The wing guard crop in the prep class of 2014 is good overall, but certainly not great. Historically, the premier wing guards such as Michael Jordan and David Thompson have combined a reliable perimeter jump shot with the athleticism to both finish drives and defend effectively.
As our chart below indicates, the current senior wing guards are paced by 6-5 Nevadan/Minnesotan Rashad Vaughn, 6-6 North Carolinian Theo Pinson, 6-3 Virginian Robert Johnson and 6-4 New Yorker Isaiah Whitehead. Vaughn is a very good shooter and fine (but not great) athlete. Pinson, in contrast, is a prime athlete and defender but, while improved, is just a pretty good marksman. While Whitehead and summer-riser Johnson recently committed to Seton Hall and Indiana, respectively, Pinson (who can also play wing forward) made an early verbal commitment to North Carolina. Vaughn remains uncommitted.
Interestingly, the Tar Heels are also strongly involved with both Vaughn, as Roy Williams obviously wants to land an outstanding three-point shooter from the 2014 class. Note that the Tar Heels are also in the hunt for 6-3 Indianan James Blackmon, Jr. (also courted by Louisville, Kentucky and Indiana) and 6-5 Australian star Dante Exum, whose father Cecil played for UNC. New ACC member Syracuse is seriously in the picture for Vaughn, as well.
Our “Sweet 16 Senior Wing Guards” listed below also contains 6-5 Virginian B.J. Stith (committed to Virginia, where his father Bryant starred), 6-4 Floridian Grayson Allen (committed to Duke), 6-5 Dion Wiley (committed to the home-state Maryland Terps), 6-3 Georgian Tadrick Jackson (committed to Georgia Tech), 6-5 West Virginia prep JaQuan Lyle (who recently backed off a verbal to Louisville), and 6-5 Floridian Adonys Henriquez (who has rescinded an early commitment to Miami). In other words, ACC members are landing their share of the elite senior wing guards, though not as many as it once looked like they would get.
SWEET 16 SENIOR WING GUARDS
