An Oversight? Class 3A Sleepers

Indiana is blessed to have so many quality basketball players, and with more than 400 high schools in the state, there are anywhere from 7,500 to 8,000 girls playing throughout the state in a given year. PGH Indiana currently has 375 girls ranked between 2019 and 2022, so it’s impossible for us to rank everyone. Even if we just trimmed those 8,000 down to the pool of girls who are college prospects, it would be a tall task. Therefore, prospects are omitted by accident, sometimes they fly under the radar unseen, or they have been evaluated and are just outside of our lists, on the cusp of getting in. Regardless, since we have previewed Class 3A this week, I wanted to take the time to highlight eight young ladies who are all very nice basketball players, but who were not ranked the last time we published our lists. In my eyes, they deserve to be pinnacled for their abilities, because they are definitely college prospects.   [caption id="attachment_14746" align="alignright" width="259"] Lauren Burns of West Noble[/caption] Lauren Burns, 2019, 5-3 PG, West Noble H.S. West Noble is a team deep with Seniors this season, and while classmate Madison Schermerhorn might be the best pure prospect, Lauren is the one who makes this team go. She is smallish, but she’s very quick / fast, she’s feisty, and she’s a playmaker at both ends of the floor. She has the ability to get by her defender and break down defenses, but she’s also a good perimeter shooter who can keep defenses honest and not allow them to sag back. Defensively, she can pick up 84-feet, and she does a nice job of both turning the ball-handler, and of reading passing lanes and getting deflections.   Jenna Cowart, 2019, 5-9 W, Danville Community H.S. Last season a lot of attention was paid to talented 2020 wing Ella Collier and a host of 2018 graduates who were all solid basketball players. Jenna is one of those kids flying under the radar who I think could explode this season and really show out. She is extremely long, fluid, and very smooth. She glides around the floor and moves very easily, she can put it on the floor and run offense a little like a point forward, and she’s a capable scorer at all levels, but she seems to prefer to facilitate more. Defensively is where I think she’s underrated, as she uses her length well and can take on multiple types of players effectively.   Kassidy Dishman, 2020, 5-7 G, Delta H.S. Kassidy is in a conference with several really nice players, and she’s in a well-coached system at Delta where they share the ball well and no one puts up gaudy numbers. But understand that she can play the game. She is a fairly strong combo guard who is best attacking the basket off the bounce. She’s a capable shooter, but her ability to get to the rim and to the foul line are her bread & butter. I would like to see her be a more aggressive scorer, because I think she differs a little too much. She’s another kid who can defend multiple types of perimeter players equally well, and she’s solid every time out.   Makayla Richie, 2020, 5-6 W, Knox H.S. When I first heard about Makayla’s high school teammate Lindsey Simpson and saw them play, Makayla was the next player who stood out to me on Knox’s team. She is maybe just a hair short for her position, but she’s a skilled wing who can really shoot the ball from the perimeter. She does a nice job of moving without the basketball, and she finds open space around the perimeter and burns opposing defenses. This season, I look for her to become more of a complete scorer and use the free throw line as a weapon, plus with Simpson’s ability to find open teammates, I look for Makayla to put up really good numbers once again.   [caption id="attachment_13494" align="alignleft" width="200"] Ashley Schroer of Brownstown[/caption] Ashley Schroer, 2020, 5-9 F, Brownstown Central H.S. Year after year Brownstown puts together really good teams and has someone new develop and step into the forefront. I think this year that player will be Ashley. She did have a nice Sophomore season one year ago, but I think with another year of strength and understanding, she can become their go-to person. She is a solid athlete in all directions, she has really good length, wiry strength, and she plays with a great motor. She’s probably best and most consistent in the mid-post, but she can take smaller defenders to the block, plus she’s yet another versatile defender on this list.   Brooke Smith, 2020, 6-1 F/C, Leo H.S. Brooke is an intriguing front-liner who I think could have a much-improved season this time around. She is extremely long, fairly fluid, and she moves around the floor well. She actually prefers to play facing the basket, but as of last year she did need to get much stronger. Defensively, she uses her length well to block shots, or at least alter them, and she can come out away from the basket and defend the perimeter a little. Once again, I think as she gets stronger, she will start to put together much more consistent offensive numbers, and this could be that year.   [caption id="attachment_14747" align="alignright" width="218"] Sydney VanMeter of Rensselaer[/caption] Sydney VanMeter, 2020, 5-10 F, Rensselaer Central H.S. Sydney is someone I first saw as a Freshman, and my thought then was that as soon as she improves her strength, she’ll be a really nice ballplayer. When I saw her this July, I thought similarly, but I did notice that she has gotten stronger, she’s shooting it much better and with more confidence, and now she’s really starting to put it on the floor and attack the basket. She’s finishing through contact a lot better, and I think she’s primed for a big year at Rensselaer. She is extremely long, fluid, and somewhat smooth. She can play around the perimeter or in the mid-post equally well, and she plays with a good motor.   Makenzie Woodcox, 2020, 6-0 F/C, Tippecanoe Valley H.S. Tippecanoe Valley has turned out several really nice players over the years, and this season, due to graduation losses, Makenzie should get her turn and has the chance to step up and be their #2. She is a strong kid with an athletic frame. She moves well around the floor, she can play physical and chippy inside, but she also has a nice face-up game to about 17-feet. She’s built more like a post, but I think she’ll actually be a mid-post forward for them this season. She’s talented enough to go from being a solid bench player last season to a double-double machine this season.   Header photo of Jenna Cowart (#5) of Danville Community High School playing defense; photo courtesy of dailyjournal.net. Photo of Lauren Burns courtesy of parkviewsportsnetwork.com. Photo of Ashley Schroer courtesy of tribtown.com. Photo of Sydney VanMeter courtesy of Rensselaer Central's Hudl account.