An Early Look: 2024 Front-Liners
The Fall rankings season is upon us, and Tuesday we expanded our online list of 2024 prospects from 60 to 80 girls, creating a Top-10 list to highlight those who have stood out in the short time we’ve gotten to…
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Continue ReadingThe Fall rankings season is upon us, and Tuesday we expanded our online list of 2024 prospects from 60 to 80 girls, creating a Top-10 list to highlight those who have stood out in the short time we’ve gotten to know their games. Below we specifically look at some of the power forward and center prospects in the 2024 class who have either (a) made the Top-10, (b) seen their stock rising because of their Summer play, or (c) are making their first appearance on our 2024 watch list.
HEAD OF THE CLASS
Unfortunately, there are no frontline prospects on our Top-10 list, however as the Summer wore on, a number of sizeable prospects made themselves known by flashing a great deal of upside. While they aren’t in our Top-10 as of right now, Faith Wiseman Faith Wiseman 6'4" | PF Indian Creek | 2024 State IN of Indian Creek, Rachel Wirts Rachel Wirts 6'3" | C Center Grove | 2024 State IN of Greenwood, Indiana, and Addisen Mastriano Addisen Mastriano 6'3" | C Northeastern | 2024 State IN of Northeastern stand out as top prospects in this position group. Wiseman is somewhat new to me, with her name having just come across my desk in the last couple of weeks. She is a 6-1 interior player who can play around the basket or in the mid-post a bit, she has nice length, fairly balanced athleticism, and she works hard at both ends of the floor. Strength will be a must-add at some point soon, and I think it will help her explosiveness and ability to play lower to the ground. But she is incredibly intriguing, she understands the game, and she very well could contribute immediately for Indian Creek this season.
I’ve seen Wirts a number of times over the Summer, and she has about as high of a ceiling as any of the interior players in this class. She has a wiry strong, athletic frame, she plays with a great motor, and she runs the floor well end-to-end both directions in transition. She tries to play the right way, sit down, and seal in the post, she demands the ball and gives a nice target, and she has some idea of what she wants to do with it once she gets it. I just think continued reps will really help her instinctively. She seems very coachable, almost too nice at times, but she has the potential to develop into an overpowering athlete at 6-2, plus she might still be growing. She is currently homeschooled and plays for the Indianapolis Wildcats during the Winter. Mastriano is a unique combination of size, strength, and skill. She is built like a traditional 6-1 post and has a strong frame which she uses to gain position. But she also has an advanced skillset for a younger frontline player. She can score with her back to the basket, but she’s also good facing the rim in the mid-post. She’ll need to continue working on her explosion and lateral quickness as she finishes growing, but she’s somewhat deceptive as an athlete right now. She has been somewhat dominant against her peers throughout junior high, so I’m curious to see how she does at the Varsity level this season.
STOCK-RISERS
Two Freshmen front-liners really stood out to me with their play throughout the Summer, but for very different reasons. 5-11 power forward Juliann Woodard Juliann Woodard 6'1" | PF Jennings County | 2024 State IN of Jennings County is a broad-shouldered, fairly strong, somewhat long prospect who plays with a tremendous motor. She was highly productive all Summer long against her peers, as she rebounds nearly everything and just has a nose for the ball. She likes to play with her back to the basket at times, but she’s also very effective in the mid-post where she has a nice 15-foot jumper. Add to that her quiet toughness and willingness to play physical, and she was one of the most consistent performers in the 14U age division all July and August when I saw her. 6-1 post Sarah Gick Sarah Gick 6'1" | C Benton Central | 2024 State IN of Benton Central stood out because of her play against 16U and 17U competition all Summer, and with her length and potential to grow another inch or two, she could have a really nice future ahead of her. She is extremely long, somewhat thin, but she’ll get stronger. She already plays fairly physical for her frame, and she is a problem in the paint defensively, blocking or altering most shot attempts inside of 10-feet. Offensively, she is most comfortable with her back to the basket, but she continues to show more consistency in the mid-post, and I think she could at some point stretch that part of her game towards the perimeter. She is certainly someone to keep an eye on in the Lafayette area.
NEWCOMERS
In addition to Wiseman and Wirts (both above), there were eight additional frontline prospects making their first appearance on our watch list this time around. The Fort Wayne area is home to 6-0 power forward Macy Oberlin Macy Oberlin 6'0" | PF Angola | 2024 State IN of Angola and 6-0 post Giselle Eke Giselle Eke 6'3" | C Bishop Dwenger | 2024 State IN of Bishop Dwenger. Oberlin is a long, wiry, fairly fluid athlete. She plays with a good motor, she tries to be physical inside, but she also has some skill in the mid-post and is comfortable around the perimeter at times. She is a really nice face-up ’4’ right now, but I think as she continues to develop her perimeter skillset, she could become more of a wing over time, especially as well as she moves her feet. Eke is a strong, almost muscular, physical, and fearless post. She likes contact, battles on the boards, and finishes a lot of “scraps” baskets at the rim. She’s a nice all-around athlete, she runs the floor well North/South, and she plays with a good motor as well. She’ll need a little polish to her game, but she definitely has some physical tools to work with.
Staying up North, but in the other corner, we have 6-0 post Genna Hayes of Kankakee Valley. She is another strong, broad-shouldered, high-motor front-liner who really works her tail off. She seeks physicality, she’s a strong low-block scorer, she rebounds it well, and she can root out opponents at the defensive end of the floor. At the same time, she’s a really nice, deceptive athlete, she runs the floor well, and she has some touch and skill in the mid-post. I think over time she can become more of a face-up ’4’, but right now she’s so good using her strength and toughness to her advantage inside. In Central Indiana, Danville continues to turn out quality prospects, and 5-10 forward Kooper Stone Kooper Stone 6'0" | PF Danville Community | 2024 State IN looks to be a nice one in this 2024 class. She has a wiry frame, good strength for her age, and she’s a nice all-around athlete who works hard at both ends of the floor. She showed a highly effective and productive game in the mid-post this Summer, knocking down the 15-footer or attacking the basket off the bounce from the elbows. She isn’t uncomfortable around the perimeter, but she’s not much of a scorer out there yet. Defensively, I like her ability to take on a combination of power forwards and wings equally well.
Southern Indiana seems to have several really nice 2024 prospects, and the remaining four are all South of the capital city. 5-11 forward Abbie Lucas Abbie Lucas 6'0" | PF Bloomington South | 2024 State IN of Bloomington South flashes a great deal of potential for the next level. She is a long, wiry strong, and bouncy athlete in all directions. She has quick feet, some speed in transition, and she looks fairly comfortable at all three levels offensively. She is more of a mid-post scorer right now, but she does have some touch outside, and she can put it on the floor and attack the basket. Additionally, she has a nose for the ball and rebounds it very well. Defensively, she is extremely versatile and able to take on bigger guards, wings, and power forwards all the same. Another prospect I doubt many people are terribly familiar with because she hasn’t played grassroots basketball yet, is 6-0 power forward Charlee Barlow of Jennings County. She is extremely long, wiry strong, and very athletic in all directions. She plays with a good motor and actually shoots it fairly consistently from the perimeter. She needs more gym time to continue building the rest of her skillset and to gain those natural instincts for the game, but she has a great deal of talent and potential. Genetics are on her side, as her grandfather, Billy Harmon, starred for Jennings County in the early 1970s and for the University of Louisville in the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Washington Hatchet fans have to be excited for the upcoming season because of a strong 2022 class, but there are a couple of members of the 2024 class who could see quality minutes this year. One of them is 6-1 post Madelyn Dalton Madelyn Dalton 6'1" | C Washington | 2024 IN . She is a long, fluid, and somewhat bouncy frontline prospect who I don’t think realizes what she possesses athletically yet. She runs the floor very well North/South, she is a real presence at the defensive end of the floor, and if she can figure out how to score it semi-consistently around the block this year, she could be a real help to a strong Class 3A team. She is just a little inexperienced, and I think the combination of added reps and more strength will help her game mature very quickly. 6-0 post Skylar Thompson Skylar Thompson 6'1" | C Jeffersonville | 2024 IN of Jeffersonville is yet another newcomer to our watch list, and she is a highly productive youngster already. She has a strong frame, decent length, but she has soft hands and can finish with a variety of post moves around the low-block. She is a hard worker and a deceptive athlete, so I think as she continues to add skill she’ll stretch her game sooner rather than later. But right now I’d consider her as more of a back-to-the-basket post with a little bit of a mid-post game.