End Of Summer Wrap-Up: Part-1

As I've said in past articles, my focus is primarily Indiana, but with many of the Indiana teams traveling cross-country for different events during July's second "live" period, I remained in the Midwest and attended USJN's Midwest Summer Showcase in Westfield, Indiana, July 21st &amp; 22nd, and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, for Certified Basketball's The Finale on July 23rd and 24th.  I saw several teams from Ohio, and below is a look at nine 2020 prospects specifically from Ohio who had nice performances when I was able to watch them. &nbsp; <strong>Sydney Bourquin, 5-8 W, Jonathan Alder H.S., Capital City Comets 17U</strong> Sydney's Capital City Comets team played a brutal schedule at The Finale, but each game I saw of her, she played well and didn't back down from legit Division-I prospects.  Sydney has broad shoulders, a wiry strong frame, and good length.  She plays with a motor, toughness, and physicality on the wing.  I thought she shot it reasonably well from the perimeter, and if she can make that just a hair more consistent, she could be someone you can't leave.  She is fairly athletic off the dribble, and she is strong enough to finish through contact at times.  I also was impressed with her willingness to play in the mid-post on occasion against bigger, stronger opponents.  All in all, I think she is a nice wing who has skill and discipline to her game, and I could see a variety of schools...from Division-I to the small college ranks...show interest in her. &nbsp; <strong>Madison Burton, 6-2 C, Bethel-Tate H.S., Cincinnati Lady Tigers 17U</strong> Madison is a good-sized post prospect who I could see several small colleges lining up for this Fall and Winter.  She is very strong, physical, and she plays extremely hard for a post player.  Madison has decent hands, and she scores mostly off of simple moves, put-backs, and lay-ups off of others' penetration.  She could definitely use some polish to her low-post game, maybe a couple of go-to moves and counters, and it wouldn't hurt to make everything more instinctual instead of thinking through each move.  However, she currently finds ways to be productive/effective each time she takes the floor.  I think she has really good upside because of her size and work ethic, so if her post skill continues to develop, she could really take off in college. &nbsp; <strong>Makira Cook, 5-7 PG, Mount Notre Dame H.S., Sports City U 17U</strong> I have mentioned Makira in a couple of past articles, and she continues to be worth the price of admission.  She is strong, quick/fast, and very dynamic off the bounce.  She can get into the heart of a defense and score the ball in a variety of ways, or she can collapse it and find any of her talented teammates for them to finish.  She is a very good perimeter shooter with a rhythm dribble, and she can bury shots with range well beyond the 3-point line.  I think she could use a little more work on different types of shots, and once she makes everything consistent outside, she could become nearly impossible to defend.  What's most impressive, though, is her willingness and ability to defend the ball at a high level as well.  She doesn't take breaks at that end of the floor, and she can change a game defensively. &nbsp; <strong>Kate Garry, 5-9 W, Loveland H.S., Cincinnati Swish-Fladung 17U</strong> Kate is a very intriguing wing prospect, and she's someone who could develop into a real threat at the next level.  She has broad shoulders, some strength, but she also has length, some bounce to her game, and she plays with a very good motor.  She has good feet and hands, which contribute to her quick release shooting it from the perimeter, plus she is a very accurate shooter with a nice-looking lefty stroke.  She plays the right way, and she hustles at both ends of the floor, but if she can continue working on being just a little more dynamic off the dribble and work on her lateral movements, I think that will really help her for the MAC.  Speaking of the MAC, she has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Akron. &nbsp; <strong>Chelsi Giesige, 5-8 G, Paulding H.S., Indiana Flight Storm 17U</strong> Chelsi is recently well-traveled, as she grew up in Ohio, moved to Columbus, Indiana, for a couple of years, playing her Freshman and Sophomore years at Columbus North High School, then she returned to Ohio a year ago.  She is a long, wiry strong combo guard, who has a natural feel for the game.  She is a nice athlete in all directions, she can handle it and run offense, and she sees the floor very well.  She can also play off the ball, drive it to the basket, and knock down the occasional open jumper from the perimeter.  I also like her motor and toughness, and she is willing to defend whoever her team needs her to each time out.  She has already given a verbal commitment to Trine University...back in Indiana. &nbsp; <strong>Cierra Harris, 5-8 F, Sylvania Southview H.S., Toledo Thunder-Johnson 17U</strong> Cierra is a bit undersized for how she plays, but she packs a punch and really brings it.  She is a strong, tough-nosed athlete with a great frame.  She can battle girls 6-feet tall without trouble, because she has a nice fight to her, she loves physicality, and her strength and athleticism more than make up for her height.  She is a little odd, because in a day and age when everyone wants to be a guard, she prefers playing inside of 15-feet and battling, despite having a nice-looking jump-shot with 3-point range, plus she has solid ball skills and can take care of it around the perimeter or attack the basket and finish through contact.  I think she has the upside to be a really nice "fit" kid at the Division-I level, and I think she can play the wing position full-time, but I can also see her being a versatile, do-everything kid at the small college level. &nbsp; <strong>Kaydan Lawson, 6-0 W, Orange H.S., Toledo Thunder-Johnson 17U</strong> Kaydan is an extremely talented wing with a great deal of substance, but she still has a lot of potential as well to be even better.  She is extremely long (<em>arms and legs</em>), she has broad shoulders, and she just glides around the floor effortlessly at times.  When she has the ball in her hands, she is a playmaker off the bounce, and she can create for others or score on a variety of finishes, runners, and pull-ups.  She is good going both directions, and she's strong enough to finish through contact.  When she plays off the ball, she is a capable shooter with range who you can run off of screens.  There isn't much she can't do offensively, and when she's fully engaged she can be dominant at times and take over games.  I think the combination of her size, skill, and versatility, make her a really attractive prospect to most mid to high-major Division-I programs who get the chance to see her. &nbsp; <strong>Madeline Westbeld, 6-2 F, Kettering Fairmont H.S., Sports City U 17U</strong> What I think impressed me the most about Madeline at The Finale, was that on the final day of her grassroots career, ranked highly in the country, and with plenty of scholarship offers in hand, she probably played as hard as anyone I saw against a team they were beating by 30+ points.  Then consider her size and position, and she has a chance to be special at the next level.  She has a great frame, good athleticism in all directions, but it was her skillset that was on full display at this event.  She handled the ball a lot in transition, made multiple dribble moves with the ball tight to her body, and created scoring chances for her teammates.  She also shot it well from the perimeter.  She is built like a post, has the skill of a wing, and she plays with the motor of someone looking to earn that first offer.  We've said plenty about her over the last year, but what more could define her than that? &nbsp; <strong>Evie Wolshire, 5-10 F, Fairfield Union H.S., South Central Hoopstars 17U</strong> I saw Evie a couple of times at the USJN event, and each game she made big play after big play, and she did so at both ends of the floor.  She is a long, fluid, and fairly athletic forward who does a variety of things for her team.  She is probably most effective in the mid-post, and she showed both a nice mid-range jumper, as well as the ability to attack the basket and finish through contact and around length.  She can also step outside and knock down the occasional jumper.  Defensively, she was actually a nice shot-blocking presence, despite being just 5-10, she rebounds the ball outside of her area, and she was able to defend undersized posts, most '4s', and several wings and guards.  At the end of the day, she is a really nice, versatile, small college prospect who I think can be plugged in just about anywhere in a lineup and help them succeed.  She was incredibly intriguing.