"Darius Acuff" "DP": Hoops fans debate the best high school basketball guards among Kiyan Anthony, Darryn Peterson, Meleek Thomas and others

While the No. 1 prospects from the Class of 2025 and 2026 are forwards AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes, this season has come down to be one with a lot of good guards. From No. 3 senior Darryn Peterson to OTE star Meleek Thomas, there are a lot of excellent high school guards this season.

The question is, who is the best?

On Monday on Instagram, Slam High School asked its followers who their favorite high school guard right now is, sparking a debate in the comments section, with many choosing Prolific Prep's Darryn Peterson, while others picking IMG Academy's Darius Acuff Jr.

"Darius acuff," one fan wrote.

"Dp a nba player rn," another fan chose Darryn Peterson.

"Watched Darius Acuff the other day on ESPN2 against Montverde kid game so smooth and he ain’t scared of the big moments kid nice," one hoops fan commented.

Meanwhile, some fans named multiple favorites, including Kiyan Anthony (No. 32 in ESPN's 2025 class) and Jason Crowe Jr. (No. 6 in 2026).

"Myles from Roosevelt, Demarco from Oak Hill, j Crowe at IHS, Gavin at Sierra Canyon, Timmy Anderson Blair." one fan answered.

"I’m a @kiyananthony @darrynp1 and @aj.dybantsa fan so Yhh," said another hoops fan despite AJ Dybantsa not being a guard.

"Markel Brown is a high IQ point guard he controls the game and plus scores you get everybody involved that shows me is the best one God in this country," one commenter said.

Fans talk about who their favorite high school guard is right now (Source: Instagram/ slam_hs)

Guards have led many of the top teams across the country, with Duke signee Cayden Boozer helping lead No. 1-ranked Columbus while Kansas signee Darryn Peterson has beaten both AJ Dybantsa (BYU signee) and Cameron Boozer (Duke signee) in regular season games already. Over at OTE, the top two teams, YNG Dreamerz and the City Reapers are led by great guards in Eli Ellis (South Carolina signee) and Meleek Thomas (Arkansas signee), respectively.

Over half of Class of 2025's Top 50 (On3 Industry Ranking) are guards

While many of the top 10 from the Class of 2025 are forwards, a vast majority of the Top 50 are guards, with big names such as Kiyan Anthony, Darryn Peterson, Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas signee) and Brayden Burries (uncommitted) making the list.

Peterson is the highest-ranking guard at No. 3, able to play both point guard and shooting guard. The ones from the No. 8 rank to the No. 14 rank are all guards: Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff Jr., Brayden Burries, Meleek Thomas, Alijah Arenas, Isiah Harwell and Braylon Mullins.