Standout Point Guards-Duel For The Dynasty
The game starts at the 1 is a phrase I have frequently used over the years, probably because my daughter played that position and I was one of her coaches over 20 years ago, yes I’m more than just a pretty face, not much more but nevertheless even though I was corrected recently that the game actually starts at the tip, here’s a tip, when you have players that control the tempo handle the pressure and see the floor, that’s big and the more you add, like making the right pass and (or) decisions, that can determine the outcome of a game more times than not so here are a few point guards that caught my eye. I’ve mentioned several in the various articles with evaluations I’ve dropped from this event, here are some others
Riley McCloskey Riley McCloskey 5'3" | PG Memorial | 2023 State TX -5’5 (Just Play Elite 2022) 2023
McCloskey was playing up with her club team when I first caught her, I saw her future high school coach glued to the court so I had to sneak over and all I can say is wow, I thought I had traveled back in time because she was so “poised” under pressure playing against players 4 years older. Fast forward to now, yeah she can control the tempo and see the floor but her pinpoint passes, with either hand, her ability to create her shot to attack or attack and dish or just drop the mid to long-range to keep the defense honest and she keeps progressing
Charis Phoenix-5’7 (Texas Cagers Select 2022) 2023
Phoenix is a speedy guard that is definitely hard to stay in front of but she’s under control, especially in the open court, and watching her improvement from the first time I saw her made me smile. I drop the acronym SWB, speed with ball to help me remember yet I didn’t need it for her because I’ll never forget and while she sees the floor and makes the right passes, she also can attack and finish as well as hit the pull-up jumper yet the speed also comes n handy watching her play the passing lane
Elisabeth Rowe-5’6 (South Arkansas Hoopsters 2023) 2023
Rowe also gets the SWB attached to her name as she simply makes things happen and her energy level trickles down to her teammates. Watching her push the ball and hit her teammates, ’24 Kennedi Dixon-5’10, was the recipient a few times yet she makes things happen and when she attacks, you need to be ready because her passes are crisp but she also can finish after contact
Chelsie Davis-5’6 (O.W.E. Family Renegades Select 2023) 2023
Davis has the SWB, I guess that was a trend yet she stays under control and showed a little hesitation in the open court to go along with a deceptive first step but she was vocal, she directed traffic well and she showed she could run the sets in the half-court but again, that speed definitely came in handy during the transition because she hit teammates on the money
Tierra Danielle-Owens-5’3 (Team Tulsa 2024) 2025
Owens had me go back to what I said about her almost a year ago, that search bar is very helpful for a number of reasons, and her progression to actually run a team just stood out. Yeah she could attack and blow by defenders, she still can but she’s under control either in the half-court or pushing it baseline to baseline, and setting her teammates up has her taking her game to another level. She hasn’t entered high school, she already has the SWB, and remember I said “highlight waiting to happen” in the open court is coming