Basketball Is Back!!!

Where to begin...for however brief or long we are able to leave our houses and enjoy the company of others, 6-feet apart of course, it was refreshing to see so many familiar faces and meet several new ones over the last three weeks at various grassroots basketball events. While masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing have become part of our regularly accepted routine, when a referee tosses that ball up in the air, one thing is clear...it’s basketball as usual and all of our cares seem to disappear, even if just for those few minutes displayed on the scoreboard each game. I will have several follow-up articles over the next few days specifically chronicling the action I saw, but I wanted to begin with this quick introduction of a few things that stood out to me as we head into the heart of the Summer.   EMOTION Of course the cliched thrill of victory and agony of defeat emotions were well on-hand over the last few weeks, but what I am referencing is much deeper than that. I saw a great deal of excitement from kids who are just happy to be back in competition. There was more encouragement than ever from the sidelines by teammates and coaches. I also witnessed a lot more sense of urgency and dead-ball talk between teammates making sure everyone was matched up defensively or simply on the same page offensively. But I think the most significant emotion I have seen is the camaraderie between teammates, old friends and new, being able to catch up about anything and everything waiting for games, during warm-ups, and sitting on the bench. Our young people don’t deserve the events of 2020, but this is the hand they were dealt, and on the whole they have handled it better than many adults, so it is exciting to see them be able to just be normal kids again, smiling and engaging with one another, 32-minutes at a time.   TOP-TIER TALENT Not only were most of the best Hoosier prospects on hand at recent events, but several of the best national prospects showed up as well, and a lot of them are hanging around through the coming weekend. The #1 overall prospect in the Class of 2021, Azzi Fudd of Maryland, was on hand putting up points. The versatile and dynamic 5’11 combo guard is still undecided at this time. I was also able to catch 2021’s #4 overall Amari DeBerry of New York, a University of Connecticut commit, #10 overall Greta Kampschroeder of Illinois, an Oregon State University commit, and #19 overall Sonia Citron of New York, a University of Notre Dame commit. Even grassroots alums like 2020’s #1 overall prospect Paige Bueckers of Minnesota, a University of Connecticut signee, and 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball  Sydney Parrish Sydney Parrish 6'2" | SF Hamilton Southeastern | 2020 State IN , a University of Oregon commit, were on hand supporting teams. I think my favorite moment was watching 5’8 point guard Kamorea "K.K." Arnold of Wisconsin go head to head with Olivia Miles of New Jersey Sunday night. Olivia is the #2 overall prospect in 2021, a dynamic 5’10 point guard prospect with an incredible handle and the ability to find teammates anywhere on the floor, plus she is committed to the University of Notre Dame. K.K. has already made a name for herself, but she’s just a 2023 still trying to solidify her Top-10 national ranking and prove to everyone she belongs. Watching the two go at each other was as much fun as you’ll have in girls’ basketball, and while both prospects played well, the youngster never showed fear or backed down, and K.K. helped lead her Midwest Elite 17U EYBL team to what many considered to be an upset of the incredibly talented Philly Belles 17U EYBL squad.   RECRUITING While there were no Division-I or Division-II coaches in attendance at events, it was nice to see many Midwestern Division-III, NAIA, NJCAA, and USCAA coaches out on the trail looking for their future all-conference performers. And what was nice for those coaches is that they are all able to interact with parents and prospects at the events, letting them know of their interest. Make no mistake about it, though, as the bigger schools are tuned in to social media and video streams, plus they’re reaching out via calls and texts to travel coaches and evaluators like myself, trying to figure out if there is anyone they need to add to their lists or who they need to get a little more serious about moving forward. I specifically spoke to a pair of Big Ten assistants who were tasked with watching streamed games nonstop on their computers. While it isn’t ideal for them, they were excited to at least get to see something new in real time. There have also been a number of offers role in for prospects over the last couple of weeks, so please don’t think these games have little meaning. Many 2021s and 2022s are seeing widespread interest/offers, while 5-6 point guard Ashlynn Brooke Ashlynn Brooke 5'7" | PG Pioneer | 2023 State IN (2023) of Pioneer might have had the biggest week to ten days for the younger crop of talent, collecting a couple of Big East offers and a Big Ten offer.   LOGISTICS Location, location, location is everything for businesses, but for me, these last three weeks have been incredibly convenient, because it has kept the Indiana programs nearby and I’ve been able to see nearly every team in 17U-14U at least once, if not more. In the past, teams would scatter in July and head to Louisville, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Chicago, Toledo, Grand Rapids, Ames, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and many other destinations outside of the Hoosier state. However this Summer, I have been able to attend six events in Indiana, none more than 2-hours away. In total, I have been to Noblesville, Fort Wayne, Noblesville again, Plymouth, Westfield, and downtown Indianapolis. We currently have 560 prospects listed on PGH Indiana in 2021-2024. Of those 560 prospects, 358 of them are currently playing grassroots basketball. I have been able to view 319 of those 358 prospects (or 89% of them) over the last three weeks alone. I am anxious to see more live action in the coming weekends, so I can catch those girls I haven’t been able to see yet.   So far June and July on the hardwood have offered hope to those of us around the game of basketball...the hope that we can return to a sense of normalcy in society, the hope there are scholarships and roster spots to be granted to most of these young ladies trying so hard to get to that next level, or simply the hope there are more games to come throughout the remainder of this month. So here’s to everyone remaining healthy and safe, and hopefully we continue to see sports continue to take place over the rest of the Summer.