Insider Exposure Hoosier Heat Takeaways

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Nars Martinez

July 13, 2019 @ 10:07 PM

The first half of the Division 1 viewing period has now concluded and Insider Exposure's Hoosier Heat was definitely one of the top events in the country. With hundreds of college coaches and club teams in attendance, this tourney turned out to be as solid as advertised. Continuing with our post-event coverage, I will now touch on some of the top takeaways I have from the tournament. 1) Under Armour Association is here to stay... The UAA was well represented in John McGraw's event and his ties to Under Armour club director's are obviously very strong. There was a lot of speculation about how these teams would compete before their inaugural season this year and they have showed out very well. FGB, Arkansas Banshees, South Beach Elite, West Virginia Thunder, Example Sports, Vegas United and multiple other UAA programs performed very well across multiple age groups in this event. Having seen adidas, Nike and Under Armour teams, there is zero drop off in talent with the new league. 2) Speed kills... The biggest difference between the pretty good teams and the very good teams was simply foot speed. I was a first hand witness to foot speed out dueling so many other quality attributes on the floor, because it was so disruptive and allowed teams to play so aggressive. New York Gauchos Black, Vegas United and South Beach Elite are prime examples of foot speed overwhelming opponents. 3) Hidden gems can be found anywhere in the country... California, Florida, New York Indiana and other obvious states produce high level talent on a regular basis and everyone knows it. One easily overlooked state is Montana and two girls in particular really showed they belong among the nation's best. 2021 6'2 SF Sydney Dethman (Froid HS) really impressed with her skill set, length and ability to glide down the floor. She is a very recruitable wing prospect in the rising junior class. 2022 5'9 G Brooke Berry (Skyview HS) was one of the better 2022 athletes in the event and she also displayed a nice mid range jumper. In her first tourney ever on the circuit, she wow'ed at times with her natural instincts on the court. 4) West Virginia Thunder's program is legit... I had heard so much about the WV Thunder program and finally had the opportunity to watch them live in action. The number one thing that stood out to me is just how well trained and coached their players are. They really run their sets well and understand the nuances of the game. Each one of their teams performed at a very high level and they played competitive schedules throughout. One player I really liked was 2021 5'9 G Madison Roshelle (Princeton HS/OH). She was electric in transition and even showed some confidence in her outside shot, although going to the rim seems to be more of her game. It is always a pleasant surprise when the hype of a team/program is reciprocated on the floor.