July Day-6 Headlines
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Once again I am playing a little catch-up here, but being in gyms nearly all day every day provides little opportunity to pump out reports. On Thursday my July continued in Westfield, Indiana, at the Under Armour Session II showcase. …
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Continue ReadingOnce again I am playing a little catch-up here, but being in gyms nearly all day every day provides little opportunity to pump out reports. On Thursday my July continued in Westfield, Indiana, at the Under Armour Session II showcase. I was obviously not able to see each team in attendance, but I did manage to get a look at several really nice teams and prospects throughout the day. Below is a look at four things that stood out to me from my Day-6 of July.
JUST WINGIN’ IT
Back in the Spring I wrote about how the Sky Digg Flight-Sullivan UAA team plays so well together, and they’ve continued that trend in July. They rely primarily on the combination of several wing prospects who are really nice basketball players. 5-11 W Keegan Sullivan (2020) of South Bend Saint Joseph has been as consistent as anyone all Summer, and the combination of her guard skill, size, and strength are tough to stop from attacking the basket. She has really put in time on her perimeter jumper, and she knocked down a big shot at the end of a quarter in the game I saw. She has a lot of Big East and Big Ten interest/offers, in addition to a lot of other Division-I stuff. I have also been really impressed with the play of 5-9 W Tia Tolbert (2020) of Vincennes Rivet. She has always played with a great motor, and her ability to play around the perimeter or attack the basket strong and finish through contact make her a really nice prospect. 5-9 W Claire Knies (2020) of Jasper has also played some quality minutes for this team. She is another strong, physical wing who can do a variety of things off the bounce. She has already committed to Bellarmine. 5-8 W Payton Cronen (2020) of Louisville Assumption (KY) has seen her interest really pick up over the last month and a half. She’s a dangerous 3-point shooter with a quick release. 5-7 G Harley Paynter (2021) of Boyd County (KY) is a new July addition to the team, and she has shown the ability to make shots from the perimeter or even handle it a little and run offense. There are a couple of really nice non-wings as well who have helped this team. 5-0 PG Kelsie James (2020) of Jeffersonville might be on the short side of things, but at times she has made this team go. She is tough-nosed, quick/fast, and she’s skilled and understands the game well. If she was 5-7, I have no doubt she’d have Division-I interest/offers. 6-1 C Christina Himelick (2020) of Mishawaka Marian has been a nice addition to this team this grassroots season. She is a strong, physical, high-motor post who does whatever her team needs. She is primarily a defender/rebounder type of post, but she does have solid hands and can score on the block. 5-11 G Ella Collier (2020) of Danville Community and 6-2 C Lucy Robertson (2020) of North Harrison were both out with injury. Collier is already committed to Marian, while Robertson has committed to Bellarmine.
FLIGHT TIME
Throughout my day, I was able to see about a half of both the Indiana Flight 16U UAA team and the Indiana Flight Storm 17U team. For the 16U UAA team, 5-8 guards Katie Burton (2021) of Fishers and Hanna Knoll (2021) of Angola both continue to play extremely well and have coaches on the sidelines abuzz about them. Burton is such a good finisher/scorer, and Knoll is really good at controlling tempo and knocking down shots, that they compliment each other very well and have probably helped each other get recruited. 5-9 W Lilliann Frasure (2021) of North Judson-San Pierre continues to do Lilliann Frasure things. She is just a highly productive and versatile wing who can score it at all levels, handle the ball in transition, and she rebounds the wing position very well. I think 5-10 F Destiny Jackson (2021) of Fort Wayne Northrop is the one starting to really turn a corner. She has always had length and athleticism, but now she’s starting to think the game much better, and she’s showing a more diverse skillset. For the Flight Storm, I thought the 5-10 forward trio of Aliyah Evans (2020) of Greensburg, Ashley Schroer (2020) of Brownstown Central, and Rebecca Berry (2020) of South Vermillion were very good together. Evans has the most perimeter skill and can handle and pass it as well as any forward in this class. Schroer is playing for the first time this grassroots season, and her motor and ability to play inside-out really help this team. Berry has also typically been a nice inside-out forward, and she recently committed to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. I also thought 5-7 W Emily Rake (2020) of Center Grove played one of her better games I’ve seen. She is a tough, strong, physical wing who can play around the perimeter or in the mid-post.
GRAND APPEARANCE
The Grand Park Premier UA Rise 17U group has been pretty tight-knit over the years, and they were solid in the half I got to see of them on Thursday. With her future Head Coach in attendance, Ashland commit Sydney Jacobsen (2020) of West Lafayette Harrison was her typical steady self. She plays with such a high skill level, the ability to make shots consistently at all levels, and she has a great floor presence. I thought 6-1 C Abigail Pribble (2020) of West Lafayette Harrison gave one of her better performances of the Summer. She always plays with a motor, but she was all over the boards, blocking shots, and scoring it at the rim. It was good to see UT-Martin commit Haley Nichols (2020) of Avon back in action. Her combination of strength, physicality, and ability to knock down perimeter jumpers with range make her a really interesting matchup problem for opponents. 5-10 F Molly Walker (2020) of West Lafayette Harrison and 5-11 F Katie Davis (2020) of Danville Community were once again really good. Walker brings a nice toughness, solid athleticism, and a great motor to the mid-post, while Davis continues to improve and stretch her game. She can play inside-out, and added strength seems to have made her more confident and aggressive. I also like their scrappy little guards. 5-4 PG Brooke Shelton (2020) of Avon is a quick/fast and feisty lead guard. She does a nice job of handling and distributing it to teammates, plus she’s a real pest defensively. 5-4 G Maddi Fulks (2020) of Bethesda Christian can really play, and I feel like she’s a bit under-recruited still. She can fill it up, with range, but she’s also good with the ball in her hands, and she can run offense efficiently. Indianapolis commit Mackenzie Stien (2020) of Brownsburg and 6-0 C Alaina Omonodé (2020) of West Lafayette were not in uniform.
NON-INDIANA HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
Of all my July headline articles to choose a non-Indiana highlight, this was probably the easiest. If you get an opportunity to watch the FBC United-Hunt UAA team play, I suggest you do so. They have very talented and skilled prospects, but they also play well together. I went into the game already knowing 6-7 C Kamilla Cardosa (2020) and 6-2 W Treasure Hunt (2020), both of Hamilton Heights Christian (TN), because their team played in Indianapolis in December. If you’ll remember, that’s where Indy native Trinity Brady (2019) transferred to last year. Cardosa is a tall, strong, lengthy post, but for her size she moves around the floor impressively. She is a big-time presence defensively, she’s a tremendous passer offensively, and she’s tough to stop next to the rim. Hunt impressed me much more Thursday than back in December. She is a strong wing, she’s very athletic, and she can handle the ball and run offense, she can get to the basket and score through contact, plus she’s a capable perimeter shooter. She’s almost like a point forward. I also really liked 5-9 PG Raven Johnson (2021) of Westlake (GA). She is an explosive, athletic guard with good length. She has a solid handle, great instincts for the position, and she’s a nice passer. She understands how to manage a team, but at 5-9 she also moves like a smaller water-bug and can contain opposing ball-handlers 1-on-1. 6-1 W Savannah Samuel (2020) of Saint Francis (GA) also had her share of coaches there watching her. She is a little thin, but she’s extremely long, fluid, and smooth. She is good in the open floor, she can knock down perimeter shots, and once she gains a little more strength, I think she’ll be much more affective attacking the basket. I thought 6-1 F Olivia Cochran (2020) of G.W. Carver (GA) was one of the most intimidating prospects I’ve seen. She is strong, physical, and powerful, she plays with attitude on the interior, but she is also a nice athlete and showed the ability to knock down jumpers away from the rim, including a couple of 3-pointers. The bench wasn’t deep, but it was solid. 5-9 G Tate Walters (2020) of Buford (GA) is a solid athlete on the wing, she has some strength, and she plays with toughness and the ability to handle it a little or knock down the occasional jumper outside. 5-5 PG Jamaryn Blair (2021) of Bradley Central (TN) is somewhat smallish, but she’s a quick/fast water-bug, she’s very shifty and athletic, and she’s crafty with the basketball in her hands. 6-0 F Jayla Cody (2020) of Valdosta (GA) is a wiry strong forward who plays with a good motor. She’s a solid rebounder/defender type up front. And 6-5 Lydia Freeman (2020) of Westlake (GA) is a big-bodied true post who comes in and is a real presence in the paint. They were missing a couple of other talented individuals in national Top-25 6-0 G Madison Hayes (2020) of East Hamilton (TN), and 6-3 W Amirah Abdur-Rahim (2020) of Saint Francis (GA), whose brother Shareef played 12 years in the NBA.
Feature image of the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, Indiana. Image courtesy of townepost.com.