confident player heading into his junior season. Waheed stayed down on a pump fake to block a shot flat-footed, hit a wing 3 a few possessions later, absorbed the contact and stepped up to block a shot on-ball later in the same quarter, and made sure the ball kept moving around the perimeter to find the best look for his team. I also loved that he doesn't let his offensive output influence his energy at the defensive end of the floor as he has also picked up his activity levels as a helper on the back line that often stays a step ahead of the opposing offense.     19p 6a 5r 3s vs Ryan   -One of my favorite new finds of the weekend as a prospect that every LM in the Northeast should be prioritizing in the 2028 class. Junker started things off with a blow-by drive to the middle of the paint and 2 foot floater, executed several drive and kicks to the corner shooter, knocked down a 3 ball off the catch in transition, had a good dig down to the post to come up with the steal, used a spin move in a downhill drive into the inside hand lay at the rim, and attacked a closeout from the corner and dropped it off to the opposite block. Love that Junker is wired to score but adjusts well to double teams to create for his teammates off the bounce as the unselfish leader of this group. The rising junior also showed some moxie as he mixed it up under the basket and on long rebounds to fight for both rebounds and 50/50 balls to extend possessions for his team.     30p 3r 2a 1s vs SJC   -Probably the best that I have seen Rowan play as he showed out in front of a strong collection of D1 coaches in a primetime matchup with a deep wing defender group for St. John's. Phillips collected a steal and threw down a 1-handed dunk in traffic, threw a dime to the shake shooter, came off an Iverson cut to knock down a fader from the elbow, ripped through from the wing to drive straight down the sideline into a 2-handed dunk , and threw a beautiful pocket pass to the roller for an easy deuce. Love the way that he sprinted ahead well throughout the game to serve as a kick-ahead target in transition and made good finishing decisions in traffic to maneuver through traffic or around helpers to score at the rim while he also earned several trips to the FT line. When he keeps the game simple as a slashing guard prospect that can knock down elbow jumpers off of movement to keep his defenders honest-- he has a really high floor as a prospect.

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