Stock-Risers: 2023 Front-Liners
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The featured image is of Annaka Nelson Annaka Nelson 6'0" | PF Fort Wayne Concordia | 2023 State IN of Fort Wayne’s Concordia Lutheran High School. Last Monday we released our December rankings update for the Class of 2023. Since…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Annaka Nelson Annaka Nelson 6'0" | PF Fort Wayne Concordia | 2023 State IN of Fort Wayne’s Concordia Lutheran High School.
Last Monday we released our December rankings update for the Class of 2023. Since it coincides with the midpoint of the 2020-2021 high school season, I felt like it was a great opportunity to highlight five young ladies who have either played well following our September update, or who have gotten off to nice starts to their Sophomore seasons. Below are five forwards and posts who are quickly gaining the respect of their teammates and opponents as the season turns toward the home stretch.
Leah Bachmann
Leah
Bachmann
6'0" | C
Columbus East | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 5-11 PF, Columbus East H.S.
The Olympians of Columbus East have a wealth of young “bigs”, but Leah has seen her opportunity increase more this year, because she really works at her game, and she has become much more consistently productive. She has a solid/strong frame, some length, and she plays with a great motor. She’s willing to be physical on the block, plus she’s a versatile defender who will work to defend screens out on the floor, plus she doesn’t mind being physical in and around the paint, and she has a nose for the ball. If she can continue to stretch her range little by little, I think eventually she can be a really nice mid-range shooter, and possibly even a perimeter shooter at some point.
Taylor Guess
Taylor
Guess
6'1" | PF
Ben Davis | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 6-0 C/PF, Ben Davis H.S.
Taylor is a long, wiry strong, and extremely athletic and bouncy frontline prospect. She might be pushing 6-1 now, but with her vertical ability, she plays well-above any of her opponents. She is still limited a little offensively, so she relies on put-backs and short shots to produce points this season. Defensively, she can sit down and defend out on the floor, she moves extremely well for her size, plus she’s willing to be physical and patrol the paint for her team when they need it. She has a great deal of potential and will likely eventually draw a lot of Division-I interest because of her physical tools, but she’ll definitely need to continue making her jump-shot and ball skill more advanced.
Laila Hull
Laila
Hull
6'1" | PF
Zionsville | 2023
State
#49
Nation
IN
, 2023, 6-1 PF/SF, Zionsville Community H.S.
Laila has done a tremendous job over the last year or two of improving her game exponentially. She has always been a wiry strong, very athletic forward who moves well in every direction. But her ability to go from a non-shooter to at least a reasonable 3-point shooter percentage-wise, her improved ball-handling, and her increased desire to sit down and defend guards and wings, not just frontline prospects, has really helped her game and her recruiting tremendously. She still has some work to do, as most other 2023s do also, but she has come so far that it has drawn the interest and even some offers from high-major Division-I schools.
Annaka Nelson
Annaka
Nelson
6'0" | PF
Fort Wayne Concordia | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 6-0 PF, Concordia Lutheran H.S.
When I saw Annaka during the Spring/Summer of 2019, she stood out because she was taller and more athletic than a lot of her peers. This Summer/Fall, she stood out because she has added good muscle definition, she plays with an outstanding motor, plus she is expanding her game to the perimeter. She is handling it and attacking the basket straight-line more, plus she’s now able to take and make the occasional 3-pointer, putting a lot of pressure on the defense, because she can be physical and dominant around the block as well. I really like Annaka’s potential as a face-up ‘4’, and I think once Division-I coaches can see her live again, she’ll really blow up in recruiting circles.
Brooklyn Smitherman
Brooklyn
Smitherman
6'4" | C
Noblesville | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, 6-4 C, Noblesville H.S.
When I first heard about Brooklyn last Winter, the terms “raw” and “developing” come to mind. She was every bit of 6-3 then, but she did have quite a bit of work to do. Over this past Summer/Fall, Brooklyn showed improvement nearly every time she took the floor. She played with a good motor, she ran the floor hard North/South, and she was effective as a help-side defender, a pursuing rebounder, plus she would get the occasional put-back basket. This Winter, she has figured out a little more about her offensive game, and she is having quite an impact for the Millers. She is a little taller and stronger, and she is playing with a much greater sense of urgency. At 6-4, the sky is the limit.