Rankings Return: 2023 2-Guards
The featured image is of twins Hailey Smith Hailey Smith 5'10" | SG Fishers | 2023 State IN and Olivia Smith Olivia Smith 5'10" | SG Fishers | 2023 State IN of Fishers High School. There are several really nice…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of twins Hailey Smith Hailey Smith 5'10" | SG Fishers | 2023 State IN and Olivia Smith Olivia Smith 5'10" | SG Fishers | 2023 State IN of Fishers High School.
There are several really nice perimeter players in the Class of 2023, but currently the off-guard position only has 23 prospects who have found their way into the Top-125 at this point in time. However, I think you’ll find that the young ladies listed below all have unique skill and talent. To follow, we take a look at those 23 prospects, as well as add information on several of the newcomers and players who have risen significantly throughout the rankings since our last full update. We will be following up with the small forwards and frontline prospects in the Class of 2023 very soon.
Newcomers
The other day I wrote an article touching on seven newcomers to the Class of 2023 rankings, but they were a mix of all positions. Highlighted in that article from the 2-guard position was
Maci Chamberlin
Maci
Chamberlin
5'7" | SG
Blue River Valley | 2023
State
IN
, but there are a couple more new 2-guards as well.
Alexa Robinson
Alexa
Robinson
5'8" | SF
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023
IN
and
Kaydence Mellott
Kaydence
Mellott
5'8" | SG
Tippecanoe Valley | 2023
State
IN
both make their first appearances on our 2023 rankings list. Robinson is a really nice athlete with a great motor. She has a strong, athletic frame with some length, she has good North/South speed, and she can attack the basket off the bounce. She is a nice slashing scorer and a solid on-ball defender. Mellott is more of your half-court, skillful, system type of kid. She takes care of the ball, she can handle it on occasion and run offense, but she’s also a nice perimeter shooter who can score it at all three levels consistently.
Stock-Risers
I will be adding an article later today talking about the top stock-risers in the Class of 2023, regardless of position. At the same time, regardless of their movement within the rankings, I felt like
Ashlynn Shade
Ashlynn
Shade
5'10" | SG
La Lumiere Prep | 2023
State
#33
Nation
IN
,
Asia Donald
Asia
Donald
5'9" | SG
Hobart | 2023
State
IN
,
Tori Thompson
Tori
Thompson
5'7" | CG
Lafayette Central Catholic | 2023
State
IN
, and
Kylee Edwards
Kylee
Edwards
5'7" | SG
Shelbyville | 2023
State
IN
all showed nice improvement in their games throughout the course of the Summer. While Shade maintained the top spot in the class, she was noticeably better in July and August than she was throughout the Winter. She was as assertive and aggressive as I’ve ever seen her offensively, scoring at will at times against some of the Midwest’s and Nation’s better older guards (2021s & 2022s). She went from having a few high-major Division-I offers to now drawing the attention and offers from some of the Nation’s best college programs. I didn’t get to see Donald for the first time until mid-August, but she is a real talent. She has length, speed, and athleticism in all directions. She can score the ball at all three levels, and she can be a nice on-ball defender when she’s fully engaged. Thompson entered the Summer with the reputation of being a shooter, but it was her handle, vision, and passing ability that really stood out to me. She is a very skillful kid, but I still think she’s more of a ’2’ defensively, which is why I have her listed as such, but she is probably closer to being a combo guard right now. Edwards is a multisport star at Shelbyville who will put up good numbers in whatever sport she plays. She is a wiry strong athlete who can run and jump. She plays with a motor, and she is somewhat skillful both on and off the ball.
Final Thought
While there aren’t many off-guards spread throughout our 2023 rankings list at this time, I still feel like there are prospects who can get recruited at all levels collegiately, plus many of the girls above bring a great deal of versatility and skill to the floor. I certainly see a couple of high-major Division-I commitments, a couple of mid-major Division-I commitments, and a few low-major Division-I commitments, as well as a number of elite level small college commitments coming from this position group in the future. This group of guards plays with maturity, poise, and savvy, and I can definitely see many of them taking the floor early on at their college destinations.