TN's Best of the Best: '26 Guards

Really enjoy watching her play! Routh does things on the floor most kids can't imagine. Elite vision both in transition and in the half court. Can throw cross court darts most HS kids can't. Has developed into a high level 3 point shooter, and will pull if you put your hands down. Is a very effective ball handler that uses nice shiftiness and changes in speed to get defenders off balance. Crafty finisher at the rim.     Barnes has turned herself into a D1 guard this summer (she now has multiple D1 offers). The Coffee County star has a great sophomore season, and an even better summer. Barnes doesn't force the issue, and simply lets the game come to her. She quietly goes about her business, in the flow of the game, and ends up with 17 points. Tight handles and growing game as a playmaker. Rebounds well from her position. Big time on the ball defender.     Shepherd is full of contagious energy on both ends of the floor. I was initially blown away by how hard she defended on the ball. She can be disruptive with a nice mixture of quick feet, hands, athleticism, and want to. Offensively she's a really nice playmaker. Big time shooter, but also looks to get in the paint and create opportunities at the rim for herself or teammates. Nice vision and passing. Really tough when she breaks loose in transition.     Gamble impacts the game not just on both sides of the ball, but across the entire stat sheet. She does a bit of everything: she's turned herself into a big time shoot, creates for others off the bounce, and rebounds well from the guard position. She's also an elite level defender. She quietly had a huge year for Clinton last season, and is just getting better and better.     Dunn is one of the best guards in the state that I don't hear referenced often. She's one of the best passing PGs I've seen, and takes pride in making her teammates better. She averaged 10 points and 4 assists a game for a good South Gibson team. The biggest number, for me, is her 90! made threes. That number is HUGE, and so is her upside.   Watch her play and you'll see she does a great job keeping her hands and feet ready to shoot, and she's hunting for threes at all times. Her teammates WANT to create these shots for her which says a lot. Impactful defender as well.       Morris is an absolute star in her role at Brentwood as a "connector" role player. Look at the these numbers:   9.7ppg   83 made 3's   40% from 3   82% FT   2nd Team All-District   Morris has learned how to play of [player_tooltip player_id='409017' first='Ella' last='Ryan'] perfectly. When they help too much off Morris, she makes them pay. I was really impressed with Morris' passing vision as well, as she made her teammates better all season. She averaged almost 3 assists a game. Just a really good overall team player.