Class of 2019 Rankings Breakdown: Centers

As we touched on in the breakdown of the 2019 power forwards, there is a ton of depth in Indiana as it concerns frontline play. Below is a bit more detail for the Top-10 center prospects in Indiana’s Class of 2019. There is quite a variety of different styles of post players as well, and several of them are underrecruited at this time due to such a deep frontline class.   <ol> <li> Cydni Dodd, 2019, 6-5 C, Warren Central H.S.</li> </ol> Cydni is a big, strong, powerful true post who just dominates the paint at both ends of the floor. She has really good length, long legs, and huge hands. Her footwork has come a long way since her freshman year, and she’s able to score it with ease around the block, but now she’s starting to be effective in the mid-post and at the free throw line. Defensively she just absorbs contact well and smothers opponents, plus she blocks her share of shots. She has already given a commitment to play at Michigan State University.   <ol start="2"> <li> Hannah Noveroske, 2019, 6-4 C, Michigan City H.S. [caption id="attachment_11308" align="alignright" width="165"] Hannah Noveroske (#51) of Michigan City Photo courtesy of thenewsdispatch.com.[/caption]</li> </ol> Hannah entered high school as more of a volleyball player, and she was almost “talked into” continuing with basketball. Now, she’s a big presence in the paint for Michigan City, she is powerful, physical, and she plays with a great motor for her size. She has really developed both a nice back-to-the-basket game, and some touch to about 15-feet. She is recovering from a late-February ACL injury, so her availability is in question right now, but she has already committed to Xavier University for basketball.   <ol start="3"> <li> Alyssa Robben, 2019, 6-4 C, East Central H.S.</li> </ol> I first saw Alyssa as a 6-2 sophomore when she was battling the 6-5 Tai-Yanna Jackson (#2 2019 PF) at a Winter tournament. Alyssa was undersized at the time, but she was never afraid and battled her evenly to the end. Over the last two years, Alyssa has added some strength, grown two inches, and she’s really developed a nice basketball IQ and a true back-to-the-basket game. She is also a capable shooter and a nice mid-post passer, and she still has a lot of upside. She has committed to Indiana State University.   <ol start="4"> <li> Grace Hale, 2019, 6-2 C, Floyd Central H.S.</li> </ol> Grace always flashed a great deal of potential, as she has a solid, athletic frame, some length, and she has some bounce to her. She plays with a good motor, and she has some skill around the block. She missed all of the 2017-2018 high school season with an injury, but she returned in the spring for the grassroots season and looked solid once again. She still needs to continue working on a definitive go-to move, but she will be continuing her basketball career across the Ohio River at Bellarmine University.   <ol start="5"> <li> Hattie Westerfeld, 2019, 6-2 C, Batesville H.S. [caption id="attachment_11309" align="alignright" width="207"] Hattie Westerfeld of Batesville Photo courtesy of her own Twitter account.[/caption]</li> </ol> Hattie is a nice combination of really good length and wiry strength you like to find in a post. She runs the floor well North / South, she can score it around the block or in the mid-post, and she’ll block a lot of shots. I would like to see her be more aggressive on the boards and knock people around more, but she does some really nice, skillful things for her teams. She missed the early portion of the 2017-2018 season with an injury, but she came back strong and has committed to Indiana State University.   <ol start="6"> <li> Veronika Roberts, 2019, 6-0 C, Brownsburg H.S.</li> </ol> At first glance, Roni looks like a rough-and-tumble post, but the more you watch her, you realize she has great body control, good hands, and some skill inside of 15-feet. She is strong and physical, and she will push people around, plus she plays with a great motor. She runs the floor hard, and she comes up with a lot of hustle plays for her teams. She has committed to play at Bradley University.   <ol start="7"> <li> Amani Freeman, 2019, 6-2 C, Avon H.S.</li> </ol> Amani still projects a lot on potential, but she has an extremely long, lean, but wiry strong frame. This summer she started to play much more physical on the interior, and she showed some real glimpses of her upside. She is an athlete, she runs the floor well, and she can be a shot-blocking presence at the defensive end of the floor. She had such a good showing at Miami of Ohio’s elite camp over the summer, that they offered her on the spot, and she committed within the next couple of weeks.   <ol start="8"> <li> Ajulu Thatha, 2019, 6-1 C, Decatur Central H.S. [caption id="attachment_11310" align="alignright" width="203"] Ajulu Thatha of Decatur Central Photo courtesy of her own Twitter account.[/caption]</li> </ol> Ajulu is another really nice athlete who projects based on her talent and physical potential. She moves in all directions very well, she has good bounce to her, she’s extremely long, and she plays with a little bit of attitude. The one thing I’ve noticed with her is that she’s a great help-side defender who is always communicating with her teammates. Defensively, she sees things before they happen. She recently made a verbal commitment to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.   <ol start="9"> <li> Karlee Feldman, 2019, 6-1 C, Bremen H.S.</li> </ol> After averaging a double-double at Bremen this past season (16.7 points, 13.6 rebounds), Karlee missed the entire spring and summer with an injury. She is strong, physical, and a nice back-to-the-basket true post. She goes through stretches where she scores as many as eight to ten consecutive points in a row for her high school team, so if she can be more consistent, she could be a 20+ point per game kid this winter. She committed in the spring to Maryville University of Saint Louis.   <ol start="10"> <li> Elexah Roepke, 2019, 6-0 C, South Ripley H.S.</li> </ol> Elexah is a kid you don’t hear much about on a statewide level, and it’s a mystery as to why. She is a strong, physical, high-motor post who has helped lead South Ripley to a 61-17 record during her first three years of high school, plus they finished last year ranked #4 in Class 2A. She loves to rebound, she can score it around the block, and she’s starting to be much more effective in the mid-post area. As for her recruiting, she’s another “victim” of such a deep frontline class.   2019 Centers 11-15: <ol start="11"> <li>Janicia Anderson, 2019, 6-1 C, Michigan City H.S.</li> <li>Shelby Case, 2019, 6-1 C, Heritage Christian School, committed to Illinois-Chicago</li> <li>Logan Cox, 2019, 6-2 C, East Central H.S., committed to IU-Kokomo</li> <li>Katie Herron, 2019, 6-1 C, New Palestine H.S.</li> <li>Maddy Robrock, 2019, 6-0 C, Huntington North H.S.</li> </ol> Header photo of Cydni Dodd of Warren Central H.S.; photo courtesy of indystar.com.