2024 Rankings Update: Point Guard Breakdown
We are now into breaking down each position of the newly minted PGH Iowa 2024 Rankings. Out of the 100 players on the rankings, 32 of those players are point guards. That makes for a really deep and interesting class…
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Continue ReadingWe are now into breaking down each position of the newly minted PGH Iowa 2024 Rankings. Out of the 100 players on the rankings, 32 of those players are point guards. That makes for a really deep and interesting class as they still have over three years of high school basketball left. There are sure to be some changes, maybe drastic changes, in the months ahead. Below I take a look at some of the point guards that are ranked within the first edition of the 2024 rankings.
It is pretty evident that the point guard position in Iowa is strong when you have seven players from the same position in the Top 15 of a singular class. The class is led by Iowa commit Callie Levin Callie Levin 5'10" | PG Solon | 2024 State IA . She’s a quick guard who plays really well with tempo and has the ability to affect the game in multiple ways. She received high major DI offers before she even stepped on the court at Solon. You could really make a case for her to be the top player in Iowa regardless of position. Behind her you have Vanessa Bickford Vanessa Bickford 5'9" | PG Dallas Center-Grimes | 2024 State IA of Dallas Center-Grimes, Brooklyn Stanley Brooklyn Stanley 5'8" | PG Bishop Heelan | 2024 State IA of Bishop Heelan, and Aaliyah Riley Aaliyah Riley 5'7" | PG Johnston | 2024 State IA of Johnston to round out the Top 10 in the class. Bickford is your strong do-it-all point guard who combines a good feel for the game with an uncanny ability to make others around her better. Stanley is a very strongly built guard who has a ton of potential with her skillset and physical attributes. Riley is a quick-twitch point guard who gets to the rim really well and has extremely quick hands on the defensive side of the ball.
There are four players in the overall Top 10 but what about the three point guards in the next five spots? Grace Knutson Grace Knutson 5'10" | SG Cedar Falls | 2024 State IA of Cedar Falls sits at #11, Reggi Spotts Reggi Spotts 5'8" | PG Mason City | 2024 State IA of Mason City sits at #12, and Kamryn Kurt Kamryn Kurt 5'6" | PG North Linn | 2024 State IA of North Linn sits at #15. Knutson is a very good offensive threat who is a long and slender guard that can score the ball well. Spotts is a player who I really like with her ability to find her teammates passing the ball. Kurt is a really heady scorer that can fill up the stat sheet in a multitude of ways. All three of these players have the potential to move into the Top 10 overall at some point in their careers.
There are a few players deep in the rankings that I really like and think they have a real chance at impacting a college program in the future. #29 Isabel Balsley Isabel Balsley 5'5" | PG Johnston | 2024 State IA of Johnston, #36 Morgan Neuroth Morgan Neuroth 5'6" | PG East Marshall | 2024 State IA of East Marshall, and #52 Sarah Brown of LeMars. Balsley is a really smart guard who while small, can make things happen. I’d like to see her a little more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. Neuroth was a player who I first saw last winter and she really impressed me in her first high school game. She just needs to become a little more efficient but she has a great mind for the game. Brown is a player who I think can really rise up the rankings quickly but I want to see her become more consistent with her game. I love her ability to get up the floor quickly.
If you look farther down the list players like #70 Anna Larson Anna Larson 5'3" | PG Norwalk | 2024 IA of Norwalk, #82 Maddie Demke Maddie Demke 5'3" | PG Bishop Heelan | 2024 IA of Bishop Heelan, and #88 Emma Pitts Emma Pitts 5'4" | PG Carlisle | 2024 State IA of Carlisle are all small lead guards but have the potential to help out a small college in the future. All three of these players are tough defenders who tend to make good plays with the basketball. If I had to guess, Demke would be one of the point guards who I think can really make a big jump in the rankings in the update this fall. She’s a really solid player but I would just like to see her continue to become a well-rounded player. Larson and Pitts also could move up as they’ve shown really nice flashes but I am looking for more consistency and just more opportunities to see them play.