Indiana Top-250 Expo: Non-Indiana Standouts

Featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="203006" first="Nyla" last="Walker"] of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 11th, was Indiana's second annual Top-250 Expo, showcasing many of the state's top ballplayers, along with a handful of young ladies from Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. The event took place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the Plassman Athletic Center at Turnstone, and there were 158 registrants...30+ more than a year ago. Below is a look at eight young ladies from outside of Indiana who I felt really stood out with their play. To be clear, these are not necessarily the most talented eight prospects, nor were they the only ones who played well, but I felt like they stood out the most throughout the event with their strong and consistent performances.   [player_tooltip player_id="201103" first="Lauren" last="Huber"], 2021, 5-8 SG, Glenbard East H.S. (Lombard, IL) In watching Lauren, I felt like she kind of got warmed up the first game to game and a half, but later in the event she was playing really well when many others were fatigued and struggling to finish anything. Lauren is a really nice athlete in all directions, she has a wiry strong, athletic frame, and she played with a solid motor. I guess you could call her a combo guard, but to me she was more of a playmaking, scoring 2-guard. She was good off the bounce and attacked the basket strong. She finish at the rim and in the mid-range. I personally did not see her shoot a lot of perimeter jumpers, so I'd like to be able to evaluate that before commenting on it, but all-in-all she strikes me as a really nice, high-level small college wing scoring prospect. Naomi Elliott, 2022, 5-6 PG, University H.S. (Normal, IL) At first glance, Naomi struck me as a quick/fast, water-bug type of prospect. But the more I watched her, she did a really nice job of changing speeds and picking her spots, she seemed to think the game fairly well, plus she found open teammates often, and in positions for higher percentage shots. She does have speed and quickness, though, really good length at her height, and she plays with a motor. She took care of the basketball, scored it off the bounce, but she also showed a lot of energy and awareness at the defensive end of the floor. She could stand to get a little stronger, but all-in-all she was a quality playmaker who I think would interest a number of the better Midwestern small college programs. Nakiyah Mays-Prince, 2022, 5-3 PG, Morgan Park H.S. (Chicago, IL) Nakiyah was a little burst of energy. She is definitely a water-bug type of point guard, she flies around the floor in every direction possible, and she is always trying to make a play for her team. She seems like a tough kid, she absorbed contact reasonably well attacking the basket, but I do think it would benefit her to learn how to change speeds a bit better and pick her spots. Efficiency will be the key with her moving forward, but you can't doubt her effort or competitive fire. She was also a willing and capable defender who could lock up 84-feet when she wanted to. Like I said at the beginning, she was a burst of energy and her teammates seemed to feed off of it. [player_tooltip player_id="106153" first="Gracie" last="Merkle"], 2022, 6-6 C, Bullitt East H.S. (Mount Washington, KY) Gracie was probably the most imposing prospect on hand because of her sheer size. She is a big, strong, powerful, and physical post prospect. She can enforce her will in the paint just about whenever she wants. She has some length, decent hands, and you can tell she's been coached on how to finish around the basket. At the same time, I would like to see her get a bit meaner and even more physical. I think she has fallen into that uncomfortable area where she is so big, that occasionally she just knocks people over because of her size, drawing unfair fouls. It looks like she sometimes avoids contact because of what I like to call the "Shaq affect". She has too much skill and ability to be sidelined by unfair fouls, and once she gets to college and sees others her size, I think she'll be even better. She is a legitimate Division-I prospect. Laurelei Thormeyer, 2022, 5-5 PG, Lincoln-Way East H.S. (Frankfort, IL) I saw Laurelei a handful of times over the Summer in grassroots basketball, but I don't ever remember seeing her play quite like she did Sunday. Yesterday she was in complete control during the two games of hers I was able to see. She was quick, decisive, and good with the ball. She was able to run offense and find the open teammate, but she also took advantage of the defense and attacked when it was there. I only saw her take one long jumper, and she knocked it down as well. I guess I was just more impressed this weekend with her confidence, savvy, and ability to efficiently run a team than at any point over the Summer. I would think she should see her fair share of quality small college interest with a strong Winter season. [player_tooltip player_id="203006" first="Nyla" last="Walker"], 2022, 5-5 PG, Mother McAuley Liberal Arts H.S. (Chicago, IL) Nyla was one of the most enjoyable kids to watch play yesterday...if you could actually see her. She is so quick, fast, and explosive, that you almost need to watch her in slow motion to catch everything she does. She can get by defenders with ease, and before you know it she's in the heart of the defense elevating. She can finish over bigger players, but she also has a sense of where all of her teammates are and can make just about any pass...including one airborne, over-the-shoulder, no-look that stood out to me. Now, she could stand to get a bit stronger at her size, and changing speeds will be lethal to defenses once she has complete control of that, but I think she's a kid who could see a variety of Division-I and elite small college interest this next year. Brielle "Breezie" Williams, 2022, 5-3 PG, Glenoak H.S. (Canton, OH) Breezie is another kid I actually saw over the Summer a couple of times. She is one more of these tiny, quick, fast, and electric water-bug type of point guards who were on hand yesterday. She is an absolute playmaker with the ball in her hands, and she does a really nice job of putting pressure on the defense by flying up the court in transition and getting by her initial defender. She understands how to play the role of scorer or distributor, and I really like how she bounces back and forth between the two and understands what is appropriate when. She can knock down open rhythm jumpers, attack and finish with floaters or runners, but she can also create and collapse the defense specifically to find teammates. Add to that her ability to defend 84-feet, and she can be a problem both ways. Anna Rosenberger, 2024, 6-1 C, Glenbrook South H.S. (Glenview, IL) Without question, Anna was one of the most intriguing younger prospects in attendance...from Indiana or anywhere else. She has a long, wiry strong frame, she looks like she still might grow another couple of inches, and she runs the floor fairly well North/South. Like most young, developing bigs, she still needs to work on her strength and ability to play lower to the ground. But as she builds that base and becomes more fluid and explosive laterally, I think it will really help her take her game to the next level. She has solid hands, some touch, and good skill just about everywhere inside of 15-feet. She is definitely one to keep an eye on moving forward, and I think if she continues to work on her skillset, especially in the mid-post, she could have a number of Division-I schools interested.