Run 4 The Roses: Mason’s Saturday Notebook
The biggest AAU basketball tournament in the nation kicks off the July viewing period as the Run 4 the Roses is being held over four days in Louisville. Over 1000 teams are competing on 78 courts spread out over four days. On the second day I was able to see some really solid play and came away with three takeaways.
Indiana Flight UAA 2022 is a Great Group to Watch
This was my first time seeing this Indiana Flight UAA team play as a group. While I had seen their players play on their respective high school teams I was excited to finally get a glance at them during the summer. Diana Burgher, Abigail Ratts, and Emme Rooney all really impressed me. Burgher was playing well out to the perimeter and was showing the ability to be productive. Ratts was playing really well and was hustling for everything. I thought that she was scoring well on the inside but also showing a very solid feel for the game. Rooney was doing a bit of everything for her team and I noticed quickly. She was scoring the ball a little, she was making really good passes, and she was rebounding the ball and getting it up the floor fast. This is a group with a lot of nice prospects, but these were the three that really stood out today to me.
Whitney Brown is a Pure Scorer
I have seen Brown a couple times now this summer and she has continually gotten better for the CSS Bison team out of Nebraska. I really like her aggressiveness to the basket and I think that she’s one of the better complete scorers that I have seen all year. Brown can get to the basket at a very solid rate, but she also shoots the ball from beyond the arc very well. I love her aggression with the ball and that sets her apart from others on the floor. Tenacious defender who can turn defense into offense very quickly. Brown’s recruiting should take off very soon.
Shay Ijiwoye is Going to be Special
As I was watching the Beyond Ball 24K team play, there was a feisty guard who caught my attention on the AZ Elite White team. She was getting to the rim really well and finishing, but she was also playing really scrappy. She had an edge to her game that I really liked. Come to find out, she’s a 2024 and playing like a senior. She’s really strong with a solid basketball IQ. Ijiwoye is going to be a very good player and her game was on full display on Saturday evening. This is a player to keep an eye on for the next five years.