5 more scholarship-level guards in the class of 2021

Some players take up their share of the spotlight and more, which tends to cast a long shadow over their teammates. Those teammates need to be patient, keep working and wait for their turn to shine. That was the reality for 2021 guard [player_tooltip player_id="57093" first="Andrea" last="Tribble"] who played behind [player_tooltip player_id="28212" first="Aja" last="Wheeler"] and the Longs sisters at Robbinsdale Cooper. Wheeler (Alcorn State) graduated in 2019 and Tribble stepped up to have a huge junior year. In AAU basketball she has been in the shadows of [player_tooltip player_id="109735" first="Jade" last="Hill"] of Minneapolis South for years. Now, with the 2021 Tayler Hill Elite squad having been dissolved, Hill has gone to the Minnesota Fury and Tribble has migrated to the Minnesota Suns. When summer ball resumes you can expect this Sun to shine brightly as she continues to make a name for herself. Tribble is one of the quickest, most talented guards in the 2021 class. Over the weekend we presented five scholarship-level junior guards for your consideration. Today we offer up five more who have what it takes to be successful at the next level. Tribble, the #41-ranked player in the class, tops our list. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57093" first="Andrea" last="Tribble"] – Robbinsdale Cooper, Minnesota Suns (#41)</strong> The 5’5 guard is lightning quick, she’s explosive and she can score. In 2019-20, playing a solid class 3A schedule, Tribble put up 469 points – an average of 18 per game. That was up from 11.6 ppg as a sophomore and 10.4 as a freshman, and pushed her over the 1,000-point mark for her career. She also averaged 3.7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.8 steals per game while shooting 52% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 78% at the line. You probably won’t find more impressive numbers than that from a small guard. As you’ll see in the video she loves the baseline drive. Andrea is also a high-intensity defender who is particularly effective guarding the perimeter. Cooper won the state class 3A state championship in 2018 and Tribble made the All-Tournament team as a freshman. She is a member of the National Honor Society, and if you follow her on Twitter (@AndreaTribble_) you’ll see that Andrea’s interests extend well beyond basketball. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10484251/5e71920032dcb217780ea75f">Watch the video</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="130031" first="Macy" last="Smith"] – Spring Lake Park, Fury 2021 Yellow (#45)</strong> At 5’10 Smith is super long with monster strides and very light feet. She is quick, really fast in the open court and very athletic. This is a talented player who has been a varsity performer since 7th grade. She plays with a high level of intensity, has a strong will to win and wears her heart on her sleeve. Macy is a terrific long-distance shooter – there are few better catch-and-shoot snipers in the state – but as you’ll see in her highlight video she has no trouble getting to the rim, either. Macy handles the ball very well and knows how to use her length effectively at both ends of the floor. Smith does have a rather thin frame, and has sometimes struggled against physical defenders, but she has gotten stronger now and can deal with the pounding. An All-Conference selection in the Northwest Suburban, Macy is a 1,000-point scorer and a solid Division 1 prospect with the tools necessary to be successful at that level. Macy is another refugee from the Tayler Hill team. She’ll play this year for Fury 2021 Yellow. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13907582/5e73de7e32dcb217780f02b3">Watch the video</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="29547" first="Ivory" last="Finley"] – Rosemount, 43 Hoops (#52)</strong> Athlete. If you are looking for a single word to describe Ivory, that is it. The 5’10 combo guard not only excels in basketball but plays two other sports, as well. She has track star speed, excellent quickness and a big, strong frame. Her development with 43 Hoops over the past 12 months has been excellent, both in the expansion and refinement of her skill set but also in her on-court execution and decision making. Finley can launch left-handed rockets from beyond the arc with great success, but she really excels when she is driving to the basket through traffic and demonstrating her craftiness one-on-one. As a result she has risen in the rankings to #53 but is likely to climb much farther than that as she begins to realize her potential. Ivory recently received her first Division 1 scholarship offer and it is well-deserved. There will no doubt be more to come. Finley’s video is a little long, but even if you only watch the first few minutes you’ll see very quickly what Ivory is capable of right now. Six months from now there will likely be a whole lot more to see. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10332578/5df54b914ba7a50d2cc41c8a">Watch the video</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109769" first="Tatum" last="Brostrom"] – Prior Lake, Fury 2021 Yellow (#74)</strong> Like Tribble, Brostrom knows a little something about playing in the shadows of some big-time players. At Prior Lake she had to patiently wait her turn behind the great [player_tooltip player_id="1714" first="McKenna" last="Hofschild"] (Colorado State). In AAU she toiled for years on Minnesota Stars Hersch behind [player_tooltip player_id="2098" first="Katie" last="Borowicz"] of Roseau (Minnesota commit). Last year she took over the top spot for the Lakers and ran the show for Fury 2021 Yellow, revealing just how many tools are in her box. Brostrom is a terrific shooter, who launches the ball with a nice high arc and has practically unlimited range. She also does a very nice job driving to the hole and either dishing it to an open teammate or finishing through contact. It helps that Tatum has developed a very nice floater which is crucial for a guard who is only 5’6. Brostrom is a terrific ball handler, distributes it very effectively and has nice court vision. She is a coach’s kid who has a feel for the game and a solid understanding of how to run an offense. Perhaps most importantly, Tatum is also one of the most accomplished students in the class which, in addition to her basketball abilities, should open a ton of college doors. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10493524/5e74ec6823473e142c629c76">Watch the video</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57132" first="Lily" last="Peterson"] – Crosby-Ironton, Minnesota Suns Bluestar (#79)</strong> What a season Lily had for the Rangers. She averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field and 84% at the line. The 5’6 guard was named All Area Player of the Year, earned All-Conference honors and passed the 1,000-career points mark. In doing so she became the third generation in her family reach that milestone following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and doing it in a game where she recorded her first career triple-double. Not bad. And not all that surprising given the evolution we have seen in Lily’s game over the past couple of seasons. Peterson is now a polished performer, a coach’s kid who understands the game and can execute with poise and precision. I love Lily’s shooting mechanics. She’s smooth and technically sound, with a quick but soft release. This is clearly the product of hundreds of hours of hard work. As you’ll see on the video, Peterson is a terrific play-maker who can thread the needle with a precision pass or fire the long bomb down the court and into the hands of a teammate on the run. Peterson is a solid D2 prospect with a 4.0 GPA. She plays for the Minnesota Suns. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/8887364/5e7fb9c5b5362c1084ce2927">Watch the video</a>