Maine Top 30 Camp: Stock Rising Guards

Photo: Juliette Tarsa

Bash Hudson

August 12, 2021 @ 07:00 AM

The guard play at the Maine Top 30 Camp was no joke, and many of them had eye-opening performances over the weekend. Below are a few whose stock went through the roof by the end of the camp. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316014" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/08/IMG_8912-scaled-crop-1685x1107-1628739921-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="315377" first="Natalie" last="Beaudoin"] - Team Green - 6’0’’ - SG - ’24 Watching Beaudoin for the first time, I was impressed by her sharpshooting ability and her limitless range. Beaudoin is a player who effortlessly hits threes from the parking lot. As a long 6’0’’ wing, she is already a mismatch nightmare, and when you add her three-point efficiency and scoring ability off isolation, she is a lock top 15 player in the ’24 class. What Beaudoin does better than most players is hit the trail 3 at a consistent rate. She was extremely dangerous in transition last weekend, trailing the play and burying countless three-pointers. Her versatility on offense and willingness to play the 2-4 made her one of the biggest offensive threats from the camp. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316016" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/08/IMG_8911-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1628739990-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="315376" first="Isabelle" last="Allen"] - Team Black - 5’10 - CG - ’24 Allen is a different breed of combo guard. Physically there are not many built like her from a size and strength standpoint. Allen’s shot creation is her biggest strength, and she will mix anyone in the halfcourt. Countless times she would bring the ball up the court, set up her defender with a quick hesitation and crossover, and pull up from three with confidence. She had one of the craftiest and tightest handles at the camp, and she always attacks with purpose. Allen’s skill set is well beyond her years, and she is a prospect in the future who can make a top 5 push in the ’24 class. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316018" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/08/IMG_8822-scaled-crop-1657x1088-1628740037-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="184112" first="Anna" last="Nelson"] - Team Red - 5’6’’ - PG - ’22 I thought no one quarterbacked an offense better than Nelson last weekend. She is such a good leader and floor general on the court that I felt like Team Red would execute at a high level on offense whenever the ball was in her hands. I liked how whenever Nelson got the ball in the open court, her eyes immediately looked up the floor, and she is excellent at when to push the tempo and when to slow the pace down and get into the halfcourt set. Nelson is a gamer who will bury clutch timely jump shots for her team when not facilitating at a high level. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316020" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/08/IMG_8818-scaled-crop-1681x1104-1628740106-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> [player_tooltip player_id="298626" first="Anna" last="Oliver"] - Team White - 5’11’’ - PG - ’25 Oliver was not just one of the most impressive prospects at the camp, but out of all the players, one I could cover all spring and summer. Her conditioning and work ethic is unmatched. In the ’25 class specifically, I can name a myriad of players who have elite talent and size like Oliver, but not a single one is in better shape or is a bigger workhorse. What stood out the most about Oliver was not anything she did during the games but what she did during water breaks. While everyone was resting, she was at a basket, fine-tuning her dribble pull-up game and practicing free throws. Naturally, those same moves that I watched her practice translated immediately into live-action, and she killed every time she touched the ball. Her motor is unreal and unlike anything I have seen. She played every game at full speed and defined everything coaches preach about when describing the type of player they want on their team. Oliver is the real deal and should be on everyone’s radar.