Rankings Review: 2021 2-Guards
On Thursday, March 28th, we posted our updated rankings for the Class of 2021. While there has been some talk that the class doesn’t necessarily rival the 2020 or 2022 classes around it, in my mind there are still several…
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Continue ReadingOn Thursday, March 28th, we posted our updated rankings for the Class of 2021. While there has been some talk that the class doesn’t necessarily rival the 2020 or 2022 classes around it, in my mind there are still several really nice prospects to consider, and there is some really good guard play. Below is a look at the Top-15 2-guards in Indiana’s Class of 2021:
1. Jayla Smith, 5-10 2G, Lawrence North H.S.
During her Freshman campaign, Jayla was about 5-5 and played Junior Varsity for most of the season. By last Summer she was in the 5-8 to 5-9 range. Now she’s every bit of 5-10 and possibly still growing. She is still very slender, but she’s incredibly long, fluid, smooth, and very confident. She led Lawrence North to the State Finals this year and was their leading scorer. She is a very good perimeter shooter with range beyond the 3-point line, and she has great quickness and does a nice job of creating space to get her shot away. One thing I typically get on all players about is that they don’t play low enough, and it’s even more difficult for someone built like Jayla, but she actually does try to play low and you can see it at the defensive end of the floor. She has already established herself as a high-level talent and prospect, but she still has so much room to develop even more.
2. Zakia Rasheed, 5-8 2G/PG, Bishop Chatard H.S.
Zakia has widely been considered as one of the better guards in this class for some time now, and she continues to work to improve. She is a strong, physical, and tough-nosed guard who plays with a good motor. She can handle it and play point guard on occasion, but with her ability to shoot the ball the way she does, I would want to run her off of screen after screen after screen. She is a very good perimeter scorer, she’s solid attacking the basket straight-line, now she’ll just need to working on change-of-direction stuff when she’s in attack mode. I like her basketball IQ and overall feel for the game, and she will work at the defensive end of the floor. She has already earned a lot of Division-I interest, and I’m curious to see how her recruiting takes off playing on such a talented travel team this Spring & Summer.
3. Katie Burton, 5-8 2G, Fishers H.S.
Katie would probably be my choice to win a game by going to the basket. There aren’t many players in Indiana, regardless of class, who are as relentless attacking the basket, and who can finish around the rim in so many different ways. Katie is just a tough-nosed, feisty, and attacking style of guard. She plays with a great motor offensively and is looking to score it on every catch. She is fairly quick/fast and is a nice all-around athlete, plus she does a solid job of creating deflections defensively. If she can work to make her perimeter jumper a bit more consistent and show the ability to defend the ball well against more talented players throughout the grassroots season, I think she’ll start to see all of her efforts pay off with several more colleges following her.
4. Madelyn Bischoff, 5-9 2G, Roncalli H.S.
After attending the Shamrock Classic tournament a couple of weeks ago, Madelyn was someone who I left thinking about how much different her game looks from a Summer ago. She is long, lean, and fluid/smooth. She can handle the ball competently and occasionally run offense when needed. She is a very good perimeter shooter, a great mid-post shooter, and she can slice through defenses to get to the basket. I just think she does as good of a job as anyone at picking her spots and taking what the defense gives her. She could stand to get stronger in order to absorb contact a little better, but she has grown a couple of inches in the last year and might still have another inch or two left in her. I think she’s a kid who fits into most systems offensively because of her skillful versatility.
5. Pa’Shence Walker, 5-8 2G, Martinsville H.S.
Pa’Shence is the younger sister of Purdue Freshman Kayana Traylor, and she’s someone who, if you haven’t seen Martinsville play, you might not have ever seen her. She didn’t play grassroots ball last year, and I’m not sure she’s on a team this time around either. She is a wiry strong, athletic, and somewhat smooth wing guard. She is really good at attacking the basket, and she has a nice mid-range game as well. She can occasionally knock down a perimeter jumper when set and in rhythm, but that’s maybe the one area of her game offensively that could be more consistent. Defensively, I think she plays with a very good motor, and she can be an effective on-ball defender who can even take on point guards at times. She also gets a lot of deflections from help-side.
The Next 10:
6. Moira McGinley, 5-7 2G, Bishop Chatard H.S.
7. Carley Culberson, 5-7 2G/PG, Yorktown H.S.
8. Bailey Hartsough, 5-9 2G, Lakeland H.S.
9. Irye Gomez, 5-8 2G, Bedford North Lawrence H.S.
10. Taylor Austin, 5-4 2G/PG, Lake Station Edison H.S.
11. Joslynn Spears, 5-6 2G, Pike H.S.
12. TreNaé Mann, 5-5 2G, Indianapolis Washington H.S.
13. Zayda Hatfield, 5-7 2G, Terre Haute South Vigo H.S.
14. Hannah Sisk, 5-5 2G/PG, Princeton Community H.S.
15. Bonnie Lew Ludlow, 5-6 2G, Covenant Christian School
Header photo of Jayla Smith of Lawrence North High School. Photo courtesy of Matt Kryger of the Indianapolis Star at indystar.com.