Under-the-Radar 2023 Guards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are so many guards at this level sometimes talented kids can slip through the cracks. Today, I want to highlight some 2023s you may not think of as being elite but are effective in their ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='342104' first='Brianna' last='McCurdy']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The St. Croix Falls guard probably had the most dominant sectional semifinal performance last season. McCurdy finished that game shooting eight of 14 with 29 points to send the Saints to their first ever State Tournament. She's part of a productive duo with 6-foot forward [player_tooltip player_id='342357' first='Kelsey' last='Cooper']. I think the way McCurdy uses screens and times her passes to perfection gets the most out of herself and Cooper, which makes the Saints a challenging team to defend. Watch out for the Saints to make another deep run this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156094' first='Hattie' last='Fox']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5-foot-10 guard does an excellent job influencing every aspect of the game. She can defend, initiate the offense, shoot, rebound, and fit in multiple roles. She doesn't play on an overly competitive Osceola team, but her numbers speak for themselves. She scores over 21 points per game, grabs 9.2 rebounds, and earns more than three steals per game. With her size and efficiency numbers, she has plenty of room to grow and should draw interest from schools in her senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='264957' first='Olivia' last='Close']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love how versatile Close's scoring is. She can score at all three levels and uses the threat of her scoring to create for others. Close excels in close quarters and wiggles out of pressure often. When she beats pressures or navigates through traffic in the paint, she can finish around the basket with both hands or find an open teammate spotting up behind the 3-point line. She has counters to most things defenses want to throw at her. That makes her as good as she is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='329581' first='Elly' last='Kohl']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rising senior is another kid who may not play for a state contender, but Kohl is an example of how you can find talent anywhere in Wisconsin. Kohl shot over 41% from the 3-point line last season, but she incorporates much more than shooting into her game. Kohl is a legit 5-foot-9 wing with strength and uses it around the basket to earn points the hard way. Her strength also helps her on the defensive end, where she does a good job keeping quicker guards in front of her by using her strength and taking away her assignments' air space.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->