Standouts: Inola Scrimmages

As the preseason winds down and the regular season is just over the horizon for most teams, three schools got together to scrimmage in Inola. In addition to the home team, Metro Christian and Bartlesville came to get some practice in. Though it is still just the preseason, it is never too early to get a look at some of the prospects on display. Here are the players for each team that really demanded attention on Thursday evening. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Bartlesville Bruins</span></strong> <strong>Kate Gronigan | 2022 | 5-10 G</strong> Gronigan played at the point for the Bruins for a lot of the scrimmages and did a very good job. Her height, should she stay at the point when the regular season comes, is a huge asset. She sees the floor well and has good handles. She is smart and has a very good grasp of what her coach expects from her. On the defensive end, she does a good job defending and is an outstanding rebounder. Despite not scoring from the field on the evening (she did make four free throws), Kate was extremely important to her team in the area of assists and steals. <strong>Ragen Hodge | 2022 | 6-0 F </strong> Ragen is a long and lean athlete who does a very good job getting up and down the floor. She is extremely bouncy, evidenced by the fact that she finished third in the state (6A) in the high jump. She plays very good defense on players of all sizes and speeds. She doesn’t get caught flat-footed by quicker players. She knows how to play the game and does all kinds of little things to help her team on the defensive end. She does a great job of getting position on rebounds, especially on the offensive end. A lot of her points come from put-backs. On the night, she scored a total of nine points to finish second for her team. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-222863 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/11/DSC_0115-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Alli Wood | 2021 | 5-7 G/F</strong> I was honestly shocked when I looked up Alli after the game to find that she had not signed anywhere earlier this week when everyone else was posting about signing day. She may not be a D-I player, but there is definitely a position for Wood somewhere on someone’s team. She hustles every single play and just always seems to be involved in everything. If there’s a loose ball, she’s on it. A ball coming off the rim and being tipped all over the place, she’s on it. Teammate needing words of encouragement, she’s on it. She is a glue girl, no doubt about it. Add in the fact that she led her team in points with 15 during the scrimmage and you can see why she probably won’t make it through this season without signing somewhere. <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Inola Longhorns</strong></span> <strong>Kylee Day | 2021 | 6-1 F/C</strong> Rogers State Head Coach Kyle Bent got a big one yesterday when Kylee signed her NLI with the Hillcats. She is an absolute star for the Longhorns and was very impressive on Thursday night. She is a force inside. Day is very strong. She has a very high basketball IQ and does a great job involving all of her teammates. At one point she grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds and kicked them back out to her team. She is a team leader and on Thursday she finished second on her team in points with 16. <strong>Jaci Moore | 2024 | 5-11 F/C</strong> This was my first chance to see Moore play in person. While watching, I had no idea that she was in her first year of high school ball. She is very, very strong and has incredibly soft hands for a big. She gives a big target in the middle and doesn’t fumble the ball when it is fed into her. She fights hard in the post for offensive position and then for rebounds. She has an outstanding shooting touch. Moore finished the day with a hard-fought 11 points. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-222864 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/11/DSC_0179-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Miller Weast | 2024 | 5-10 G</strong> Quite possibly the most exciting player to watch in the entire scrimmage, Weast is a beast (pun intended). She has superb handles and the need to take her defender one-on-one. She relishes the one-on-one. It was clear to see that she is the go-to scorer for this exciting Inola team. She drives the lane hard and can finish at the rim consistently. When faced with a taller defender in the middle, she showed a very nice floater to get the ball up and in. She has very quick hands and is a tremendous defender. Miller uses her size well against often mismatched guards. Weast finished the night with 17 points, the most of any Longhorn. <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Metro Christian Patriots</strong></span> <strong>Avery Blubaugh | 2021 | 5-9 G</strong> As best I can figure, Blubaugh didn’t sign anywhere yesterday which is absolutely mind-blowing. In the absence of [player_tooltip player_id="150925" first="Landry" last="Allen"] for Metro, Blubaugh was the lone deep threat and she may have had the other teams wishing she had already left for college. She steps into the gym shooting. She has Steph Curry range and is unafraid - like Curry - to shoot from anywhere. Defender in her face? Shooting. Ten feet behind the line? Shooting. Fouled? Shooting. She isn’t shooting just for the heck of it either. She is shooting to score. They almost always go in. She clearly has the green light and Blubaugh makes the other team pay for any lapse in defense. Coaches, you need to get to MCA this year and get a first-hand look at Avery who scored 31 on Thursday night. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-222865 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/11/DSC_0008-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />[player_tooltip player_id="211880" first="Cayden" last="Mershon"] | 2022 | 5-6 PG</strong> Mershon is the one that everything runs through out there for the Patriots. She is quick and has tremendous handles. She can score in a variety of ways, which lead to 23 points on the night. Inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. She fights hard for every ball on the defensive end and is the consummate competitor. Size should not be a factor - in my opinion - when it comes to determining if someone is a D-I player. Unfortunately, that’s my rules. It doesn’t seem like my way of thinking has permeated the D-I ranks just yet. If size is an issue with a player who could get an easy double-double on any given night, then there is something very wrong with college basketball. Mershon deserves offers. From every level. Watch the tape and tell me I’m wrong. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;