Midseason Standouts: 2023 Part One

<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Mya Skoff</strong> – CG Bellevue East</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">Throughout this season, Mya Skoff has gradually been given more responsibility in the Bellevue East offense. She has clearly earned the trust of her coaches, and for good reason. She plays with extreme intelligence, always scanning the floor looking for gaps and weaknesses to exploit. She is incredibly fast, and will outrace the entire opposing starting five when she gets the ball in transition. She passes with ball with precision and zip, and rarely is standing around without purpose. If there is one weakness right now, it would be her inability to drive and finish left.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Lucy Schonlau</strong> – C Westside</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">Lucy is an effective rim protector due to her patience and quick information-processing. She rarely bites at all on pump fakes, and I have yet to see her leave her feet completely on one. Her hands are very disciplined. Even when her feet are moving, she manages to keep her hands high and off the ball-handler. Her rebounding never slows up, either. She is especially crafty when going after offensive boards. If you watch her when the shot goes up, she weaves through traffic while tracking the ball flight at the same time. Some young bigs struggle to deploy their size effectively, but Lucy dominates with it.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Adison Markowski</strong> – F Pius X</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">After her big sister graduates and moves on to Nebraska, I expect Adison will receive more acclaim. A complete player who plays with energy and intent, the Pius X wing acts as a sort of connective tissue for the team. She makes timely, decisive decisions with the basketball. Adison takes what the defense gives her. Because of her ability to pass, shoot, and dribble the basketball while also taking into account her intelligence on the court, she will have counters to most of what defenses can throw at her. She flashed on defense the few times I've seen her this season, especially at the point of attack. She is hyper-aware of the other nine players, which makes her an excellent team defender.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Kayla Preston</strong> – SF Millard North</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;">Kayla is physically strong, and possesses impressive vertical ability. When in the air, whether it's for shooting, rebounding, or defense, she contorts and adjusts as good as anyone in this class. She hasn't shot the ball particularly well in the minutes I've watched, but her offense never seems forced or out of place. She is, and will be a fantastic defensive player throughout her career. She has the strength and quickness at the wing position that every coach wants in today's game. She has flashed some passing ability, especially in the short roll in the high post.</p>