Top-250 Follow-Up: Teams 5-8

Featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="97247" first="Ellie" last="Wilkerson"] of Plainfield High School and the Indy Magic. 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 at the Plassman Athletic Center at Turnstone, and there were 158 registrants, 30+ more than a year ago. With 16 teams at the event, nearly ten kids on every roster, and each team only playing three games apiece, it was difficult to cover everyone at length (I apologize if I miss anyone). At the same time, I wanted to circle back and touch on a few prospects from each team who I haven’t mentioned in a previous article already. We try to spread out our coverage of big events like these, and as I’ve stated all week so far, there were many more girls who did play well than just those mentioned in the first few articles.   TEAM #5 [player_tooltip player_id="182148" first="Jesse" last="Ledgerwood"], 2022, 5-5 PG, Washington H.S. - Jesse is a crafty, tough-nosed, skillful guard who does a lot of things fairly well. She’s a good shooter, a solid ball-handler, and she plays with some strength and a nice motor. [player_tooltip player_id="177317" first="Destini" last="Craig"], 2024, 5-10 SF, Fort Wayne Snider H.S. - Destini is a strong, athletic, and versatile forward who can play in the mid-post or around the arc. She has a nice motor, she’s tough and aggressive, and she can score it. [caption id="attachment_211984" align="alignleft" width="100"]<img class="wp-image-211984" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/22_Jesse_Ledgerwood-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="182148" first="Jesse" last="Ledgerwood"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="177348" first="Maddie" last="Nipper"], 2024, 5-5 PG, Charlestown H.S. - Charlestown has a strong 2024 class, and Maddie is the primary ball-handler and playmaker of the bunch. She is quick/fast, savvy, and skilled with the ball in her hands. [player_tooltip player_id="99414" first="Jennifer" last="Tomasic"], 2021, 5-8 SG, Lake Central H.S. - Jen is a long, wiry strong, and fluidly athletic wing guard. She does a nice job of attacking the basket, but she’s also a fairly consistent shooter and a solid on-ball defender. [player_tooltip player_id="130323" first="Tyranny" last="Brown"], 2021, 5-8 W, Heritage Christian School - Tyranny is a strong and athletic wing prospect who can play a point forward role, or she can play off the ball and score it effectively. She has a solid handle and good vision. [player_tooltip player_id="97266" first="Ally" last="Madden"], 2022, 6-2 C, Blue River Valley H.S. - Ally did Ally things Sunday, playing with a tremendous motor, battling inside, and knocking down mid-range jump-shots. She is incredibly productive each time I see her play.   TEAM #6 [player_tooltip player_id="182145" first="Darryn" last="Hood"], 2022, 5-5 CG, Tindley Accelerated H.S. - Darryn is a strong, compact, athletic combo guard. She made several nice passes, she hit shots outside, plus she had a couple of really nice scoring moves to the basket. [player_tooltip player_id="127218" first="Olivia" last="Burkett"], 2023, 5-7 SG, North Judson-San Pierre H.S. - Olivia is a skillful, steady, consistent basketball player who always seems to make the proper play. She has a quiet toughness to her, and she plays with a nice motor. [caption id="attachment_212083" align="alignright" width="100"]<img class="wp-image-212083" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/132_Gabi_Hoover-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="128163" first="Gabrielle" last="Hoover"][/caption]Michelle Rodkey, 2022, 5-8 CF, Rossville H.S. - Michelle has a solid to strong frame, she plays with a really nice motor, and she can play in the mid-post or a little around the perimeter. She has a well-balanced skillset. [player_tooltip player_id="97289" first="Atiana" last="Smith"], 2022, 5-9 PF, Lawrence North H.S. - Atiana is a long, wiry strong, athletic frontline prospect. She is probably still more athlete than ballplayer right now, but she runs and jumps well, and she scored it from the mid-post. [player_tooltip player_id="128163" first="Gabrielle" last="Hoover"], 2022, 6-1 PF, Penn H.S. - Gabi has a great deal of upside/potential, and she’s still growing and trying to figure out what she has physically. As she gets stronger, look for her to be that much more consistent.   TEAM #7 [player_tooltip player_id="127223" first="Nasiya" last="Gause"], 2023, 5-7 CG, Lake Station Edison H.S. - "SiSi" is a strong and very athletic combo guard who can score it at all three levels, but she’s best when attacking the basket. She can defend, and she has great vision. [player_tooltip player_id="59725" first="Teegan" last="Acres"], 2023, 5-10 SF, Hamilton Southeastern H.S. - Teegan has become a favorite to watch. She plays so hard, she’s versatile, and she seems like a coachable, quality teammate. She has really worked on her skillset. [caption id="attachment_211986" align="alignleft" width="100"]<img class="wp-image-211986" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/24_Nasiya_Gause-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="127223" first="Nasiya" last="Gause"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="130375" first="Sidney" last="Wagner"], 2021, 5-6 CG, Tippecanoe Valley H.S. - I think Sidney is one of the more under-recruited kids at the small college level. She’s tough, athletic, and she plays with a nice motor, balanced skill, plus she’ll defend hard. [player_tooltip player_id="128171" first="Kelly" last="Ratigan"], 2022, 5-7 PG, South Bend St. Joseph H.S. - Kelly is such a strong, physical guard, but she’s also highly skilled, she really understands how to play, she has a motor, and she rarely makes the same mistake twice. [player_tooltip player_id="97247" first="Ellie" last="Wilkerson"], 2022, 5-9 SF, Plainfield H.S. - Ellie is a strong, fairly athletic, and skillful wing who can shoot it with range when she gets her feet set. She plays with a nice motor, she has a good feel for the game, and she’s tough. [player_tooltip player_id="157171" first="Braylyn" last="Clendenen"], 2022, 5-9 SF, Whiteland Community H.S. - Braylyn is a long, wiry strong, fluidly athletic wing who plays with a motor. I thought she shot it particularly well Sunday, and she did some nice things off the bounce. [player_tooltip player_id="127238" first="Mackenzie" last="Thomas"], 2023, 6-1 C, Carmel H.S. - Mackenzie is a big, powerful, true post. She actually has range to the 3-point line, but she also has good hands and is starting to finish it well in transition and with her back to the basket.   TEAM #8 [player_tooltip player_id="59756" first="Ella" last="Hobson"], 2023, 5-4 CG, Center Grove H.S. - Ella is a long, quick, high IQ guard who has a nice feel for the game. She has been relied upon for her deep-shooting ability in the past, but she also has good point guard skill. [caption id="attachment_212044" align="alignright" width="100"]<img class="wp-image-212044" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/89_Tori_Allen-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="150" /> [player_tooltip player_id="127214" first="Tori" last="Allen"][/caption][player_tooltip player_id="203657" first="Jackie" last="Crews"], 2023, 5-6 CG, Paoli H.S. - The more I watch Jackie play, the more she grows on me. She is skilled, versatile, and just smooth. She can handle it and run offense, she’s a solid shooter, and she plays with a nice motor. [player_tooltip player_id="128131" first="Mia" last="Shields"], 2022, 5-7 CG, Hamilton Heights H.S. - Mia is one of the more versatile, balanced guards in the 2022 class. She can handle it and run offense, but she’s also an effective scorer at all levels. She’s a nice athlete as well. [player_tooltip player_id="127214" first="Tori" last="Allen"], 2023, 5-8 CG, Andrean H.S. - Long, fluidly athletic, and smooth, Tori is a gliding athlete who gets to the rim with some ease. She looked stronger Sunday, absorbed contact better, plus she defended hard and used her length.