Winter Rankings Review: 2023 Point Guards
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The featured image is of Lailah Hadley Lailah Hadley 5'3" | PG Purdue Polytechnic | 2023 IN (2023) of Purdue Polytechnic High School. Friday, we released the Winter rankings update for the Class of 2023. There were more than 25…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Lailah Hadley Lailah Hadley 5'3" | PG Purdue Polytechnic | 2023 IN (2023) of Purdue Polytechnic High School.
Friday, we released the Winter rankings update for the Class of 2023. There were more than 25 new additions, plus a few players who raised their “stock”, so to speak, so subsequently there was some movement throughout the list. I wanted to take this time to circle back and address all of the ranked prospects, position by position. Below is a look at 33 point guard prospects who make up 13.2% of the rankings this time around, with analysis on a handful to “keep an eye on” detailed at the bottom.
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NEW ADDITIONS:
Claire Ecenbarger Claire Ecenbarger 5'7" | PG Clinton Prairie | 2023 IN , Clinton Prairie – Wiry-strong, fairly athletic, versatile guard. Can attack, shoot, create, and defend.
Karsyn Flowers Karsyn Flowers 5'5" | PG Tecumseh | 2023 IN , Tecumseh – Pass-first lead guard is tough-nosed, hard-working, strong, and skillful/heady.
Katheryn Rutherford Katheryn Rutherford 5'3" | PG Western Boone | 2023 IN , Western Boone – Nice all-around athlete, plays much bigger than she is, and is a creator/distributor.
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KEEP AN EYE ON:
“Bella” has been outstanding this year, and she has needed to at times to help the Lady Dragons to victory. She is closing in on her 1500th point, which should come in their next couple of games. The left-handed lead guard has tremendously improved her scoring consistency the last two seasons, averaging 23.5 points through 14 games this year. She also rebounds the ball (5.7 per game) and creates turnovers (3.0 steals per game) at a high rate, giving her team additional opportunities. Though she has yet to choose a college, she has some top small colleges recruiting her.
The Jeffersonville Lady Red Devils are loaded with guard depth, but Sophia has found a role and is a really nice small college prospect who schools should recruit, if they aren’t already. She is fairly strong, a nice on-the-ground athlete, and she plays with a great motor. She is steady with the ball in her hands, finds open teammates consistently, plus she is a capable perimeter shooter who can keep defenses honest when they help off of her. I also like her grit at her size when she gets inside and battles for rebounds, and when she defends bigger opponents.
On any other team, Addison would likely be THE standout guard. But playing alongside Olivia Nickerson Olivia Nickerson 5’7″ | SG Twin Lakes | 2024 State IN and Addison Bowsman, she’s able to kind of do her thing out there and avoid being chased or face-guarded. Addi Ward is a long, wiry, quick, fast, and feisty guard. She is a point guard by nature, and she has a solid handle and does a nice job of playing with her head up while scanning the floor. She is a dangerous 3-point shooter (24-66, 36%), a very good free throw shooter (78%), plus she uses her length and quickness at the defensive end to frustrate opponents.