An Early Look: 2024 2-Guards
The Fall rankings season is upon us, and Tuesday we expanded our online list of 2024 prospects from 60 to 80 girls, creating a Top-10 list to highlight those who have stood out in the short time we’ve gotten to…
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Continue ReadingThe Fall rankings season is upon us, and Tuesday we expanded our online list of 2024 prospects from 60 to 80 girls, creating a Top-10 list to highlight those who have stood out in the short time we’ve gotten to know their games. Below we specifically look at some of the 2-guard prospects in the 2024 class who have either (a) made the Top-10, (b) seen their stock rising because of their Summer play, or (c) are making their first appearance on our 2024 watch list.
HEAD OF THE CLASS
If you have had time to check out our new Top-10 list in 2024, you’ll notice there is a strong influence of guards and wings. Right now four 2-guards find themselves at the head of the class, including Chloe Spreen Chloe Spreen 5'10" | SG Bedford North Lawrence | 2024 State IN (#1), Alexis Castator Alexis Castator 6'1" | SG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2024 State IN (#3), Allison Caldwell Allison Caldwell 5'11" | SG Zionsville | 2024 State IN (#6), and Joh’nea Donahue Joh’nea Donahue 5'8" | SG Fort Wayne Snider | 2024 State IN (#8). Spreen actually tops our entire list, and the 5-9 combo guard from Bedford North Lawrence has picked up a number of high-major Division-I offers in the last few months. She is a really nice, fluid athlete with good length, she plays with an outstanding motor, and she is a quietly tough kid who always seems to smile her way through the toughest of times. Her skillset is as good as anyone’s in the class, and she applies elite level decision-making and college type moves in live game action with a real smoothness to her game. She can occasionally run offense, but she’s so good attacking the basket and finishing, or burying shots outside with good range. Castator isn’t far behind, and she has earned rave reviews based on her play and potential as a sizeable guard/wing at such a young age. The 6-0 Fort Wayne Carroll prospect has an already-strong frame, she’s a nice athlete in most directions, but it’s her high skill level and understanding of the game that stand out. She did miss a good portion of the Summer, especially early on, so she doesn’t have quite as much film available to coaches at this time, but I assure you she will draw her share of college recruiters soon enough. Look for her to play a lot early for the Chargers this season.
There seems to be a trend at this position, as Caldwell is another very cerebral, savvy, and skillful guard who simply out-executes her opponents each time out. The 5-9 guard from Zionsville has good length and a smooth floor game. She seems to make the correct decisions with the ball nearly every possession, but she can also slice to the basket and finish or bury shots with range from around the perimeter. I don’t know that I’d call her an elite on-ball defender, but she is heady/aware and always in good position to take advantage of an errant pass or a sloppy ball-handler. Donahue might be the real sleeper of the group, as I’m guessing less people statewide are aware of her than the other three. At 5-8, she is a really nice athlete, a fairly tough-nosed kid, and she plays with a good motor. She can handle and occasionally initiate the offense, but she’s such a good scorer, and she seems to take care of the ball very well. She picks her spots to drive, and she can make shots outside consistently but doesn’t force. I think as her game and skillset continue to grow, she will become more of a combo guard and possibly a point guard, but she is certainly a part of an exciting young backcourt at Fort Wayne Snider.
STOCK-RISERS
Another pair of guards who I thought really played well this Summer/Fall when I was able to see them are Joirdyn Smith Joirdyn Smith 5'4" | CG Fishers | 2024 State IN of Fishers and Aubrie Booker Aubrie Booker 5'8" | CG Center Grove | 2024 State IN of Center Grove. Smith isn’t very tall at around 5-2, but she is extremely strong for her size/age, quick, fast, and fairly athletic. She has a really nice skillset that she works on regularly, and her ball skill is that of a point guard. But this kid is programmed to fill it up and really score. She can get to the basket and finish through contact, often times scoring it over, around, and through players much taller and longer. She has a solid mid-range game as well, plus she can knock down the occasional 3-pointer when she is set and in rhythm. Defensively, she can use her quickness and strength to defend the ball at all spots on the floor. Booker is another nice combo guard, but of a different ilk. She is about 5-7, long, wiry strong, and a really nice North/South athlete. She is best making plays out in transition, where she can attack the basket off of a single dribble-move in the open floor. But I felt like as the Summer wore on, her ability to read defenses and play with efficiency in the half-court really improved. She is a solid perimeter shooter, but her game is to the rim right now. I also like her versatility defensively, as she’s solid on the ball, good one pass away, really nice in traps, plus she rebounds her position well.
NEWCOMERS
As we expanded our 2024 watch list by 20 prospects, three of the newcomers are 2-guards. Brynlee Perkins of Eastern Greene, Alivia Elmore Alivia Elmore 5'8" | SF Jennings County | 2024 State IN of Jennings County, and Annika Davis Annika Davis 5'8" | PG Bishop Luers | 2024 State IN of Fort Wayne South Side are new to the list, and deservingly so. The 5-7 Perkins is a really nice athlete with length, and she has good North/South speed. She can put it on the floor and attack the basket straight-line, plus she has some touch around the perimeter. When she’s set and in rhythm, she’s going to put major pressure on the defense, opening up driving lanes, plus she can also slide over and run offense on occasion. She uses her athleticism and length well defensively, and she’s a passionate/emotional player who will work and get after it.
Elmore is another energetic young prospect who flies around the floor in all directions. The 5-8 guard has length, wiry strength, and she can score it at all three levels. I really like her ability to get inside and finish, plus she has a nice mid-range pull-up in her arsenal. She’ll actively defend multiple types of players, and she only knows one speed right now. As she learns how to sense tone and pick her spots, look for her to be an even bigger threat as a multilevel scorer. As for Davis, the 5-5 combo guard possesses a great deal of upside. The Summit City is blessed with a great deal of talent in 2024, and Davis certainly displays a high level of athleticism, good skill and awareness, and a really nice motor. She has a wiry strong frame, good length, some bounce, but speed and quickness as well. She is an attacker off the bounce, but she takes care of the ball fairly well and can act as a game manager at the point on occasion. I also love the fact that she plays as hard/harder at the defensive end of the floor, which will fit in nicely in the Archers system at South Side.