Louisiana 2020 Rankings: Top Guards
Photo Credit: The Advocate
Ladamien Bradford 6’4 SG Jonesboro-Hodge/LA Elite
Bradford is a guard that has definitely improved his game every time that I have seen him. When I saw him a little over a year ago, I thought he was mostly a forward that was best kept around the rim. But credit to him, he has worked hard on improving his craft, and as a result has transitioned himself into a mid major+ prospect. He has improved his handle drastically, and as he improves his jump shot, his sky’s the limit.
Michael Thomas 6’0 PG Hamilton Christian/LA Supreme
Thomas is absolutely with the ball in his hands, and he is one of those guys that moves so smoothly, it looks like he glides. He has a slight frame, but he is still able to get wherever he wants to go on the court. With his long arms and athleticism, he has all of the tools to be an absolute menace on the defensive end. He has picked up a handful of in state offers, including McNeese and ULL, and has gotten some big time interest from schools such as Arkansas, Georgetown, and Auburn.
Corey Smooth 6’0 PG Rummel/LA Supreme
Smooth has an advantage over the rest of the players on this list, and that advantage is that he plays up 17u for Louisiana Supreme, meaning he has already played against the best competition that grassroots has to offer. Smooth has one really incredible ability, and that is his ability to see the floor and set up teammates in spots to be successful. He is an old school, pass first point guard, but his jumpshot from distance is still a work in progress, although it looks much better than it did a year ago. If he can become a consistent scorer, he will continue to garner college interest.
Byron Joshua 5’9 PG Crescent City/LA Supreme
When he is on the court, Joshua is an absolute pitbull, especially on the defensive end of the ball. For my money, he is the best guard defender in the state for his class, and he has the ability to be a difference maker on that end of the floor. But don’t let that take away from his impressive ability to run a team on the offensive end as well. He can do some really impressive things with the ball in his hands, and looks his best when he is orchestrating an up tempo offense. He is a really good driver, and above average passer. He plays with a high IQ, and it is really tough to speed him up when he doesn’t want to. He recently picked up his first offer to Nicholls St. and I don’t expect for that to be his last.
Tre Harris 6’4 SG Comeaux/Houston Hoops
There is one thing that Tre’ Harris is absolutely elite at doing, and that is scoring the ball, and he is going to have to do a lot of it for Comeaux to be successful this season. He is a capable ball handler that can take the defender with either hand, and has the athleticism to finish over the defense in a variety of ways. He still has some work to do as far as become a knockdown shooter, but I hear that he is an absolute workhorse that is constantly in the gym, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him add a more consistent shot before he graduates.