The Smoke: 16U Guards with Upside

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grassroots held "The Smoke" live period tournament at Grand Valley State University and other nearby high schools from May 16th to 18th. The tournament featured a variety of clubs and college coaches from multiple states in attendance. Here are a few 2027 guards who showed potential that caught my eye on Saturday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["903469"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1248836,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682d17715ebae"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kaitlyn was a sharpshooter for [program_tooltip program_id='713450' first='REAL' last=''] 16U at The Smoke. She showed accuracy and confidence from different spots, firing from a balanced setup, with a high arc on her shots. Kaitlyn buried triples with a quick release off the hop from up top, the wing, and the corner. She dished good hammer passes down the baseline, grabbed steals, and secured rebounds. Kaitlyn drained another long jumper from the corner and looks like a solid guard prospect with length. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1248210"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1248843,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682d17715ec28"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jayden was a facilitator with [program_tooltip program_id='713450' first='REAL' last=''] 16U who caught my attention at the Smoke. One of her trademarks during the game was using no-look passes to set teammates up for open shots. She made an excellent dump-off pass to a teammate when the defense committed to her drive. Jayden buried a corner triple, talked on defense, and pushed the ball confidently with both hands in transition. She caught a pass in stride up top and swished a floater with excellent touch in the paint. Jayden plays hard on both ends and has the qualities coaches look for in a lead guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1248848,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1248206' first='Paula' last='Cano'] Landaida","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Spain","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='713450' first='REAL' last='']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682d17715ecd2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Paula was a scrappy guard I enjoyed watching with [program_tooltip program_id='713450' first='REAL' last=''] 16U at the Smoke. She split defenders with a quick downhill drive and finished the play with a strong and-one layup. Paula worked hard for rebounds, grabbed steals, and forced a jump ball. She showed her determination by fighting through a trap before dishing a bounce pass on the money for an assist. Paula is a foreign exchange student from Spain.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["928013"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1248852,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682d17715ed31"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sienna was an elusive guard for Mystics 16U Gillett at The Smoke. She used a shot-fake with a crossover dribble to create space to drill a pull-up jumper on the wing and went back to old reliable again to swish another pull-up jumper. Sienna changed directions with a shifty crossover spin dribble combo to sink a contested floater and caused steals on defense. Her handles and confident shooting gave the team a boost--she'll be a breakout candidate for Bedford this winter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1248385"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1248857,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682d17715ed89"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Amiya is an athletic guard, and she showed her upside on Saturday for Mystics 2027 Chosen. She attacked gaps with her dribble and drove hard to the basket, dropping in a soft floater. Amiya swiped the ball away on defense and pushed the ball in top gear down the court to score a fast break layup. She pursued her missed shot, secured the rebound, and finished the put-back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->