AZGR Desert Invitational: Top Guards

Michael Dominguez

May 21, 2019 @ 05:32 PM

The AZGR Desert Invitational is now over and I have had some time to collect my thoughts and analysis on the plays I saw. Overal, I was very impressed with the players that attended, both in state and out of state. Here are the top guards from the event: Cadence Davis 5’7 2021 G (AZ Swish 17u) I really like Cadence's game overall. I think she is really good at playing the traditional pure point guard role and also excels at getting her own shot and being more of a scoring guard. She can absolutely shoot the ball with ease from three point range and makes her teammates better with her play making ability. Mya Blake 5’3 2021 G (Golden City 17u GUAA) Mya Blake may have had the breakout performance of the tournament. From talking to her coach, she had a couple of D2 interest but her performance left every coach in the building wondering who she was. I think Blake really seized her opportunity to make a name for herself. She simple could not be stopped from scoring the ball. It didn't matter what you did on defense, she was either going to hit a jumper or get to the basket by sure will. Jess Finney 5'11 2021 G (AZ Select 16u GUAA) Jess Finney had herself a really good showing in front of a lot of college coaches. She shot the ball extremely well, as she always does. She also handled the ball a lot more than I have seen her in the past. She looked really solid playing point instead of shooting guard. She has good handles and good play making ability. Iva Drobjnak 5'7 2020 G (AZ Select 17u GUAA) The best play making ability probably goes to Iva Drobjnak. This girl has eyes in the back of her head and always knows where her next pass in going. She seems to always be two steps ahead of the defense. She excels at collapsing defenders and kicking the ball out to an open teammate. Tatyanna Clayburne 5'9 2021 G (AZ Select 17u GUAA) Tatyanna Clayburne looked solid this weekend. She showed off her scoring ability early and often. She has very deep range and is very crafty when getting into the lane. I think of her as more of a scoring guard than a pure point guard, but she does have some play making ability as well. I just like her in the scoring role more than anything.