Akiem’s Long Island 2026 Guards to Watch (Part 1)

September has transitioned to October. Summer has transitioned to Fall and, soon, the high school sports calendar will soon have basketball as one of its marquee athletic offerings.    Last month, we at Prep Girls Hoops New York spotlighted a number of the standout seniors across Long Island that are sure to draw plenty of headlines over the next several months. Now, we turn our attention to the junior class across the counties of Nassau and Suffolk.    We will begin with a few articles that put a lens on star point and shooting guards then will work our way into the frontcourt. Here is a look at a few junior guards to keep an eye on this season.    We begin with the nationally-recognized program that is Long Island Lutheran. What makes McDonald a particularly intriguing prospect is that she stands at 5-foot-11. Conventional wisdom tells us that is a height usually reserved for threes, fours and fives, but McDonald thrives in the one and two role. During the spring and summer months, she has played at the club level with XGen Elite. McDonald has plenty of speed and can get from the open floor to the rim in a quick amount of time. Add in ball-handling capabilities plus an ability to set up an offense in the halfcourt plus floor-running abilities and one can see that she will be a great fit at LuHi.      The list of accomplishments that Solomon has earned since her tenure with the Gaels began reads like a what's what. This includes winning a state championship in her freshman season when St. Mary's defeated Nichols by a final score of 66-49. Last season, Solomon reached the 1,000-point plateau in her sophomore season. She then turned in an impressive campaign on the club circuit with [program_tooltip program_id='714728' first='Riverside' last='Hawks'] and is more than poised for even bigger things this coming season. There is a reason as to why Solomon is in our top 10 of our latest Prep Girls Hoops rankings for juniors.      Abrahams' Portledge assembling played three contests in 2023-24 against Martin Luther. The Panthers were victorious in all three contests. In one of those – a 70-26 result in early January – Abrahams dropped 37 points (a season-high). She is also a multi-sport athlete who has showcased what she can do in the track and field realm in addition to her basketball achievements. A former LuHi product herself, she has also assumed team captaincy duties throughout her time at Portledge. Her time as a AAU athlete has included stints with [program_tooltip program_id='714714' first='Long' last='Island Renegades'] and [program_tooltip program_id='714716' first='New' last='Heights'] NYC where she played on its 14U team.     The same that applies to McDonald also applies to Jones as she is a six-foot guard. Again – that height is typically reserved for centers and power forwards at most programs, but Long Island Lutheran is a different type of program. Her AAU career includes stints with Team Northeast, [program_tooltip program_id='714714' first='Long' last='Island Renegades'] and Team Exodus. What does Ohio State, Arizona State, St. John's, Syracuse, Michigan, Pitt, Harvard, Michigan State, Columbia, Purdue and Maryland all have in common? All have extended offers to Jones throughout her stellar high school career. LuHi is a very good program to establish a national profile at and Jones has succeeded in doing exactly that.

September has transitioned to October. Summer has transitioned to Fall and, soon, the high school sports calendar will soon have basketball as one of its marquee athletic offerings.