Lady Gym Rats Invitational: 2020 Prospects Of Note

This past weekend was the annual Lady Gym Rats Invitational in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  While I primarily cover the state of Indiana, I was able to see the Michigan Crossover teams in 17U/16U/15U, Mac Irvin Lady Fire Godfather in 17U, the WPA Bruins in 17U, and the Dayton Lady Hoopstars Premier 17U team.  In this article, I wanted to highlight seven ladies who weren't from Indiana but who stood out throughout the weekend.  I have only seen each of them once, so these are literally my first impressions based on that performance. &nbsp; <strong>Madelyn Dziezgowski, 5-10 W, Bethel Park H.S. (PA), WPA Bruins UAA</strong> Madelyn isn't the flashiest, most elite prospect on this WPA team, but she is one of those kids who is quietly productive, and I'm guessing if I watched her more and more, I would find that she is terribly consistent.  She is a wiry strong wing, a solid on-the-floor athlete, and she's versatile skillfully.  She can put it on the floor a little and get somewhere, she can knock down open jumpers at all levels when in rhythm, and she is tough-nosed and will battle on the boards or play physical defensively.  I don't know that she'll ever score 30 points in a game, but she strikes me as a kid who is always around 12-15 points, 6-8 rebounds, 3-4 assists, and about a half dozen hustle plays per game.  She's the kid colleges recruit to help them win ballgames. &nbsp; <strong>Kylee Lewandowski, 6-0 W, North Catholic H.S. (PA), WPA Bruins UAA</strong> Kylee is an extremely long, fluid &amp; smooth, but rather thin wing prospect.  She moves around the floor somewhat effortlessly, she is skilled offensively, and she has as pure of a shooting stroke as I've seen this Spring.  She has good mechanics, a quick release, and she's every bit as good from 3-point range as she is from 15-feet.  I really enjoy shooters cutting off of motion screens and being able to turn, catch, and shoot it consistently, and she does those things well.  She handles it solidly, though she will need to be able to absorb contact a bit better at the next level, and strength could also benefit her at the defensive end of the floor.  Shooters are at a premium right now, though, so I'm sure she has a lot of college interest. &nbsp; <strong>Danyel Middleton, 5-10 F, Bolingbrook H.S. (IL), Mac Irvin Lady Fire Godfather</strong> Every team needs a kid who just flies around the floor, makes plays, and brings energy, and Danyel is one of those players.  She is a wiry strong athlete first and foremost, she can run and jump with the best of them, she's tough-nosed, and she can play physical.  Her team started off a little sluggish in the game I saw, but by the second half they were in attack mode and she was a big reason for that.  She is a pursuing rebounder who comes up with a lot of second chance points because she can cover ground so quickly and beat others to loose balls and rebounds.  She has a solid handle and can push it in transition at times, plus she's good attacking the rim off the bounce.  I didn't really see her shoot it much from the perimeter, but she was solid in the mid-post.  If she can improve anywhere, it would be to sense tone, understand situations, and learn how to change speeds. &nbsp; <strong>Valerie Muhlenkamp, 6-0 F, Fort Recovery H.S. (OH), Dayton Lady Hoopstars Premier</strong> Valerie is actually the one kid on this list who I had seen previously, but it has been a couple of years.  She has come a long way over that time period, and I was impressed with how much she has changed her game.  Valerie is a long, fairly fluid face-up '4' who has transitioned from being more of a true post as a youngster.  This past weekend she was putting it on the floor confidently and attacking the basket from the mid-post, she shot it well at 15-feet, and she even hit a couple of 3-pointers, which should really keep defenses honest.  She still needs to gain a little strength and absorb contact better, plus she's still learning how to defend the perimeter a little bit, but her skill development was impressive to me.  She has already committed to the University of Findlay. &nbsp; <strong>Tess Myers, 5-10 W, North Catholic H.S. (PA), WPA Bruins UAA</strong> Tess was kind of that energy kid for the WPA team.  She was a big reason they were able to knock off Michigan Crossover when I saw them in pool play Saturday.  She is an athletically strong wing who does a little of everything fairly well.  She can handle it and pass it like a guard, she's aggressive attacking the basket and can finish through contact, and she can hit shots at all levels.  She is just a tough-nosed competitor who plays with a great deal of versatility and physicality at both ends of the floor.  College coaches like those kids who you can plug into a lineup, regardless of what position is open (<em>aside from the post</em>), and they can be highly productive.  She's one of those kids...hard to define by position...but just a ballplayer. &nbsp; <strong>Darrione Rogers, 5-11 W, Lake Park West H.S. (IL), Mac Irvin Lady Fire Godfather</strong> Sometimes you come across a kid, and for one reason or another they are just purely entertaining.  Darrione is that kid.  She's incredibly difficult to define by position; she's just an offensive weapon with nearly enough firepower to take on an entire opposing team.  Darrione is built like a power forward, and if you just watch a brief stretch where she doesn't touch it a lot, that's probably what you think of her.  But I doubt you can go an entire game, or even a half or quarter, and not be intrigued by some of the things she can do with the ball.  She handles it in transition, she can attack the basket and finish at odd angles through contact, she even pulled out a 1-dribble hop-back move and knocked down a shot from about 23-feet, then a couple of possessions later buried one from closer to 27-feet, pulling up in transition.  She is very unique in the girls' game, and she will need a little discipline to her game, but I think DePaul University, where she has committed, got themselves a future All-Big East kid. &nbsp; <strong>Shaulana Wagner, 5-10 W, Detroit Edison Public School Academy (MI), Michigan Crossover EYBL</strong> Shaulana doesn't have nearly the hype of several of her grassroots teammates, she even has quite a few high school teammates drawing much more college interest, but she is a skillful, talented wing who is probably a little under-the-radar because of it.  Shaulana is a wiry strong, fluidly athletic wing who runs and jumps fairly well.  She is a solid ball-handler, and she can attack the basket athletically and finish through contact, but she's also a capable perimeter shooter when she has her feet set and is in rhythm.  She plays with a nonstop motor, she can defend multiple positions, and she seems like she really enjoys playing and is a good teammate.  I think she could start to see her recruiting pick up quite a bit over the next couple of months.