Top long-distance shooters from LBI April Showers Classic
While it was pouring most of the weekend, one thing that was not raining down out of the sky at the LBI April Showers Classic (for the most part) was 3-pointers — at least not until the very end. The…
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Continue ReadingWhile it was pouring most of the weekend, one thing that was not raining down out of the sky at the LBI April Showers Classic (for the most part) was 3-pointers — at least not until the very end.
The 17-under championship game between 1Nation Elite and Michigan Crossover EBYL Brown featured some of the most consistent outside shooting I saw through two days of play.
We looked at the top 17u teams on Tuesday, and the top post players on Wednesday, today’s assignment is a look at some of the snipers who had the best shooting tournaments.
(The big caveat here is that some very good shooters appeared to have off days, and weren’t as noticeable as they might have otherwise been.)
Here’s a look at the top five shooters I saw over two days at the April Showers Classic:
Kate McArthur, Warren Cousino/1Nation Elite (2019)
Ever since she went 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the Class A title game against Detroit King as a freshman, McArthur has been one of the most feared long-range shooters in the state. She displayed that ability to drop treys in bunches in Sunday’s finale, hitting three 3-pointers among her 16 second-half points in the 1Nation win. If you give the Clemson signee a few inches of separation, she’ll stick a 3-pointer in your eye, and if you crowd up on her, she can take it to the bucket well enough to keep defenders honest. Known more for her scoring, McArthur sees the floor well, and can make the tough pass, but it was her defense (along with five 3-pointers) that showed up the most in a nailbiter of a pool play win over the
Michigan Mystics
Dream Team.
Alona Blackwell, East Kentwood/Michigan Crossover EBYL Brown (2019)
The lanky, long-limbed shooting guard — 5-foot-10 with a wingspan of 6-2 — started to heat up about mid-day on Sunday, somewhere midway through Crossover’s bracket-play demolition of a short-handed MI Triple Threat squad. She would stay in rhythm in the championship game of the 17-under bracket, matching McArthur with three 3-pointers in the second half (and four for the game) in the loss to 1Nation. When she’s going like that, there’s no question why she’s got double-digit Division 1 offers.
Jasmine Powell, Detroit Country Day/Michigan Crossover EBYL Brown (2019)
When 1Nation started extending its lead out to double digits with a run in early in the second half, it was outside shooting by Powell and Blackwell that reeled the margin back in. While the forte of the ultra quick, 5-foot-8 Powell is still what it’s been since she joined the Country Day rotation as a freshman — points off the break and off penetration, as well as setting up teammates — she’s become a more reliable outside threat as her career has gone on. She can still be streaky — as evidenced by her mid-20s percentage behind the arc for this past high school season — but when she’s on, she’s on. And she was on this weekend.
Mauriya Barnes, East Kentwood/1Nation Elite (2019)
Blackwell wasn’t the only East Kentwood player gunning away from long range in the championship game, as Barnes dropped in four 3-pointers of her own. While Blackwell can shoot over defenders, Barnes needs a little space to get off her shot — measuring in right around 5-foot-5, she’s not going to shoot a whole lot with defenders’ hands up in her face — but when the defender sags off, she can make them pay for the decision. Where she hits those 3s in college may be up in the air, though, as LBI’s Jason Wilkins reported that Barnes — a Bowling Green commit — has reopened her recruiting with the Falcons’ coaching change, replacing Jennifer Roos with Robyn Fralick, who went 104-3 at Division II Ashland.
Elie Smith, Fowlerville/MI Triple Threat Platinum (2019)
The quintessential stretch forward, when you see the 6-foot-1 Smith line up, you’re thinking “check out the post moves” not “gauge the range” … until she pulls up from waaaay downtown. She may take enough of those deep shots — the ones that make coaches go “no, no, NO! … Yes!” — to worry you, but she’ll hit enough of them (at least she did in the two Triple Threat games I caught) that nobody will tell her not to do it anymore.