The high school point guard is the linch pin to most successful prep basketball teams and for good reason. You can have dominant players inside and amazing shooters but if you don’t the skill up top with the point guard to free them up and set the offense in motion, most of this talent can go to waste. Let’s take a look at what is needed in a solid high school point guard and how they really make the other players function as a team.

There’s 7 seconds left in the game and the score is tied 47-47. The other team just scored and ball is inbounded to your point guard. The opponent is on him right away as the other team tries to press this last possession. Down the court, another opponent is shadowing his player but looking for an opportunity to double your point guard and trap him on the side of the court before he gets to mid court. Your point guard sees this, jukes left, spins off his defender and barely squeezes through the two defenders as they quickly collapse on him. They’re in pursuit as sprints down the court where you have a slight, yet temporary advantage. The small forward reads the point’s eyes and breaks baseline while his defender takes his eye off to see what’s happening up court. The point guard delivers the pass on the baseline and the forward lays it up weak side. Your team takes the game barely as the time runs out. Your point guard just bought you that game and this is pretty common. Let’s look at what makes a good point guard.

In general, the point guard is the best ball-handler on the floor and with good reason. Not only do they have to bring the ball up on offense but most of the plays run through the point guard. There are times when the 1 guard is in open court with a defender trying to steal the ball and there’s no help but his or her own dribbling skills. Quickness and agility are also common skills for point guards and this is the one position on the floor that has been resistant to ever-taller rise of high school basketball players. You can be a very effective point guard at any height. Generally speaking, the point guards are those really talented athletes you knew growing up who maybe didn’t grow as tall as some of the other players. There’s a whole other dimension to high school point guards that has nothing to do with physical abilities. A lot of what makes a good point guard is mental and deals with just great instinct on how the game works. They need to “see” the court and by this, we mean that they need to be aware of all the moving pieces so as to anticipate what to do next. The game of high school basketball moves very quickly and in most cases, it’s the point guard that’s ahead of the curve.

Not only do they need to know all the plays a high school basketball team will run since they generally flow through him or her, but they also need to make split second decisions on passes and drives to free up the other players for shots. The other players on a high school basketball team love having a solid point guard since they know they’ll be the benefactors of all his or her skills. Wide open shots and easy layups are the result of a smart, quick, and intuitive point guard at the high school level and there’s nothing more fun to watch than a sweet pass or dish from a point guard in the open floor.

Dennis Jarvis writes about high school sports and prep sports with fantasy league at
www.prepsportfantasy.com including high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Dennis Jarvis writes about high school sports and prep sports with fantasy league at http://www.prepsportfantasy.com including high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis writes about high school sports and prep sports with fantasy league at
www.prepsportfantasy.com including high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Category: Sports
Keywords: high school basketball, high school sports, prep basketball, prep sports,basketball season