Get To The Point!
Obviously, Indiana is a basketball state, but more specifically, college coaches look at it as a place to find skillful, highly intelligent, well-coached basketball players, and it has always been a place to find strong point guard play. Of recent…
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Continue ReadingObviously, Indiana is a basketball state, but more specifically, college coaches look at it as a place to find skillful, highly intelligent, well-coached basketball players, and it has always been a place to find strong point guard play. Of recent memory are players like Tyasha Harris (Heritage Christian/South Carolina), Darby Maggard (Canterbury/Bellmont), and Whitney Jennings (Logansport/Iowa/Butler), just to name a few. Even the 2019 class has a deep class of point guards. However, while there are some really nice point guard prospects in 2020, 2021, and 2022, those classes have been dominated by size and strong wing play.
In this article I wanted to get “Back to the Future”, because the Class of 2023 is making a lot of noise with its strong point guard play. While I have yet to see (or hear about) every 8th Grade basketball player in the state, I have seen my share of prospects through five tournaments, and as we prepare our initial 50-player watchlist to be released around the end of June, there will be no fewer than a dozen and probably closer to 15 or 20 point guards premiering on that list. FYI, if you have a 2023 prospect we should be aware of and consider for future lists, feel free to DM us through our Twitter account @PGHIndiana. With that said, below is a look at a dozen of the better point guard prospects I have seen and been made aware of already this Spring.
Ashlynn Shade of NoblesvilleSo far, there have been four point guards who really stand out to me. Ashlynn Shade of Noblesville has probably made the biggest impression on everyone who has seen her play. She is stronger than her peers, she has good size at 5-8, and she is a solid athlete with some length. She was good in March, and she was better in April, playing against a number of 17U & 16U prospects throughout the two months and often standing out as the best guard on the floor. Her feel, savvy, and poise have stood out the most, and now she’s starting to shoot/score it much more aggressively. Like any young player, she’ll just need to continue working on her speed & quickness and tightening her skillset, but she has a lot of upside for the next level. Ashlynn’s IGB Gold teammate, Olivia Brown of Hamilton Southeastern, might have as much potential as anyone in this class. She is long, quick/fast, and very athletic. She is a skillful player, and she can knock down shots, but she can also continue developing that skillset, plus at 5-6 she looks like she might still have a couple of more inches left in her growth, which would obviously be a bonus in terms of her recruiting.
Another player really turning heads right now is Karsyn Norman of Bedford North Lawrence. She is a little smaller than Shade & Brown at about 5-5, maybe 5-6, but Karsyn is probably the purest of the point guards and plays with tremendous feel and poise, and she plays the game with a veteran presence. I’ve had college coaches ask me about her because they think she’s a Sophomore or Junior by how she plays, only to be shocked when they find out she’s an 8th Grader. Personally I am most impressed with how well she communicates nonstop, and she’s always eyes-up scanning the floor looking to make the correct play. The fourth point guard who stands out to me right now is Ashlynn Brooke of tiny Pioneer. If you aren’t familiar with Pioneer, it’s a school of less than 300 students about ten miles Northwest of Logansport, and is home to 2018 Mr. Football winner Jack Kiser. Ashlynn is another 5-5 to 5-6 guard, and she is one of those kids who does most things well. She can handle, pass, and run offense, she’s a nice all-around athlete, and she can score the ball at all levels. She even drew denial defense and double-teams a week ago in grassroots ball against 16U competition.
There are several other point guard prospects I’ve been impressed with, and a couple of them are very close to the above group from what I’ve seen. One player who’s had a nice Spring so far is Abby Fleetwood of Brown County. She’s a tough-nosed, strong, and assertive 5-6 lead guard. I first saw her last Summer, and you could tell she knew how to play this game. She can direct offense or score the ball equally well. I’ve also really enjoyed watching Kamryn Washington of Warren Central. She’s diminutive at about 5-3 and thin, but she has great speed & quickness, and she plays with a lot of feistiness, flying around the floor making plays at both ends. Ella Hobson of Center Grove is another smallish 5-3 point guard, and while she also possesses solid speed and quickness, she plays poised and under control against older kids, and she handles it well.
Sanaa Thomas is another Warren Central prospect who has stood out this Spring. She plays alongside Shade and Brown (both above) on the IGB Gold team, and even though she is about 5-3 as well, she is strong, tough-nosed, and physical. She has looked confident and sturdy against the older competition they’ve faced, and she can hit shots from the perimeter. One additional point guard I just saw a little over a week ago for the first time is Sophia Reese of Jeffersonville. At about 5-4, she’s also a shorter lead guard, but she has some strength, good toughness, and she’s very aware of her surroundings and does a nice job of running offense. She can also knock down open jumpers from the perimeter when left open.
I also wanted to take the time to point out three more young ladies. Briley Munchel of Rushville, Kiela Phillips of Jeffersonville, and Olivia Tolmen of South Central (Union Mills) have all had great starts to the Spring, based on what trusted contacts of mine have said when they saw them play. I am anxious to see them soon myself, hopefully sometime in May, but definitely by July. All-in-all this 2023 point guard class looks pretty impressive out of the gates, and I anticipate seeing several of them leading their high school teams in November as Freshmen.