The Classic: Day-1 Notable Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='751099' first='Mackenzie' last='Collins'] (2027) from Leo High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday, May 15, marked the beginning of the second NCAA "live" period in 2026. Indiana teams are spread throughout the country, so we chose to head to Louisville where there were the greatest number of teams to see. Below is a look at a handful of guard prospects who I felt were also noteworthy based on their play Friday when I was able to see them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["751099"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360a8d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">If there is one thing you can never question about Mackenzie, it is her effort. She flies around the floor, always involving herself with the ball, whether that's offensively or defensively. She uses her length and athleticism well at the defensive end, and she creates a lot of havoc. Offensively, she has worked on her perimeter shot and her handle quite a bit, but she's at her best when she's on attack getting downhill to the rim. She's definitely someone a lot of small colleges should be following this Spring &amp; Summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1137316"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360b0b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ava is someone not many small colleges are aware of, but they should be. She has a solid to strong, athletic frame, nice length, and she moves well in most directions. She is more so smooth than explosive, but she can affect a game at either end of the floor because of it. She is a steady ball-handler and can initiate offense, she can knock down an open rhythm jumper, and she does well absorbing contact upon attack. She also rebounds her position, and she can defend multiple positions equally effectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["751072"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360b61"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jada is someone I have been watching for a while. She has struggled with injuries here and there, but she has always been a heady, crafty, and hard-working point guard prospect who does a nice job of utilizing her strong frame to get into the paint and find teammates. She's also a solid finisher through contact and around length. She's capable of knocking down an open rhythm '3', keeping defenses honest, plus she'll get after it defensively and doesn't mind using her physicality around the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1351133"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360bb1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Masen has had a huge 12-18 months, and hopefully it will pay off for her soon in recruiting. She is a nice, strong athlete, she plays with a good motor, but she also plays under control. She is an effective scorer from all three levels, and she does a nice job of absorbing contact when attacking the basket. Defensively, she's a solid rebounder for a guard, plus she can defend most guards, wings, and even the occasional undersized forward. I think she could be an effective small college scorer after averaging 18.4 points as a Junior this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["915527"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360c00"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Amelia has played well at different points I've seen her this Spring, but I wanted to wait to discuss her, and it felt like now was the right time. She seems to play as hard and care about the game as much as anyone. She is just a gym rat. She battles at both ends of the floor, gets every bit of ability out of herself, and consistently helps her team with a hustle play here or a made shot there. She has skill and can shoot it or run offense, plus she plays with a nice basketball IQ. She should be a small college "culture" type of recruit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["751066"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360c50"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I've seen Havana now a couple of times in the last three weeks, and she has played as well as I can remember over the past couple of years. She is shooting it well, she looks like she is getting rid of it with consistent mechanics, and she is shooting it with range. She has always shown a little shiftiness to her game off the bounce, and that hasn't changed. I am still trying to figure out which position she'll best defend at the next level, because offensively, she has a really nice skillset and basketball IQ, and I think someone could get a steal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1203491"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","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-6a0b89b360cb4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lily is one of a few underclassmen to help Elkhart Christian to two of their best seasons in school history the last couple of years. She has some speed and quickness, she has nice length at her height, and she can play a variety of roles if needed. She has always been a fairly accurate shooter from outside when set and in rhythm, but she can also turn the corner and get through the paint. Friday, she got several easy layups in transition. I'd like to see how she handles playing on the ball a bit more against better guards, because I think she has the skillset, but she has always had PGs alongside her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->