Building The Perfect Point Guard

The point guard position at the college level requires several tasks to be performed at a high level if they want to see their team succeed as a whole. The best floor generals combine Leadership, Ball-Handling, Decision-Making, Court Vision, Passing, Perimeter Shooting, Finishing and the ability to create advantages for their teammates.   In the piece below we take separate pieces of each player's game and combined them together to create what I would call, The Perfect Point Guard, built out of prospects who we will see up close and in person once again this Winter season.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Leadership & Game Management   The leadership, game management, and overall attitude that Croatt competes with every time she takes the hardwood should be noticed by all of her peers. She is the shining example of what it means to lead by example, no matter who is placed around her or what system her team is running at that time. She plays with a chip on her shoulder attitude and it's always been that way. The difference is that most prospects at this age get upset and they become frustrated, which makes them worse for at lease the rest of that contest but not Croatt. When she is upset she takes things up a notch and really shows that she is the most dominant on the floor when the rock is in her possession. That's why she is the right fit for the Leadership & Game Management spot within this piece.     Ball Handling   Worley has been one of the smoothest PG's that the state of Iowa has had to offer for three years now at the high school level. Ever since middle school Worley has had one of the cleanest handles that the state has to offer at her position. She is the definition of shifty, while being able to attack the defense going either direction off the bounce. If no one of the opposing team steps up, she could dribble through all five defenders with ease and that's talking about both in the half court and full courts. From there, it's her choice on where she wants to take the play. She can score it herself or she can find an open teammate. We have seen both over the years at a steady rate.     Decision-Making   Each time we have watched Savanna Wright perform over the year's she has been someone that her team can look to in big moments to make the right decisions. When the clock is dwindling down and all the pressure is on the team on offense to make a play, that's when Wright steps in and makes sure that she sets up her teammates for success in one way or another. Wright might not always show up as the biggest scoring threat as a PG but that's okay. The way that she can make plays for others is going to get her a D1 scholarship at the end of the day and really what more can you ask for?     Court Vision & Passing   Addie McLaughlin passes the eye test as PG #1 on any team she competes with if you sit down to watch her for just five minutes of competitive play but her numbers over her career also back up that same statement. McLaughlin is a D1 level player with elite vision down the floor. Not only is she good at getting her head up and seeing the play unfold before it actually does. She is also extremely good at passing to open spots, leading her teammate into the play in those moments. There has only been a handful of players over my scouting career in Iowa that have had this ability and those players all end up at D1 programs at the collegiate level. I'm not trying to say anything but if that's any foreshadowing McLaughlin will be lock in with a D1 program before you know it.     Perimeter Shooting & Paint Touches   If you take a deep dive into this group of six players Jhaliana Guy would be labeled the best three point shooter and the best offensive option overall. First let's touch on the three point shooting ability - Guy is the type that is going to live and die by the three-ball some games and that is because she is such a high level shooter. She is going to have days where she might hit 10 throughout a contest if she just happens to be feeling herself. She can hit these shots from ANY distance you want, even including the parking lot on some occasions. Second - she is someone that can get paint touches at Will and that is extremely important. That means she can handle past any defender and break down the defense as a whole from the middle of the floor. When you have that ability, the game becomes really fun out there and we see that each time Guy takes the floor.     Size & Finishing Ability   Do not get it mixed up. Emily Tanny is a heck of a prospect at the PG position, who could have been placed at any spot in this article but she has the best natural size by FAR at 6'1 and that size helps her handle her opponents with ease a majority of the time. There aren't too many 6'1 players out there in general at any position in this game right now throughout Iowa. When you pair that height with someone who understands the game at a high level and who has athletic ability, you see the promise within the production. Whenever Tanny has a mismatch on her, she can easily take them to the Post to finish over the top. She has all the tools to thrive in those situations and we saw that multiple times at the end of her Freshman year. That's why Tanny takes our Size & Finishing Ability spot in this piece. She checks off a lot of boxes that college evaluators have. These just happen to be two of them.

The point guard position at the college level requires several tasks to be performed at a high level if they want to see their team succeed as a whole. The best floor generals combine Leadership, Ball-Handling, Decision-Making, Court Vision, Passing, Perimeter Shooting, Finishing and the ability to create advantages for their teammates.