AIS Elite 80 Review: 2023 (Part 3 of 3)

Last Sunday marked the annual All-Indiana Elite 80 Showcase. With 72 girls able to participate, the event was once again solid, and this year’s setup allowed us to watch an entire 30-minute half (running clock) of each of the eight teams. There were 28 members of the Class of 2023 on hand, so I have split them up into three different articles. Below is a look at the final ten 2023 prospects (alphabetically by last name) who participated in the event. We will have one last follow-up article highlighting additional members of the Class of 2024 who attended the event coming soon.   [player_tooltip player_id="96091" first="Renna" last="Schwieterman"], 2023, 5-11 SF, Jay County H.S. Renna is a bit of a "sleeper" on a statewide level, however college coaches certainly know who she is, as she’s already collected Division-I offers/interest. She has an athletic frame, good strength for her age, and really nice length. She also might still grow another inch or two in the coming year. Renna is a highly skilled, versatile forward, who flexes between dominating the mid-post and playing comfortably around the perimeter. She has a really nice shooting touch that extends to 3-point range, she can handle the ball a little as well, and she’s a nice rebounder who’s willing to be physical. [player_tooltip player_id="59773" first="Ashlynn" last="Shade"], 2023, 5-10 CG, Noblesville H.S. Our top prospect in Indiana’s 2023 class, Ashlynn has been a dominant force at the offensive end of the floor all Summer long, primarily against elite 17U competition. She has always possessed tremendous skill and a nice motor, but now it’s her aggressive nature, strength, and quiet toughness that’s getting it done. She is always on attack, finishing strong downhill drives, making spin-moves and pull-up jumpers, plus she has become that much more consistent from behind the arc. Despite no Division-I coaches being out, her recruiting has exploded, drawing a number of high-major offers over the last two months. [player_tooltip player_id="59778" first="Alison" last="Stephens"], 2023, 5-10 SF, Homestead H.S. Alison has some similarities to grassroots teammate [player_tooltip player_id="96091" first="Renna" last="Schwieterman"] (above). She has a broad, strong frame, she’s a solid athlete in most directions, and she’s a physical forward who performs well in both the mid-post and around the perimeter. Alison isn’t as much of a ball-handler as Renna, but she has a pure jump-shot with range to the 3-point line. She’ll get inside and rebound, plus she’ll even post up smaller defenders at times. She has a nice basketball IQ and I would look for her to potentially have a much bigger role at Homestead this Winter. [player_tooltip player_id="127237" first="Molly" last="Stock"], 2023, 5-6 CG, Homestead H.S. Molly is another nice Homestead prospect who saw several Varsity opportunities last season as a Freshman. She is a fairly strong-for-her-size, quietly tough-nosed, and skilled basketball player. She plays with a great deal of poise, she can handle the ball and run offense at times, plus she’s a skilled shooter with range beyond the 3-point line. I really like her motor, her basketball IQ, and her savvy under pressure. She could stand to get a little quicker laterally, especially defensively, but all-in-all she’s one of the more complete guards offensively at this point in her career. [player_tooltip player_id="127238" first="Mackenzie" last="Thomas"], 2023, 6-1 C, Carmel H.S. Mackenzie was a last-minute addition to the showcase. Like with most young bigs, she has her strengths and her areas for improvement, but she has come a long way in a short time as well. She has a broad, physical frame, and she can be overpowering at times in the low-post. She’ll establish position, she has good hands, and she can simply move defenders to finish at the basket. Mackenzie will need to continue working on her explosiveness and rim-running, but what’s unique about her at her size, is that she has shown the ability to knock down the occasional perimeter jumper. [player_tooltip player_id="155438" first="Kaleah" last="Toomer"], 2023, 5-10 W, Ben Davis H.S. Kaleah has been one of the more intriguing prospects to me in this 2023 class, and I think she has a great deal of upside/potential. She is a very long, wiry strong, and explosive athlete. She is a really nice North/South driver, she absorbs contact well for her age, and she can finish around the basket. I’ve also been impressed with her balanced skillset. She can handle it and run offense at times like a point forward, she has a nice-looking shot and can bury 3-pointers when she has rhythm, plus she can defend multiple positions and make plays at that end of the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="96093" first="Lilly" last="Toppen"], 2023, 5-9 W, Kankakee Valley H.S. Lilly has earned a reputation over the last couple of years of being a sniper from beyond the arc, but this Summer she has shown there’s a little more to her game than just that. She is very long, still a little thin, but she plays a lot stronger than she is. She has a solid handle that’s improving, and she has shown the ability to occasionally run offense at times. She still maintains that pretty jump-shot, but now she’s becoming more of a complete scorer, attacking the basket for pull-up jumpers and scores around the hoop. I also like her basketball IQ, and her understanding of defensive positioning. [player_tooltip player_id="178237" first="Amber" last="Tretter"], 2023, 6-1 PF, Forest Park H.S. I heard about Amber over the course of the Winter, but finally getting to see her a couple of times over the last month has been great, because I can’t always get to Forest Park during the Winters. She is extremely long, still rather thin, but very active, fluidly athletic, and bouncy. She plays with a great motor, a nice, quiet toughness, and she’s a very physical kid despite being thin. She doesn’t always absorb contact well, but I enjoy that she plays the game the right way, which will help her down the road. Amber also has a nice face-up game and will be a face-up ’4’ at the next level. [player_tooltip player_id="127242" first="Olivia" last="Waters"], 2023, 5-10 W, Blackford H.S. Olivia is one of those "modern" hybrid type of wings who is somewhat position-less because she does so many different things. She has a very long, wiry strong frame, she is fairly fluid athletically, especially North/South, and she has a little verticality to her. For her high school team, Olivia is their primary ball-handler. She is an attacker/creator off the dribble, but she’s starting to shoot it more consistently outside as well. She is probably more of a ’3’ defensively, she can defend bigger ’2s’, but I think with more strength she can defend most ’4s’ as well. [player_tooltip player_id="155437" first="Monica" last="Williams"], 2023, 5-9 SF, Lawrence North H.S. Monica’s game has come a long way over the last 12-18 months. When I saw her in May of 2019 for the first time, I felt like she was more of a ’4’ offensively. But she has done a nice job of building her skillset, developing her handle, and having a presence with her jump-shot that now extends to the 3-point line. She is extremely long, wiry strong, and she’s a bouncy athlete with speed and quickness. Where I think she can be elite is at the defensive end of the floor, because she is athletic enough to defend nearly four positions fairly well, plus she’s an absolute problem when she’s trapping.