Cherokee Invitational: Elite Young Guards

If you are playing in the top bracket as an underclassman in this tournament, then you have some game. These players stood out against top tier competition in a big-time event. All are talented and play with a maturity beyond their years.    Maliha had an exceptional game against the defending state champions in North Carolina from Lake Norman and proved why she is one of the best guards in the sophomore class in Georgia. Harris is an excellent shooter from deep and when the defense closed used shot fakes consistently to get around them to score. She was especially effective taking one or two dribbles after the fake to get to the elbow or rim. Harris plays with a lot of poise. Harris did a nice job of creating her own shot without forcing bad ones or turning the ball over. Defenders from Lake Norman had a hard time staying in front of Harris as she utilized a number of impressive offensive moves off the dribble.     Smith is a coach's dream at the point guard position. She does an excellent job running the offense and distributing the ball to her teammates but is also a very capable scorer herself. Smith plays the game with composure and high basketball intelligence. She does a great getting to her spots and when she does, she is very difficult to stop. She uses angles and her strength to create the space needed to get her shot off. She was very good shooting the 15-18 footer and equally effective getting to the basket. Smith did a good job drawing fouls and making her free throws.     Braalyn proved once again she can take over a game quickly using her elite athleticism and track star speed. Multiple times in the game she picked the ballhandlers pocket or jumped in the passing lane before flying past everyone on the court and laying the ball up. She is a threat from three point range, especially in catch and shoot situations. Whitehead is very comfortable and good shooting the ball from the elbow as well. Whitehead also got in the paint and competed with much bigger players for rebounds and came away with some herself. She gave Archer a big spark in the game when they needed it.     Gillespie showed no fear going to the basket and taking contact from post players throughout the game. She used shot fakes and quick moves with her dribble to bypass defenders. Multiple trips on offense for Lanier ended with her on the ground and headed to the free throw line where she shot the ball well. Gillespie plays with a lot of toughness and grit. She moved very well without the ball and when she got it was looking to attack early and often. Smith showed good vision making good feeds to the post and skip passes to open shooters.     Salvadore did a good job using her speed and quickness pushing the ball in transition and getting to the basket for South Forsyth as well as knocking down open jump shots. She is strong with the ball and did a good job against pressure in multiple games I watched her play. Her team reached the championship game, surprising a lot of people. Salvadore was a big reason why. She got the ball to her teammates that were closely guarded, especially '29 star [player_tooltip player_id='991134' first='Carib' last='Morris']. Salvadore also used her speed and quickness on the defensive end harassing players with the ball and creating turnovers.

If you are playing in the top bracket as an underclassman in this tournament, then you have some game. These players stood out against top tier competition in a big-time event. All are talented and play with a maturity beyond their years.