Still Sleeping In 2021
Now that the Spring session of the grassroots season is in the books, I wanted to go back and highlight a few girls who I feel like are still somewhat under-the-radar as far as their recruiting and statewide recognition go. …
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Continue ReadingNow that the Spring session of the grassroots season is in the books, I wanted to go back and highlight a few girls who I feel like are still somewhat under-the-radar as far as their recruiting and statewide recognition go. Below are five such girls in Indiana’s Class of 2021 who I feel are really nice basketball players, but maybe they don’t quite get the attention they should from either colleges, the media, or both.
Carley Culberson, 2021, 5-7 G, Yorktown H.S.
Carley came out on fire her Freshman season, as she averaged 15.1 points and 4.1 steals, plus she knocked down 44 3-pointers en route to leading Yorktown to the Sectional Championship game. Then last Fall she played Junior Varsity football and tore her ACL, missing the entire 2018-2019 basketball season and the 2019 Spring grassroots season. She is “sleeping” a bit because she just hasn’t been seen on a basketball floor since her Freshman year, so there’s a lot of unfamiliarity with her and her game. She is a long, fast, and athletic combo guard, she can shoot it with range, fly by defenders to the basket, and she makes a lot of plays at the defensive end with her quickness and length. Pre-injury, I had no doubt she would draw her share of Division-I interest, so hopefully she returns to form soon.
Mersadez “Irye” Gomez, 2021, 5-8 G, Bedford North Lawrence H.S.
Irye has played grassroots basketball since I can remember, and she has always flashed a really good understanding of the game, a balanced skillset, and some physical ability. However in a quality program like Bedford, she has played on good teams with other quality players, so she’s been awaiting her turn. She should get that this coming Winter, but in the meantime she has shined on the grassroots circuit. She is a wiry strong athlete, she plays with a good motor, and she is able to score the ball at all levels effectively. This Spring I have seen her handle it much more than she has in the past, so that’s very intriguing to me. It has helped her score the ball at a much higher rate, and it has helped open up teammates as well. She has been really good each time I’ve seen her.
Paige Ledford, 2021, 6-0 F/C, Jac-Cen-Del H.S.
Paige is someone who you could say even we are sleeping on, as she doesn’t even appear in our current Class of 2021 rankings. I have seen her a few times over the last couple of years, but after watching her again this Spring, I think she’s really improved and is someone who college coaches can appreciate. She is a strong kid, with broad shoulders, a little bit of length, and she plays with a great motor and physicality. She likes to seek out contact, she has good hands and feet, and she can finish inside with a variety of post moves. She also possesses a really nice face-up game to about 15-feet, and she has a soft touch in the mid-post. But it’s her motor that just wins you over, because she often pursues rebounds outside of her area, and all-in-all just outworks her matchup.
Kami Miller, 2021, 5-9 W, Gibson Southern H.S.
Being from Southern Indiana and not playing grassroots basketball this Spring, it kind of acts like a double-edged sword as far as her visibility goes. Kami is a long, fluid, and fairly smooth athlete who plays almost a point forward role for her high school team. She has a solid handle and can bring it up in transition, start the offense in the half-court, and she can make plays off the bounce and create for others. She is a very good perimeter shooter at 40% (31-77) from 3-point range, but I still think she’s even better when she’s moving in the open floor making plays off the dribble. She can also be a really effective defender and trapper with her length and athleticism.
Laila Rogers, 2021, 5-10 F, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute
I have been a fan of Laila’s since I first saw her in 8th Grade, and I feel like she’s someone who does whatever her team needs her to do in order to win games. She has broad shoulders, an athletic frame, really good length, and wiry strength. She is a very nice North/South athlete with some bounce in her step, and she plays with a nonstop motor, especially when it comes to rebounding and finishing around the basket. She has a solid 15-foot jumper, and she’s really effective offensively in the mid-post, so I feel like she’s probably better suited as a face-up ‘4’, but if she could ever develop that perimeter game just a little bit more, I think her Division-I interest could pick up a great deal.