SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Class of 2002 Top Shooting
Guards In SoCal--(Oct. 24, 1999)

It's time for SoCalHoops' own annual post-summer, pre-season fall list of  "Top Players in SoCal" at each position in each class. The second group we're going to focus on is the class of 2002's shooting guards, and we've selected the players we believe are the top 50 in the class at this position. Yes, we said 50.  This is a large group with the most players at any position. We've arranged them generally by category (Top 15, Next 15, and 20 Others To Watch), but we have not used numerical rankings. Maybe we should, and maybe someday we will, but for now we don't.

Why not use numerical rankings?  Because college coaches make their own evaluations, and the point of our lists is not to "rank" players, but to get the word out those in a position to actually do something about recruiting these players, i.e., the college coaches.  Most club coaches, high school coaches, fans, and other players already know about the guys listed here, and so do a lot of the college coaches already. Everyone's got an opinion of who is "best" or "better" than the next guy, but that' really not the point. Some of these players will be good enough eventually and lucky enough to get recruited at the D-I level, while others will get recruited at various other levels, whether D-II, D-III or NAIA.   Some will wind up at JUCO's because they may not qualify.  All of them have the chance to, but they'll need to get it done in the classroom first. The bottom line is that it's  too early to tell what will happen to these players. And that's also one of their real plusses too:  They're young, have got more of their high school careers in front of them than they have behind them, and if they work hard and are lucky enough to avoid injury, they'll continue to improve, get bigger, stronger, and eventually make it to the next level.

We obviously have not seen every player in SoCal in the sophomore class.  We've listed those players we believe are among the best who have played particularly well this past summer and fall,  especially at some of the higher profile events.  We've reviewed all of our prior lists, all the rosters from tournaments we viewed this summer, re-read articles we've written since last June, and reviewed our notes and tapes of players.  The list include players from Fresno in the North, to San Diego in the South, i.e., the entire SoCal region.  Most of the players listed have already drawn the attention of other recruiting services (such as Recruiting USA (Benezra and Mayemura), Fullcourt Press, Clark Francis' HoopScoop,  Dave Telep's PrepStars Recruiting, and others).  Some are "ranked" elsewhere by the other guys, and some aren't .

Each player is listed at his primary position. If you don't see a player on a list where you'd expect, look at another position because he may be listed elsewhere. The list which follows is of the sophomore shooting guards.  A "shooting guard" is generally just what you think it means: Someone's whose primary job is to shoot the ball, either as a spot up shooter,  catching and releasing, or coming off screens; someone who can spot up from either in close or three-point range, and someone who defends the other team's off-guard.  The position is sometimes called "combo" guard, and occasionally you'll see these guys bringing the ball up, setting up the offense. The phrase "two guard,"  or "off guard" is sometimes used to describe this position.

Lastly, if we've left a player off the list, it may or may not be an oversight, but if you think someone deserves to be on the list who isn't shown, just let us know.  Here are the Top 50 Soph Shooting Guards in SoCal:

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