Top Guards in the Olympic Conference for 2021-22 season

We are finally in December which means the 2021-22 New Jersey high school girls basketball season is just days away. Tryouts are mostly completed and practices are already taking place as everyone gets ready to compete for state supremacy this winter. It’s now time for us here at Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey to talk about the best players to watch out for this season as we did with our prospect rankings articles. Make sure to check them out if you haven’t yet. We’ll be previewing the best players across the state to watch out for as the season gets ready and to start, let’s take a trip down to South Jersey and the Olympic Conference to preview the best guards for this season. There’s plenty of great talent to choose from, so here’s a few to keep a close eye on. Jane Trauger - Eastern Trauger is one of the main guards, if not the main guard Eastern has coming into this season, and her spring season was solid. In 13 games, she averaged 8.5 PPG, 3.5 APG and 2.3 SPG as the Vikings went 11-4. This is a senior-heavy team and Trauger is one of a number of guards returning to this team, one that saw losses for its forwards coming into the year. That likely means Maya Edwards will slot into more of a forward role and Trauger will lead from the point once again. She looks comfortable in that role and should be dominant this season, her senior season at Eastern. [player_tooltip player_id="134645" first="Hannah" last="Hidalgo"] - Paul VI Hidalgo, simply put, is one of the top 5 players in the state and one of the best 2023 prospects in the nation. She has everything you look for in a guard and a superstar: agility and speed, shooting, aggression, finesse and confidence. Hidalgo really came into her own as a sophomore, averaging over 20.0 PPG for the Eagles this spring. Having fielded a number of big time Division 1 offers already, the number is going to skyrocket as a full season this year will help showcase her talents to the country. Expect nothing but another standout year from Hidalgo this winter. Carly Serlenga - Bishop Eustace Serlenga had her breakout year as a junior, averaging 7.5 PPG and knocking down nearly 1.3 three-pointers a game in the spring. She was a major catalyst for Bishop Eustace’s success on the year and with Katie Kempter graduating in the spring, the perimeter now belongs to Serlenga, returning as the leading scorer and three-point shooter for the Crusaders. While teams will put her on notice during the year, Serlenga is going to get plenty of opportunities beyond the arc and should be one of the best three-point shooters in the conference when all is said and done. [player_tooltip player_id="321572" first="Avery" last="Kessler"] - Shawnee Kessler found an opportunity at Shawnee after transferring from Cherokee and took full advantage of it, becoming a standout presence for the Renegades. The added playing time allowed her to come into her own, averaging 13.0 PPG as a sophomore along with making two three-pointers a game over the season. Those numbers play over a full season and Shawnee has transformed itself into a formidable opponent for the winter. Kessler is a big reason why the Renegades aren’t a team to take lightly this year and after her numbers as a sophomore, the sky is the limit for the final two years of her high school career. [player_tooltip player_id="155448" first="Kassidy" last="Thompson"] - Camden Catholic Thompson was another player who benefitted from a transfer, coming over from Clearview along with teammate [player_tooltip player_id="134752" first="Aaryn" last="Battle"]. Both were excellent at Clearview, but once they came over to Camden Catholic, they were able to flip the script for the Irish and immediately were the best two players on the team. Thompson, in particular, averaged 18.5 PPG in nine games last season and was as dominant as they come in the guard position. She has high expectations entering what is anticipated to be a full season, but she’s already shown that she can go toe-to-toe with anyone.