Five 2024 Guards Out-Playing their Ranking
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Throughout the season there are always players that make us scouts look silly in the pre-season. Here are some guards that did just that in the class of 2024: (note: I excluded all top-20 candidates) Adrianna Gonzalez Adrianna Gonzalez 5'7"…
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Continue ReadingThroughout the season there are always players that make us scouts look silly in the pre-season. Here are some guards that did just that in the class of 2024:
(note: I excluded all top-20 candidates)
Adrianna Gonzalez Adrianna Gonzalez 5'7" | PG Indian Trail | 2024 State WI | Kenosha Indian Trail | Lead Ball Handler | Unranked
Gonzalez has been one of the best 2024 guards in the state this season, going from a fringe scorer in 2021 to a 20-points-per-game stud, putting shame to PGH Wisconsin leaving her unranked to start the year. In her role as a primary ball-handler, Gonzalez has shown explosion and relentlessness attacking the basket. Her ability to eat up space efficiently puts a ton of pressure on defenses to get set in transition and play deny-defense on her in the halfcourt. Gonzalez’s handle has completely opened up her shot profile from her freshman campaign, allowing her to shoot off the dribble in addition to her driving ability. Adding the ability to hit side-steps and step-backs, and thus becoming a two-level scorer, makes her a terror to defend. The next step for Gonzalez is to use her scoring ability as a means to attract the defense and create with others, along with making sure her shooting mechanics become more consistent. Nonetheless, Gonzalez has firmly placed herself as a top-40 candidate in the class of 2024.
Gracie Gopalan Gracie Gopalan 5'4" | PG Waupun | 2024 State WI | Waupun | Pure Point Guard | #85 Overall Prospect
There are a lot of mouths to feed on the super-talented Waupun roster, and Gopalan handles that responsibility at a very high level. She’s a consummate floor general who prioritizes getting everyone involved while also demonstrating burst and the ability to score on all three levels. Especially at the rim, where her handles and speed often find her blowing by the first level of defense. And once she gets to the heart of the lane, her creativity and IQ shine through. Her ability to read the defense and consistently pick out the best pass while attacking the rim is part of the reason Waupun looks like a state-champion favorite in Division 3. Though only averaging 8.6 points on the season, she leads the team in assists at 5.2-per, and her impact on the smoothness of the offense can’t be overstated.
What is arguably Gopalan’s best skill, however, is her on-ball defense. Her lateral quickness and use of angles allow her to defend much larger players, bothering their handles while staying in front of them. She’s also a threat in the passing lane, where her ability to skip to the spot and use either hand to attack the pass is an important source of turnovers and pressure for the Waupun defense. Though only ranked #85 to begin her sophomore campaign, Gopalan has played like a top-60 floor general through the first half of the season. Heart over height has never been truer.
Lindsey Schadewalt Lindsey Schadewalt 5'10" | SG New Glarus | 2024 State WI | New Glarus | Off-Guard | #50 Overall Prospect
Schadewalt’s combination of fluidity, shooting touch, strength, and size make her an ideal off-guard prospect, but she seems to constantly figure out new ways to score using her specific skill set. Her patience and efficiency define her offensive game. Though she doesn’t necessarily have elite end-line speed, her change of pace dribble-moves and elite pump-fake see her getting to the cup routinely. And when she’s there, her gather-step and strength become a huge asset in initiating contact for the finish or to get to the line (where she’s one of the best shooters in the state at 86%).
She’s also flashed potential as a facilitator and defender. She reacts aptly to how help-defenses attack her drives to find cutters or open shooters. At 5’10″, she can see over the top of most perimeter defenders at her position and deliver on-time, on-target skip passes as well. Her length and timing are also assets in playing the passing lane. Though not a super active defender, when it comes to pressing the inbound or defending a 2 v. 1 in transition, she has a knack for interrupting the pass and stalling the fast break. At 20.2 points per game, Schadewalt is dominating in her own way and thoroughly outplaying her #50 overall evaluation.
Alexa Kinas Alexa Kinas 5'8" | CG Kaukauna | 2024 State WI | Kaukauna | Scoring Two-Guard | #38 Overall Prospect
Kinas has looked like a top-25 prospect through the first half of the season. Her natural scoring prowess and offensive tenacity make her a constant threat on that end of the court, especially considering her play in the toughest conference in the state. One of her most lethal skills is her movement shooting, completing a cut to the corner, and setting up her shot efficiently. It’s worth mentioning that Kinas has a very quick release and strong shot mechanics. Her shot translates to all three levels and makes her pump fake all the more enticing. She’s very comfortable handling the ball and though it may look like a loose handle at times, she has a knack for corralling her dribble at just the right moment and gathering herself before making the decision to pull-up, take it to the rim, or pass.
On that note, one of her most translatable skills to the next level is her live-dribble passing. Her ability to gather her dribble and sling a pass around the perimeter all in one motion is a shooter’s dream and a guard skill that makes her a more versatile option going forward. She’s a high-effort defensive player, but at times looks a little tight, and her lateral quickness needs to improve to expand the number–and type–of players she can guard. But from her shotmaking to her upside as a distributor, Kinas looks to be a stock-riser in the near future.
Sydney Cherney Sydney Cherney 5'6" | CG Reedsburg | 2024 State WI | Reedsburg | Slashing Combo Guard | #27 Overall Prospect
I debated whether or not to put Cherney on this list considering her relatively high ranking, but her combination of athleticism, scoring output, and defensive intensity is unignorable. Her stock’s only going higher and higher as the season progresses. Her ability to explore the paint with her handle and initiate contact makes Reedsburg all the more challenging to guard. She’s the one player on the roster with a true burst and a guard’s handle. Her 18.6 points-per-game is good for second on the Beaver’s roster, trailing only Mahra Wieman Mahra Wieman 5'10" | CG Reedburg | 2022 State WI ’s 23.6. And while she has that straight-line explosion that is so hard to find, she’s added a change of pace element to her game that most guards in D2 can’t keep up with. As a distributor, she reacts so well to the movement of her teammates and finds cutters and post-players well. Her ceiling entirely depends on the development of her outside shot and the diversification of her dribble package, which would allow her to get any shot she wants on the floor given her dribble-drive prowess.
Again, Cherney’s already a fairly highly ranked player. But to my eye, her defense makes her a borderline top-15 prospect. She absorbs contact off the drive incredibly well and plays strong, fundamental defense. Though she has the lateral quickness to press up against her matchup, she tends to sag off a bit and stunt drive attempts. She gets to the spot ahead of her matchup and then uses her length to bother the ball-handler. Cherney’s growth has made her the difference-maker Reedsburg needs to become state champions in Division 2.