Kansans to Watch at the Iowa PGH Top 250 Expo

The Iowa Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo is only days away.  Sunday morning, October 27, eleven Kansas players will be joining dozens of other players from around the region to show off their games to college coaches, friends and family, and the staff and scribes of Prep Girls Hoops. Read on to learn a little about the each of them. <h5>2020</h5> <strong>#10 Ariyana Grassity, 5'4", PG, Topeka, Team KC Hoops</strong> - The first team all-Centennial League player led the state in assists (136), assist per game (6.8), and had by far the highest assists-to-turnover ratio (2.96). Grassity is dangerously quick with solid ball skills versus back court pressure and sees the floor very well. She is athletic around the rim and can shoot the three quickly off the pull-up. With good hand speed and off-ball anticipation she is major steal threat. At this past summer's Reign the Plains event she showed how impossibly difficult she can to defend at times when she gets in rhythm. A streak shooter with 30' range at one point she shot her team back into a game in the second half by nailing three consecutive threes and four of five, only broken up by a two-point basket. Grassity is a transfer from Highland Park. <h5>2021</h5> [caption id="attachment_91954" align="alignright" width="279"] St. Thomas Aquinas junior guard Madison Skelton lays it in off the drive.[/caption] <strong>#3 Madison Skelton, 5'8", PG, St. Thomas Aquinas, Next Level Eclipse</strong> - Skelton made the Sports In Kansas 5A state tournament team as a member of the class 5A state champions and was a Eastern Kansas League honorable mention. She is a very strong ball handler, passer, shooter, and scorer who plays with composure. Very good with ball fakes, Skelton has a quick first step to go with it.  Off the drive she also can drop a quick dime pass or hit a teammate with a no-look. <strong>NR Amiya Mack, 5'5", PG, Olathe North, Team KC Hoops</strong> - Mack puts solid ball skills to work in transition, keeps her head up, and has good court vision.  A pass first point guard, she runs the pick and roll well and makes solid lob entry passes. As a scorer she uses the glass well on drives to the basket. <strong>NR Elle Zars, 5'9", F, Mill Valley, Kansas Elite - </strong>According to her club coach and father Todd Zars, <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Elle has transitioned to the perimeter in the last year or two. She has a nice shot from the arc and an above average pull up. Her ball handling skills and perimeter confidence are continuing to develop. Elle was often the biggest kid on the floor when she was younger and that interior familiarity, combined with her developing athleticism, has turned her into a really good rebounder for her size. She has a strong basketball IQ and uses that to make up for average athletic ability. Elle is a solid player who doesn’t hurt you when she is on the floor.</span> [caption id="attachment_106072" align="alignright" width="200"] Mill Valley junior forward Elle Zars scores inside during her a game for her club team, Kansas Elite.[/caption] <h5>2022</h5> <strong>#4 Talayah Thomas, 5'7", G, Topeka, Team KC Hoops</strong> - Thomas was a starter on runner-up 6A state tournament team. For the season she averaged 7.6 points, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. She also lead all freshman with a assists-to-turnover ratio of 1.94. Thomas is a strong ball handler, making effective use of change of pace and crossover dribbles. She is also a versatile scorer from three point range, with a good in-the-lane floater and a knock down pull-up jumper off the drive. <strong>#13 Abby Augustine, 5'8", G, Blue Valley Southwest, Team KC Hoops</strong> - Augustine is a lefty with a terrific motor. She is a good three point shooter with 25' range, makes good use of a crossover on the drive, and finishes well on both sides of the rim. Her IQ really shows in the flow of how she sees the floor as she plays.  Notable also is how quickly she gets the ball out off of defensive rebounds, how active of a defender she is against screens and dribble drive attempts, how good her hands are to score off the catch inside, and her transition vision and ball skills. [caption id="attachment_106073" align="alignleft" width="152"] Sophomore guard Emree Zars lays gets a score in transition for her club team Kansas Elite.[/caption] <strong>#30 Emree Zars, 5'10", PG, Mill Valley, Kansas Elite</strong> - In April Prep Girls Hoops's Mason Asher noted that "she is a long and lengthy guard who is so much more advanced than everyone on the floor. Her basketball IQ is light years ahead of her age and it shows. There is no reason not to think that she isn’t one of the top 2022 players in the state." Her father and coach Todd Zars comments that, while she normally plays point guard, she <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">can play any position on the floor.  He also says has a very high Basketball IQ and plays with huge effort. She understands perimeter spacing well and is above average on the drive.  Look for her to continuing to develop consistency from the arc. </span> <strong>NR Greta Trowbridge, 5'7", W, Mill Valley, Kansas Elite</strong> - In April Prep Girls Hoops's Mason Asher also saw Greta Trowbridge.  She "really impressed with scoring ability and movement without the ball." Coach Todd Zars states that <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Trowbridge is a really nice shooter, especially from the arc. She understands floor spacing will and looks to position herself to get open looks. She is developing her dribble drive and pull ups. Defensively she has improved greatly in the last two years and rebounds well for her size. </span> <strong>NR Maddie Vosburg, 6'0", F, Mill Valley, Kansas Elite/Hookshots</strong> - Coach Todd Zars commented that <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Vosburg, while raw, understands positioning well and is a strong rebounder.  She has above average presence in the paint with her length and runs the floor well. As her offensive skills and paint presence grows Vosburg should have a solid sophomore season. </span> [caption id="attachment_106076" align="alignright" width="141"] Mill Valley sophomore center Maddie Vosburg looks to score inside during a game with her club team Kansas Elite.[/caption] <h5>2023</h5> <strong>Emari Doby, 5'8", G, Shawnee Heights, Team KC Hoops</strong> - Doby's athleticism and good length is put to strong use on her quick, wing drives to the rim.  She can be an impact player in her first high school season as a Thunderbird. <h5>2024</h5> <strong>Jadyn Wooten, 5'5", G, Prairie Star MS, Team KC Hoops</strong> - Wooten is a year away from hitting the high school ranks.  Hanging 18 points (2/5 from the three point line), 4 steals, and 3 assists on Ohlde Elite 2023 Pink in a three point loss at July's Reign the Plains event shows she will be one of the top 2024 incoming freshmen to watch when she does. &nbsp; <em>Featured image: Mill Valley junior Greta Trowbridge gets up for a lay-in during a game with her club team Kansas Elite. Courtesy of Todd Zars.</em>