New England Rebounding Machines
Rebounding is not just about how tall or athletic you are. Cleaning up the glass is more about effort, desire, and mental toughness. Players who try to pull down as many boards as they can indicate how bad they want…
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Continue ReadingRebounding is not just about how tall or athletic you are. Cleaning up the glass is more about effort, desire, and mental toughness. Players who try to pull down as many boards as they can indicate how bad they want to secure a possession for their team. Here are five of the numerous tenacious rebounders in the region.
Mikayla Paquette – Noble and Greenough – Sr – C
Paquette gives Noble and Greenough a huge spark off the bench with her activity on the glass. In particular, she is an excellent offensive rebounder. In a game vs. Governor’s Academy, the forward had 7 total rebounds, and 5 of those came off the offensive end. She was determined to give her team extra possessions on offense by constantly battling for every shot that went off the rim. She does a great job getting inside position when the ball goes up and doesn’t mind being physical underneath to clear out space so she can snatch every available rebound.
Olivia Gourdine – Barnstable High – Jr – F
Gourdine is a ferocious rebounder who fights extremely hard for every ball that comes off the rim. In Barnstable’s opening game against Nauset, she posted 9 offensive rebounds! How was she so effective on the offensive glass? The junior wing always followed her shot. Every time she attempted a shot, Gourdine crashed continuously and was rewarded with putbacks. Starting the game a little off from the field, she didn’t sulk or get down on herself. Instead, she took it upon herself to impact the game in other ways, and she accepted the challenge of being the most dominant rebounder that night. Her rebounding activity helped her get into a rhythm on offense and led to her having an excellent all-around game.
Korin Mereste – Nauset High – Sr – F
The senior forward is an intimidating presence inside. She is so physical and never fails to put her body on someone when a shot goes up. Coming off the bench in Nauset’s win against Barnstable, Mereste was vital in limiting the opponent to one shot attempt per possession, and that was a major key to victory. Finishing with 8 total rebounds, you can rely on the senior forward to consistently pull down multiple rebounds on a nightly basis. The combination of her size, athleticism, and effort will always lead to many double-digit rebounding games moving forward.
Jolie Rojik – Scituate High – Sr – C
The energy that Rojik plays with is second to none. She goes all out on every play, and you can tell she makes it a point of emphasis to snatch every rebound out of the air. At 6’0”, she has the size of an elite rebounder, which helped her rip 21 rebounds vs. Pembroke. She does an excellent job boxing out the opponent clearing out space to grab boards. On the offensive side, she is so strong that teams cannot successfully box her out. She always muscles her way to getting inside position and gets a lot of points off putbacks. The adage “you can’t shoot a moving target” applies to Rojik because she is always active, making her tough to contain around the rim. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for opponents to body her up and keep her from dominating the boards.
Skyler Gonsalves – St. John Paul II – Sr – C
Gonsalves is one of the most intimidating players in the Cape and Islands League. She is 6’2” with a huge wingspan and off the charts athleticism. The senior forward wears down the opposition and is so physical that teams give up trying to push her out the paint when shot attempts go up. Her reach is beyond belief, and she is one of the few players who can grab rebounds over players while avoiding over-the-back fouls. Virtually unstoppable, Gonsalves is an automatic 10 rebound a game player. In St John Paul II last game vs. Mashpee, she controlled 17 rebounds, which led to a 20-point victory. On the season, she is averaging 12.2 boards, and with her aggressive activity around the rim, that number should continue to go up.