What did we learn at the Edwardsville Shootout?

If you had not seen her live before the Edwardsville Shootout you probably learned that Que is faster than you, unless you are an elite sprinter. Even then, I am not sure when you add dribbling the basketball at the same time into the equation that there are many faster than Edwardsville's <strong>Quierra Love</strong>. The junior is fun to watch when she is in the open floor. Not only is she fast in a straight line, she is agile enough to change directions without losing much speed. Que has played the role of a facilitator during her first two years in the program, but if the Tigers are going to continue the level of success they have become used to recently, she will need to be more of a scorer and a vocal leader. Her outside shot is developing nicely and with her ability to get to basket she just needs to finish consistently and she will have no trouble increasing her scoring output into double figures. Another player that is likely to pick up some of the scoring load left behind by the class of 2018 is <strong>Sydney Harris.</strong> Sydney has led Liberty Middle school to IESA state championships the last 3 years. Last year she scored 63 points in the 3 game state tourney. She is 6 foot tall and very skilled. She can handle the ball, shoot the 3 and find ways to put the ball in the hoop at all levels. She will need to find her way in Coach Blades system and improve her lateral quickness to handle the speed of the 4A game, but without a doubt she can already score enough that she will be hard to keep out of the lineup. She comes from a strong basketball family with her Uncle Jon being the mens coach at SIUE, her mother LeAnn was a standout in her college days at SIUE and her brother Tre is one of the all time leading scorers at Edwardsville. The Springfield High School girls team was in town again for the event and they look to be poised for another strong season. They were 23-6 last year and could very well repeat that type of season. They are led by senior point guard Savannah Schoeben who is an excellent leader and floor general. She seems to always be in control of the team and directing traffic to get the team into their offense. She is a very capable scorer, showing the ability to use her strength to get to the basket and also the ability to hit the 3 when it presents itself.  <strong>Devyn Heard </strong>is a junior that is a very good outside shooter that will be a part of the balanced attack for Springfield. She is a fundamental player that seems to know the right shots to take and when left alone she can be deadly. The Senators also boast two strong inside players that can really use their size and strength to gets points and rebounds by the bunch in 6ft senior <strong>Abby Ratsch </strong>and 5'10 junior <strong>Nicole Swehla. </strong> In watching the O'Fallon team again I continue to be impressed with Point Guard <strong>Kayla Gordon. </strong>Gordon is very smooth and always seems to be in control of herself and the team. She will direct traffic to get her teammates in position as she brings the ball up the floor and prepares to start the offense. She has a burst of speed but often is so smooth she just seems to be gliding. She has the ability to get to the hole and score but needs to get a little stronger and improve her outside shot to maximize her potential. Although I have witnessed Highland play a few times this summer I really took the time to watch the young inside players as I believe that the strong guard play is a great foundation for them but the development of the inside game could really push them to an excellent season. Sophomore post <strong>Bella LaPorta </strong>has really been showing some promise and signs that she could end up being a dominant player for new coach Clint Hamilton. She is extremely strong and athletic and shows the ability to rebound and has good post moves. Bella comes from a very accomplished athletic family and appears to have learned a thing or two from sister Olivia and brother Sam about how to compete under the basket. There were many more outstanding players and teams at the event and I came away even more excited for the 2018-2019 season to get started!