2017 Rankings: Shooting Guard Breakdown
The class of 2017 has many shooting guards who are capable of shooting the basketball at an extremely high level. There are multiple players who this group who should be playing after high school even if it is not at…
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Continue ReadingThe class of 2017 has many shooting guards who are capable of shooting the basketball at an extremely high level. There are multiple players who this group who should be playing after high school even if it is not at the NCAA Division-I level.
2017 -Strengths-
Shooters
This group is loaded with shooters. Bryce Fowler, Noah Baumann, Jeff Perez, Nick Rosquist are a couple of these high level
shooters who are worth mentioning. Their ability to extend the court from 3 will assist these players greatly in playing at the next level as teams will have to be honest defensively; thus creating more and more driving gap. Keep an eye on these guys as they can fill it up in a hurry off of the catch or off of the dribble.
Versatility
Many of these two guards are capable of playing the point as well due to their solid handle and ability to shoot the basketball off of the dribble. Trevor Thompson, Keith Holmes, and Jake Lieppert are all certainly capable of playing the 1 or the 2. Furthermore, many of these players are capable of using live ball moves to put pressure on the defense and get into the paint. In addition, the top three shooting guards in this class, Caleb Simmons, Bryce Fowler, and Noah Baumann can all play the 2 or the 3 at the next level.
Basketball IQ
As mentioned earlier, many of the shooting guards in this class are capable of playing the 1 and the 2. This is due in large part to their solid handle, shooting abilities, and basketball IQ. Many of these guards do a good job of playing mistake free basketball and playing their role. Furthermore, when they get into the paint, they create high percentage shots for themselves as well as for their teammates.
2017 -Weaknesses-
Top Depth
Although there is a lot of depth in general and multiple guys who will play this game at the next level, there are only a couple who will get a chance to play at the NCAA Division-I level. A good portion of these guards would fit in well at the NCAA Division-II or NAIA Division-I level due to their basketball smarts and shooting abilities; however, it would be a stretch for them to play at a level higher than that.
Size
Even though it is a positive that many of these guards are skilled enough to play the point as well as the 2, other than the top three prospects in this class, many of these guards would have a really difficult time playing the 3 at the college level due to the size and strength that is at that level. Again, this is a very skilled group; however, their height is an issue and many of them need to continue to work in the weight room in order to be college ready.