All "A" State Tournament Standouts - Combo Guards

Among this article on the top Combo Guards of the tournament, I need to take a moment to mention the Runner-up Owensboro Catholic team. Their overall team defense was impressive in the full-court and half-court settings. They harried, hurried, harassed, and hassled opponents from the jump until the final buzzer during the three days I was in attendance and I assume they did the same in the championship game. Also among our Combo Guards are various other players too good with the ball off the bounce to just be called a Shooting Guard and too great of a scoring threat to just be called a Point Guard. I think in the olden days when my Father played and when I was a boy they just called players like this, Guards. It wasn't until maybe the late '80s (I think) before such specialization differing between a Point Guard and a Shooting Guard entered the common parlance and Combo Guard seems to have entered into the lexicon somewhere around the late '90s. With the so-called positionless basketball of the modern era, I often don't know what to do when trying to place a player within the 6 categories ranked on our site. All the 5 Out offenses keep me guessing what position anybody is playing from possession to possession.   [player_tooltip player_id="106140" first="Allie" last="Stone"] - ’22 5’6"/CG - West Carter Stone is the 6th leading scorer in the Commonwealth averaging 23.5 points per game and true to form she put up 25 and 24 points at the All "A". She also made 100% of her threes (5/5) and free throws (8/8) and shot 63% from the field while also contributing 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals while playing every minute over two days. Her three primarily came from the top with one being shot (and made) over a defender that was practically wearing the same shirt on the play. She sank 4 late-game high-pressure free throws down the stretch to secure the Round 1 win. She drove for a fullcourt blowby for layup left side, a steal for a coast to coast layup, ad a 3 footer from the right corner. She penetrated to pressure for pullups 7 to 8 footers in the lane and from the right wing for a left elbow jumper.   Katie Riney - ’23 5’6"/CG - Owensboro Catholic Riney was especially big on the glass during the tournament, pulling down 26 rebounds in 4 days for an average of 6.5 rebounds per game. Not bad for someone 5 and 1/2 feet tall. She also contributed 12 steals, 11 assists, and scored 10 points in the final.   [player_tooltip player_id="167110" first="Hailee" last="Johnson"] - ’24 5’8"/CG - Owensboro Catholic Johnson led her team with 28 points, 9 rebounds 9 steals, and made 12 of 14 free throws including 4 of 4 key shots down the stretch that secured a 1st Round victory and 2 of 2 that did the same in the Semifinals. She made layups on a curling drive from the left wing to score on the right side of the hoop, on the break ahead of the defense, with a defender right in her face, and after a blowby from left wing. She also made a 7 foot floater after penetrating to the pressure out of the offensive set.   [player_tooltip player_id="254278" first="Karmin" last="Riley"] - ’25 5’6"/CG - Owensboro Catholic Riley had her biggest game during the Quarterfinals totaling 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals while making 4 of 9 three-point shots. She also had 4 steals in Round 1, 5 during the semi-finals, and made 4 assists during the Finals. During the All "A" she made threes from deep into the wings and out top and scored on several layups off of up-the-street passes and by running the floor. She scored on a floater after a dive cut and made assists for threes and layups to open teammates.   [player_tooltip player_id="200349" first="Abby" last="Maggard"] - ’23 5’8"/CG - Knott County Central Maggard made a few threes and a layup in her All "A" appearance and at least 1 assist although she was not credited for it in the official stats. Her stats total in Round 1 were 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 28 minutes.   Emma Ratliff - ’22 5’2"/CG - Pikeville Ratliff had a big 1st Round game totaling 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals in just 19 minutes of action. She made two threes from the left corner and layups running the floor and receiving an up-the-street pass.

Among this article on the top Combo Guards of the tournament, I need to take a moment to mention the Runner-up Owensboro Catholic team. Their overall team defense was impressive in the full-court and half-court settings. They harried, hurried, harassed, and hassled opponents from the jump until the final buzzer during the three days I was in attendance and I assume they did the same in the championship game.

Also among our Combo Guards are various other players too good with the ball off the bounce to just be called a Shooting Guard and too great of a scoring threat to just be called a Point Guard. I think in the olden days when my Father played and when I was a boy they just called players like this, Guards.

It wasn't until maybe the late '80s (I think) before such specialization differing between a Point Guard and a Shooting Guard entered the common parlance and Combo Guard seems to have entered into the lexicon somewhere around the late '90s.

With the so-called positionless basketball of the modern era, I often don't know what to do when trying to place a player within the 6 categories ranked on our site. All the 5 Out offenses keep me guessing what position anybody is playing from possession to possession.

Allie Stone Allie Stone 5'5" | CG West Carter | 2022 State KY - ’22 5’6"/CG - West Carter

Stone is the 6th leading scorer in the Commonwealth averaging 23.5 points per game and true to form she put up 25 and 24 points at the All "A". She also made 100% of her threes (5/5) and free throws (8/8) and shot 63% from the field while also contributing 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals while playing every minute over two days.

Her three primarily came from the top with one being shot (and made) over a defender that was practically wearing the same shirt on the play. She sank 4 late-game high-pressure free throws down the stretch to secure the Round 1 win.

She drove for a fullcourt blowby for layup left side, a steal for a coast to coast layup, ad a 3 footer from the right corner. She penetrated to pressure for pullups 7 to 8 footers in the lane and from the right wing for a left elbow jumper.

Katie Riney - ’23 5’6"/CG - Owensboro Catholic

Riney was especially big on the glass during the tournament, pulling down 26 rebounds in 4 days for an average of 6.5 rebounds per game. Not bad for someone 5 and 1/2 feet tall. She also contributed 12 steals, 11 assists, and scored 10 points in the final.

Hailee Johnson Hailee Johnson 5'9" | CG Owensboro Catholic | 2024 State KY - ’24 5’8"/CG - Owensboro Catholic

Johnson led her team with 28 points, 9 rebounds 9 steals, and made 12 of 14 free throws including 4 of 4 key shots down the stretch that secured a 1st Round victory and 2 of 2 that did the same in the Semifinals.

She made layups on a curling drive from the left wing to score on the right side of the hoop, on the break ahead of the defense, with a defender right in her face, and after a blowby from left wing. She also made a 7 foot floater after penetrating to the pressure out of the offensive set.

Karmin Riley Karmin Riley 5'7" | CG Owensboro Catholic | 2025 State KY - ’25 5’6"/CG - Owensboro Catholic

Riley had her biggest game during the Quarterfinals totaling 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals while making 4 of 9 three-point shots. She also had 4 steals in Round 1, 5 during the semi-finals, and made 4 assists during the Finals.

During the All "A" she made threes from deep into the wings and out top and scored on several layups off of up-the-street passes and by running the floor. She scored on a floater after a dive cut and made assists for threes and layups to open teammates.

Abby Maggard Abby Maggard 5'6" | SG Knott County Central | 2023 State KY - ’23 5’8"/CG - Knott County Central

Maggard made a few threes and a layup in her All "A" appearance and at least 1 assist although she was not credited for it in the official stats. Her stats total in Round 1 were 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 28 minutes.

Emma Ratliff - ’22 5’2"/CG - Pikeville

Ratliff had a big 1st Round game totaling 13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals in just 19 minutes of action. She made two threes from the left corner and layups running the floor and receiving an up-the-street pass.