2025 Rankings Update: Top Point Guards

This past season, freshmen shined throughout the state of Kentucky. To give you some insight into the talent in the class of 2025, only 16 teams in Kentucky make the state tournament and only 14 players are named to the All-Tournament team and yet, 4 freshmen made this year's All-Tournament team, including the player that was named the MVP of the tournament. Oh and it was a freshman who won Kentucky's 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year award, but that's just some of the ways that the class of 2025 shined throughout this season. Let's take a look at some of the freshmen that stood out this season, starting with the top 2025 point guards in Kentucky. <b>[player_tooltip player_id="254285" first="Skylar" last="Waller"] </b>| Marshall County Waller might be a freshman, but you'd only know that by looking at a roster because she certainly doesn't play like a freshman. She is the complete package as a point guard. She's a natural scorer and finishes really well around the basket. Waller is a great ball handler and once she gets half a step past her defender, you better watch out because she's a phenomenal driver. She can finish with contact or on 2-3 defenders like it's easy. She finishes in a variety of ways and with both hands too so it's hard for a defender to determine what she'll do next. She also draws fouls when she gets into the paint and finished as the #1 free throw shooter in the state this year. She's a really good shooter from anywhere on the court as well. Threads the needle perfectly and throws some amazing passes. Defensively, she has such a high basketball IQ that she uses to lure passes and comes up with a ton of steals because of it. <b>[player_tooltip player_id="295768" first="Alyssa" last="Murphy"]</b> | Mercy Murphy's game is so smooth. Her handles are elite and she is fearless on the floor. She has great court awareness and finds the weaknesses in a defense. Excellent passer. She makes some really good moves with the ball as well. She can go straight off the dribble into a pull-up jumper and Murphy is a great shooter. She elevates to get her shot off and has really deep range from deep. She has a knack for getting to the rim and drawing fouls, and she is a top 20 free throw shooter in the state. On the other end, she's really good as a defender, both on and off the ball.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Her basketball IQ is so high that she really excels on both ends of the floor. I'd expect Murphy to add more D1 offers to her bag throughout this spring and summer.</span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="310827" first="Aniyah" last="Carter"]</b> | Lloyd Memorial Carter is an excellent defender. She has active hands and she comes up with a lot of steals both on and off of the ball. She also is a good floor general. She's got good handles and her hesitations are very effective. She's quick and can get into the paint. Carter is a good passer and has the tools to be a great shooter as well. Lloyd Memorial graduates 2 of their top 3 scorers this year, so I'd expect to see a big jump in Carter's scoring next season as she takes more shots in the Juggernauts offense.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="254280" first="Jayci" last="Long"]</b> | Estill County Long is a strong guard. She's got great range on her shot and she catches ready to fire. She's a really good shooter on the outside. She reads the passing lanes really well and she puts herself in the correct help defense positions and comes up with steals. When she gets a steal, she reads the defense well on fast breaks and makes good decisions on when to pass and when to take it herself. She isn't afraid to be physical and when she draws fouls, she is an excellent free throw shooter. In fact, she finished in the top 15 in Kentucky for free throw percentage this year. As she continues to become a better finisher, you'll see her averages soar and they were already impressive as a freshman (12.1 PPG and 4.6 RPG). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="304633" first="Alexia" last="Baldock"]</strong> | Lincoln County Baldock can put a lot of pressure on the offense. She's fast and she really moves her feet on the defensive end. She comes up with a lot of steals both on and off of the ball. She's got good ball handling and passing skills. Very quick with the ball. Baldock has excellent follow through on her shot and she's got pretty good range from deep. She's got great shot fakes and a good pull-up shot. She can also get to the rim and doesn't shy away from contact. The freshman makes some really good moves going to the basket as well.