Guards Defending Florida in the Live Period

The Live Period has arrived and the prospects from the State of Florida will be traveling all across the country and playing in prestigious venues. There will be a ton of offensive fire power at these venues, but in the building will also be some on-the-ball monsters, thieves, terrors, and any other superlative you can use to describe some of the top defenders from the Sunshine State. In this article, we look at some of the top guard defenders from Florida who can impact the game from their defense alone.   [player_tooltip player_id='248551' first='Alanna' last='Tatum'] was at a showcase a few years ago and was just throwing shots into the stands.  She wasn't just blocking the shots of the 5'3 guards,  but was literally rejecting shots from centers and power forwards.   Tatum is one of the best shot blocking guards I've seen in the State in several years.  Her rejection-skills are even better in transition defense.  With a running start,  Tatum uses her athleticism and vertical jump to handle business.  Blocking shots is just one facet of her defensive game.  The elite defender Tatum can flat out fly on the court and has great speed running frontwards, backwards, or laterally.  Tatum also has lightening quick hands to steal or deflect passes and she can also play the passing lanes.   The skillset is off the chain,  and she has a great basketball IQ and anticipation on top of all of the tangibles.    [player_tooltip player_id='331729' first='Azzariah' last='Styles'] plays with athleticism, aggression, and speed and can flat out ball on the defensive end. Her on-ball defensive skills are impressive. If you are the opposing guard, It's tough bringing the ball up the court and having to exhaust a lot of energy just to get the ball across half court. Styles also makes it hard for the opposing guard to drive the lane. She will be out there balling this live period and defending Florida. As charismatic as she is, she will be defending with “Style”.   [player_tooltip player_id='346835' first='Jaida' last='Civil'] does a lot of things well on a court, and playing defense is an another tool in her bag. She has great athleticism and can defend vertically and laterally. Civil can clamp down on an opponent, stopping them from driving and cutting off their driving angles and passing angles. She makes plays on the ball, and she is equally dangerous when playing off the ball and hawking the passing lanes. Great vision, anticipation, and speed leads to easy transition baskets for Civil.   [player_tooltip player_id='219956' first='Jaeden' last='Williams'] plays defense with passion and gets in the opponent's “grill.”.  She plays hard, has quick feet and the speed to stay in front of defenders and can cut off driving lanes.   In every game, she plays with a lot of speed and energy.   She has the ability to create turnovers and take it back to the house or dish it to some of the best shooters in the 2026 class.     [player_tooltip player_id='514522' first='Morgan' last='Cremen'] led an entire county in steals when she was just a Freshman,  and as a Sophomore she ranked 11th in the State of Florida amongst all Sophomores.  Cremen is a thief on the court and a lot of her steals come from just taking the ball from the ball handler.  She also plays the passing lanes well and gets tons of takeaways in that manner.   [player_tooltip player_id='515069' first='Erynn' last='Moffett'] can put that defensive pressure on a player like a hawk.   Her gifts of speed, quickness, and strength allow her to play on the ball or off the ball with success.  Against guards,  she uses her athleticism and quickness to keep them in check.  She can also body up forwards and play physical and get to the rebound.      [player_tooltip player_id='664264' first='Zion' last='McRae'] has the quickness and speed to really play some good defense.   Her ability to get low and move laterally makes it very challenging for opposing guards to get by.  She can prevent  the opposing guards from getting to the rim with her speed and quick feet.    She gets steals on the ball and also in the passing lanes.   One of her strengths is how she can turn a steal into a transition basket.   McCray is athletic and has a great instincts and instincts and a  determination to be great.    She always  displays this lethal combination on the defensive end.   She also score the ball from the point guard position as well.    [player_tooltip player_id='873423' first='Mya' last='Drake'] made a fan out not me at first site.  The way she can lock down an opposing guard is special.   I was listening  to some announcers who were covering her game and they were marveling at this Drake kid playing defense.   I zeroed in and saw those quick feet and great lateral movement, and that fire that the good ones have on the inside.   Drake stood out in a showcase full of some of Florida's best.     [player_tooltip player_id='346822' first='Lamiyah' last='Hogans'] is that long lengthy guard you put on the opposing teams's point guard to just break up a team's rhythm and flow.   Hogans moves her feet well and has long arms that she uses to prevent  a guard from penetrating to the rim and from making a comfortable pass.   Hogans can also play off the ball and plays the passing lanes very well.   She also has the ability to bait a guard into throwing a pass and then intercepting it  and taking it to the house.  She is one of the best guards  turning a steal into a bucket.  Hogans produces considerably on the defensive end and in transition . She can finish with the best of them- with the left or right hand.     [player_tooltip player_id='743362' first='Lavin' last='Savage'] is a defender who gives it 100 percent on defense and can cover an opponent for all 94 feet and then come back with the same energy on offense. Like a Savage predator, she preys on loose ball handlers and lazy passes. I sat beside a college coach who had strong praise for Savage's defense - the effort and the execution.   [player_tooltip player_id='514608' first='Evelyn' last='Freeman'] is another guard who hawks the ball like no other. Her on-ball skills are very elite. Freeman plays on ball defense, in the passing lanes, and great help side defense. She is the best at hiding behind the trees and just when you think it's safe to pass or dribble, she intercepts the pass or takes the ball away and lays it up for the score.   [player_tooltip player_id='805961' first='Jazlynn' last='Curtis'] might be the strongest guard on this list and her quickness and physicality is unmatched. Curtis is a very good on ball defender and her physical style of play wears an opponent down over the course of a contest. She has good hands , good speed and moves very well laterally. She is a defensive nightmare.