Tom Izzo’s first commitment from the 2026 high school class came in the form of a 5’11 guard ranked outside of 247’s composite top 100. It’s a major vote of confidence in Carlos Medlock Jr., banking on his growth and production across the last two summers.
Despite averaging over 20 points per game on solid efficiency across 15 games this summer with Phenom United on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, only five high-major programs offered Medlock Jr. He received his first power program offer from Michigan State in mid-June and made good on their early investment.
I first became aware of the Wayne, Michigan native during the summer of 2024, where Medlock Jr. starred on the PUMA PRO16 circuit. After a scout friend of mine (shoutout to coach Larry Golden) beckoned me over to one of his games, it took less than a quarter to watch him control a game against the top PRO16 guard prospect (Kingston Flemings).
2026 Carlos Medlock Jr. with the pretty pullup off of the dribble. he’s been awesome so far, playing in control and attacking decisively @PRO16League @MichHurricanes pic.twitter.com/78dGLMP8db
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) July 11, 2024
Medlock Jr. translated his production to a more established Adidas league in 2025, averaging 20.7 points, 2.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game on sturdy 53.6% true shooting, according to Synergy. He put up big numbers as his team’s primary option, countering defensive attention in a variety of offensive ways.
carlos medlock jr. (’26, phenom) impressed me a ton this weekend, point guards as skilled and tough as him are rare at this level.
loved his wrong foot finishing, movement shooting and anticipatory passing. he’s gonna shoot up rankings this summer, mostly off mainstream radars pic.twitter.com/vu2VecK1Dz
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) May 5, 2025
How did Medlock Jr. excel on offense?
As most shorter point guards must do to survive, Medlock Jr. managed solid 3-point efficiency despite fairly high volume and shot difficulty. He converted 34.1% of 5.1 threes per game, his efficiency faring better on off-dribble threes (38.9%) than catch-and-shoot (30.8%) attempts.
His diverse shot diet and some tough-shot taking hurts Medlock Jr.’s overall efficiency, something playing with better teammates in college should help solve. Beyond some audaciously deep off-dribble threes, he’ll sprint around handoffs and fire movement threes. That spacing and off-ball gravity also boost his driving creation, forcing defenses to guard him more closely.
Ball skills, craft and physicality immediately pop out as major ceiling-boosting strengths for Medlock jr., all hallmarks of great short college point guards. Plenty of smaller shooters can find rotation homes, but the majority of perimeter stars at any size excel as downhill creators. Floor spacing is just the price of entry.
His listed 5’11 and 165 pounds didn’t hold him back as a driver, helping him post a strong 35% free throw rate and attempt a huge 31.5% of his half-court shots at the rim. Those advantage creation chops coupled with efficient finishing (58.1% on half-court rim attempts) let him excel as a slasher out of pick-and-roll and one-on-one situations.
Medlock Jr.’s great strength and burst generate leverage and force, leading to clean driving windows and free-throw attempts. He’s adept at countering aggressive on-ball defenders with crossovers and spin moves, forming as complete a driving package as any point guard on his circuit.
2026 michigan state commit carlos medlock jr. posted some ridiculous driving numbers this 3SSB season — 31.5% hc rim freq at 58.1% and a .35 FTr
all while listed at 5’11, 165 pounds, that doesn’t happen without strength, handling skill and touch like medlock’s pic.twitter.com/y2TDOEQPbO
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) July 31, 2025
Evaluating his long-term outlook
Solid passing ability forces defenses to respect that threat, even if he isn’t a high-volume distributor. He managed a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) with a heavy on-ball load; that’s a positive signal moving forward. Medlock Jr. has room to grow as as a decision-maker, especially against ball pressure, but he’s far from an offensive black hole.
As competition levels increase, offenses with athletic, large players will always target shorter players. Medlock Jr. will face some of those obstacles and likely will be limited to single-position defending on the ball, though his physicality and strength benefits him here as it does on offense. He’s a defensive playmaker, flashing the reflexes and motor to deflect passes and rip loose handles at the point-of-attack.
After starring at Wayne Memorial last season, Medlock Jr. will transfer to Link Academy in Branson, Missouri for his final college season. Several productive college or NBA guards played for Link over the past few years, names like Elliot Cadeau, Labaron Philon, Tre Johnson and Ja’Kobe Walter.
He’ll have the chance to continue boosting his stock, now playing next to more heralded prospects like 2027 five-star guard Davion Thompson on the biggest high school stage. If Medlock Jr.’s offensive initiation, slashing creation and defensive impact translate to Link Academy, many will wonder why he received less attention than many higher-ranked players.
He ultimately projects as a college point guard and a possible long-term starter for the Spartans down the line. We’ve seen plenty of shorter guards roll through East Lansing and have success and Medlock Jr. could join that group.
