Pure Sweat skills workout: Izzy Akoro the hidden gem

Thanks to the invitation from Pure Sweat skills trainer, David Ruckman, I was able to see part of the process of O'Fallon standout <strong>Izzy Akoro</strong> working herself back to game shape from a knee injury. Add to it <strong>Sammi Matoush</strong> from Hillsboro and <strong>Sophie Heck</strong> from Nashville and I got to see some excellent talent. Coach Ruckman led the girls through a series of drills throughout the 90 minutes working on creating space for open shots, hitting shots off the catch while on the move and finishing at the rim. In this format you can really see how special Akoro can be. At 6'2 she can handle and shoot the outside shot like very few players. She can handle the ball like a guard and moves the ball around her back, between her legs and back and forth with true style and grace. Like the ball is on a string, it is always in her control. She has always had an ability to shoot the ball. You could tell she is still rounding back into to shape and getting her core strength back as there wasn't as much lift on her shot as I have seen in the past. Still, she was hitting the mid range shots at a very high rate and continued to show the range out to and beyond the 3 point line. Izzy has had interest from major D1 schools and has the ability to play Power 5 conference basketball, the issue will be can she stay healthy. It will be exciting to watch her in Southwest Conference games this year to see exactly what she can do. Sammi Matoush continues to gain my respect with how hard she works. She is preparing for her senior season with a real intensity. She is working out with Coach Ruckman 2 nights a week, driving an hour to get there and lifting 2 days a week, trying to get stronger. Sammi was just deadly from the 3 point range the night I watched her, but that should be no surprise as she went all the way to the State Finals in the State Farm 3 point competition last year. But, if it is possible, I think she is getting better. She showed good finishing moves around the basket with good creativity and execution. Sammi is continuing to focus on her ball handling, playing better defense and the goal of leading her team to a Regional Championship her senior season. Sophie Heck is hoping to have a good senior season at Nashville and has been working very hard with Coach Ruckman. Sophie has a nice outside shot and is very strong for a wing player. She will pop the outside shot if you give her room and is working on getting better at her ball handling and driving skills to combat defenders who get tight on her to take away the outside shot. Coach Ruckman does an excellent job working with the girls and developing their ball handling and offensive skills while also coaching defensive skills as they compete against each other in the drills. I look forward to continuing to work with him and specifically a follow up in a couple of weeks to see how these girls are progressing and how Izzy is rounding into shape. &nbsp; &nbsp;