Nebraska Top 250 Expo: Top Guards

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The 2020 Nebraska top 250 Expo brought out the best guards in the state. Their talent was on full display as they took charge of their teams, leading the offense, distributing the ball, and also finding ways to score. This is a tough ask when they are playing with people they have never played with before, but these guards stepped up to the plate and did the job exceptionally well. </span> <b>Yelaniya Bradley | Lincoln High School | 5’5 Freshman Guard </b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bradley has the distribution ability and court vision of a veteran point-guard. Despite only being a freshman, she was putting on an impressive display of ball-handling and threading passes in the lane. And she is certainly not a one-dimensional guard. Her ability to get into the lane and find creative ways to finish over bigger defenders bodes well for her coming years of high school basketball. Bradley also has an impressive mid-range game that is rare to see in high school basketball, and it further proves that she is a well-rounded player. </span> <b>Ellie McCarville | Douglas County West Community Schools | 5’8 Sophomore Guard</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">McCarville, another young guard, proved that she was not afraid to step into the role of leader and facilitator for her team. She proved that she can shoot it, but she also provided value to her team by creating countless scoring opportunities for her teammates. McCarville is another player who is not one-dimensional, stepping out and proving her three-point-shooting skill. On the other end of the floor, she was also an active defender who put unrelenting pressure on the opposing team’s guards. All-in-all, McCarville is the kind of player you want as your floor-general. </span> <b>Raegan Halliday | Olathe South High School | 5’7 Junior Guard </b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Halliday was a creator for her team. She had great body control to get into the lane, draw the help defense, and then find teammates on the perimeter. She pushed the ball in transition and it allowed for scoring opportunities for her teammates and for herself. What sets her apart from other guards is that she often began the offense at an advantage, because she would beat at least one defender and force the entire defense to scramble from the beginning. When she gets into the lane, her ability to finish and distribute looks like a combo-guard or a forward, which is what makes her so valuable at the point-guard position.  </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="94501" first="Taylor" last="McCabe"] | Fremont High School | 5’9 Junior Guard </b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">McCabe has the skill-set to be playing at almost every position on the floor. During the Expo, she not only displayed her impressive scoring abilities, but she also showed what she brings to the floor as a point-guard. Because she is such an adept scorer, every defender on the floor is always playing one step closer to her. This gives her the chance to create scoring opportunities for teammates, and that is exactly what she did. McCabe led the break, got her team into the flow of an offense, and penetrated deep into the lane and kicked it out to wide open teammates. </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="174477" first="Claire" last="Williams"] | Omaha Central High School | 5’5 Junior Point-Guard </b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Williams was the motor of her team at the Expo. She led the transition and fast-break possessions, pushing the ball aggressively and putting her teammates in positions to score. She consistently pressured the opposing team’s point-guard on defense, often forcing them to give up the ball. Williams did not necessarily do anything flashy, but she didn’t need to. She was exactly what coaches are looking for - a point-guard who works hard, handles the ball well, plays unselfishly, and puts her teammates in positions to have success. </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="174497" first="Avery" last="Heilig"] | Cass High School | 5’6 Junior Guard </b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Heilig is consistent and solid. She plays very unselfishly, seeing the floor and looking for opportunities for her teammates before she looks for anything for herself. She plays strong as a guard, not easily knocked off course by defenders and not easily rattled. As a point-guard, you often set the tone for your team, and Heilig does this very well. She brings the ball up against pressure, gets her team into the offense, and does not make a lot of mistakes. She is exactly the kind of the point-guard coaches look for. </span>