Sunshine State Showdown: Great Guards Galore

Guard play in basketball, especially in travel ball, is the bigger factor in determining who wins games. They have the basketball in their hands for the vast majority of the game, so the decisions they make are critical to their team's success. These guards had stellar tournaments overall and look great heading into the live period in just a couple weeks. If they continue to play like they did this past weekend, then they will have no problem drawing interest and receiving offers from college programs across the country.    Victoria had a very solid weekend playing for the Miami Suns. I saw her score in impressive fashion in multiple games at the Insider Exposure Thanksgiving Classic in Jacksonville earlier in the scholastic season. Her role this weekend was a little different as she shared the backcourt with Jada Clardy and Jalynn Belton, both very talented in their own right. Valle ran the point guard position when those two got hot scoring the ball and did a nice job facilitating the offense and deliver passes on time and in the pocket for her hot shooters to continue scoring and keep them in a close game against All Iowa Attack. Valle was excellent as usual on defense and plays with a very high IQ. She has already scored 2,000 points in nigh school so I knew she was a capable scorer. It was a very nice surprise to see her more as a lead guard, where she led her team vocally and handled the ball with great efficiency.     It was no surprise to see Mac transition her excellent play from an outstanding Junior season flawlessly into travel ball with Essence 17u Purple EYBL. Williams put up video game numbers in several games this season for Woodward in emphatic style. She is an elite scorer from all three levels and that was on full display as Essence took down All Iowa Attack. She scored from behind the three point line several times, both off the catch and dribble. She also caught and converted several quick, short passes in the paint on the break and finished smoothly from 3-5 feet. Williams is an excellent ball handler who will flash her skill and a little swagger with it from time to time. She rebounds the ball very well for a guard and she has the quickness to be an elite defender. Williams is a player who could blow up this Summer and come back with more respect on her name and her game. Something I think she definitely deserves.     Wilson was like a flash moving rapidly from spot to spot with the basketball making it almost impossible for one defender to stay in front of her. Particularly evasive with momentum and a head of steam going downhill with the ball, Wilson can also disappear from in front of defenders in a flash while running her team's offense. Paris is quick as a cat on the move, but her hands are equally as fast enabling her to push the ball with pace and hit open teammates in very small windows. Wilson is a very capable scorer herself both on the inside and the perimeter. Once Paris gets around the initial defender, she becomes a real problem knocking down midrange jumpers, finishing at the rim, or kicking the ball out to a teammate for three. Wilson herself is a capable shooter from three making her one of the better young point guards in Georgia. I will see her several more times this Spring and Summer and look forward to doing so.     Rhodes came off the bench for All Iowa Attack in game one, but played so well that she ended starting for her team in game two. She was instant energy and a game changer when she checked in grabbing an offensive rebound and knocking down a corner three within seconds. She was able to add another three offensive rebounds in the game to go along with several steals. The biggest play she made was right before the half, where the southpaw caught the ball on the right wing, made a quick move, and then drove left before hitting a floater in the paint as time expired in the first half. Rhodes excellent play continued throughout the tournament with similar contributions scoring and rebounding. Her quickness changed the game on both ends as she was a nuisance to ball handlers with her pressure and pushed the ball on the break at every chance on the offensive end. Overall I thought Rhodes was excellent attacking the basket, pushing pace, knocking down open shots, and being a disruptor on defense.     I saw Team Genesis play a couple times over the weekend, including a huge win over Duval Elite in overtime. Hall, not surprisingly, was Genesis's best player and huge reason why they won the game. Hall is another player I saw in Jacksonville at Thanksgiving and came away very impressed with her game after going head to head for most of that game with Jada Clardy. Hall has a very good handle with the ball using deception and intelligence to keep defenders guessing what she will do next. Offensively, she is a very skilled kid who can create space to get her shot off just about anytime. However, she plays with a high level of maturity and value for the basketball so the few risks she takes are calculated. She functions brilliantly as the go-to scorer for her team, running and curling off screens, popping out on pin downs, and stay in constant motion. Hall is an excellent shooter from the perimeter making her even more difficult to guard with one player. Hall scored in a variety of ways versus Duval Elite including an offensive rebound and put back on the break, picking the pocket of an opposing guard and going in for an uncontested lay up, and the game winning basket with very little time left.     I came away as impressed with Ketterhagen as anyone I watched over the weekend. She is in constant motion with or without the ball and moves with purpose. She is a very athletic player who slashed her way to the basket repeatedly and either finished with a kickoff pass for three, scored at the rim or pulling up just short. On one play versus White Tiger Elite, AIA had the ball baseline out of bounds and the pass went to Kinsley on the wing. She made one quick, decisive move, blew by the defender and scored. She hit multiple threes throughout the tournament from the top of the key, wings, and corners. She also accumulated a high number of offensive rebounds and steals with her effort and energy. Kinsley was direct with the ball and she got where she wanted to go the most efficient way possible consistently. She stood out to me in a game full of future division one players. I look forward to watching her play (with a lot of confidence) again.     Furgess had to be one of the players of the tournament as she was a vital part of [program_tooltip program_id='713492' first='[program_tooltip program_id='713452' first='FBC' last='']' last='Legacy']'s, success leaving the Sunshine State Showdown as 17U Coral Bracket Champions. She is the unquestioned leader of that group and a good one. Furgess controlled tempo and did a nice spreading the ball around to her talented teammates while facilitating the offense. When Legacy needed it, Devin stepped up in a major way hitting big shot after big shot. She shot the ball very well from the perimeter and was able to use her elite ball handling to evade defenders while attacking the basket. This was one of the best events from start to finish that I have seen her play in. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the very talented '29 point guard and Legacy.

Guard play in basketball, especially in travel ball, is the bigger factor in determining who wins games. They have the basketball in their hands for the vast majority of the game, so the decisions they make are critical to their team's success. These guards had stellar tournaments overall and look great heading into the live period in just a couple weeks. If they continue to play like they did this past weekend, then they will have no problem drawing interest and receiving offers from college programs across the country.