July 5th-12th Recap: Class of 2020
As we take a little time to relax between the two July “live” periods, I wanted to reflect upon a few prospects I saw July 5th through July 12th. While my focus is primarily Indiana, I saw several talented ladies…
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Continue ReadingAs we take a little time to relax between the two July “live” periods, I wanted to reflect upon a few prospects I saw July 5th through July 12th. While my focus is primarily Indiana, I saw several talented ladies from Michigan as well, as I attended the Run 4 Roses Classic, the USJN Premier Showcase, the Adidas Gauntlet Finale, and Under Armour’s Session II. Below is a look at members of the Class of 2020 who I thought stood out when I was able to see them.
Gabrielle Elliott, 5-10 W, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Michigan Storm UAA
When I had the chance to watch this Michigan Storm team last Thursday, they got off to a rough start in the game I saw, and both teams were very sloppy. But as the game progressed, it was clear that Gabrielle was a standout prospect. She started to take over slowly, and by the start of the second half she was dominant. She is a long, wiry strong, and very athletic wing prospect with a lot of bounce to her. She plays with energy, and she can make shots at all levels and is just a pure scorer. I don’t want to put too much pressure on her and say she’s exactly like Seimone Augustus, but stylistically I see a lot of similarities in their games offensively.
Cianna Gloster, 5-9 F, Swartz Creek H.S., Michigan Storm UAA
Cianna is another player on this Michigan Storm team who I thought stood out. She is absolutely full of energy and basically just outworks her matchup at both ends of the floor. She has a great frame, solid strength, and she’s a really nice athlete with good length and some bounce. She didn’t do much this game around the perimeter, and she was operating mostly out of the mid-post, but she appeared to be a really nice 15-feet-and-in type of athlete who grabs a ton of rebounds and scores on hustle plays and put-backs. The other thing I really liked, was that she was very versatile and effortful defensively.
Cameron Grant, 6-0 F, Macomb Dakota H.S., Indiana Elite Thunder
Because she plays for an Indiana Elite team, I’ve had the opportunity to view Cameron several times this Spring and Summer. Last Wednesday Indiana Elite’s Michigan State commit, 6-1 F/C Kendall Bostic (2020), went down with an ankle injury, and I thought Cameron stepped up nicely and gave them quality minutes. From what I’ve seen in the last five months, Cameron always plays with great energy, she’s tough-nosed, and she has a solid/strong frame. She runs the floor well, plays physical on the interior, but she has also shown a nice skillset in the mid-post, and she can occasionally step outside and knock down an open 3-pointer.
Ariel Jenkins, 6-0 F, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Michigan Crossover EYBL
Michigan has some really nice athletes in the Class of 2020, and Ariel is definitely an athlete. She has good length, a wiry strong frame, plus she runs the floor well and is somewhat bouncy. She seems like a fairly tough kid, she’s willing to play physical, and she does a nice job of protecting the paint and grabbing rebounds outside of her area. She plays with energy, and she can sit down and defend multiple positions around the perimeter. Offensively, I think she’s best served as a mid-post ‘4’, and while she might not get 20 points every night, she’s capable of affecting each game with her defense and rebounding.
Abigail Long, 5-5 PG, Portage Central H.S., Michigan Force
I kind of stumbled onto Abby because I went to watch an Indiana team and they matched up with this Michigan Force squad. Abby is a little water-bug who plays with really good quickness, she has good length for her size, and she seems to have an extremely feisty nature about her. She is very crafty and intelligent offensively, she takes care of the basketball, but she’s also a really nice passer and can create offense for others. She is a good perimeter shooter, and she does a nice job of creating space with the dribble. Defensively, she really gets after it and plays with a lot of energy, and she seems like a tough kid.
Xeryia Tartt, 5-8 W, Flint Hamady H.S., 1 Nation UAA
Xeryia has sort of an unorthodox style of play, and it took me a little time to settle into the game I saw of this 1 Nation team before I started to understand what kind of player she was. She is a strong and physical wing, built more like an undersized power forward, but she possesses really good ball skill and can definitely facilitate. She kind of has a slow and steady pace to her game offensively, and she’ll lull you to sleep a little bit; then she’ll make a quick dribble move or a great pass and hurt the defense. My biggest concern is how a college program might use her defensively, because she could stand to be a bit more explosive in all directions at that end of the floor, but she is willing to battle taller players.
Shaulana Wagner, 5-9 G, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Michigan Crossover EYBL
I have now seen Shaulana in both the Spring and Summer, and while she does have solid college interest, I still think she’s a little under-recruited right now. She has some length, a wiry frame, and she moves well in all directions. I wish she was maybe a little faster, but she is just so smooth in her movements, and she glides around the floor somewhat effortlessly. Shaulana has solid ball skill to where she can occasionally take on point guard responsibilities, but she’s also a good perimeter shooter and can run off of screens to get shots. Plus I like how she gives good energy and has some versatility at the defensive end of the floor. At the end of the day, I think the school who lands her services is going to be very happy.
Feature image is of Gabrielle Elliott of Detroit Edison Public School Academy. Image is courtesy of usatodayhss.com.