Tale of the "Tape": Reviewing Game Film

I put out a call a while back for anybody who wanted to send me game film to review, to send it my way. I got a few responses and now it is time to do just that. Watch the film and tell you what I think. Anybody else who wants/needs more exposure, feel free to send me film. I will always review it. <strong>Kennady Roach | 5-10 F | Vinita | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/kennadyr_12">@kennadyr_12</a></strong> <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pnXV08JlNDE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> I watched a video of Roach’s Vinita team versus another very well-coached team, Oologah, from January of 2020. From the outset, Kennady is the player who stands out on tape. In the first offensive possession for her squad, Roach is the one moving and working the entire time for position. This hardwork inevitably leads to her getting the first board of the game and being fouled on the way back up for two free throws. She converted one of the two. But, that was only the beginning. I will start by saying, if there is a rebound to be had, Kennady will be there in the fray. She has a nose for the ball. Defensively, she may not work in a man defense as well as a zone. She is smart and quick, but needs to be allowed to guard other forwards and not jump out to the perimeter where her superior rebounding skills aren’t being utilized. For her Vinita squad, Roach plays everything from "Point Forward" to just straight up center. The good news for college coaches (most likely D-II) is that she has the handles, athleticism and size to play the three or four at a very high level. She shows a great shooting stroke and is confident from anywhere on the floor. In this game, Roach scored 27 points and rounded out the double-double with 17 rebounds. To wrap everything up, her 17th board was the final dagger as Oologah tried to miss the final free throw on purpose while down 54-52 with two seconds left. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="211912" first="Nevaeh" last="Johnson"] | 5-11 F | Hilldale | 2022 | <a href="https://x.com/J04Nevaeh">@J04Nevaeh</a></strong> <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbravadowireless%2Fvideos%2F1105020299961239%2F&show_text=false&width=560" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> As soon as Nevaeh walks out to center-court, you notice her size. Her length is tremendous and it is clear from the outset that she is going to be a force on the interior. She gets up and down the court extremely well and her first basket comes from a nice pass from her point guard in traffic where Johnson shows quick hands in grabbing the pass and finishing with ease at the rim. At about the 2:15 mark of the first quarter you’ll see two plays that show you all you need to know about Johnson. She uses her length, keeps her hands up, and more impressively shuffles her feet very well to keep her body in front of the ball-handler in the post - eventually forcing a travel. On the offensive end, she outruns the guards down the court, receives a challenging bounce pass in the lane and turns and finishes with ease. Nevaeh makes a lot of difficult things look much easier than they are out there. Johnson is a tremendous athlete. She ended this particular game with 15 points and 10 rebounds. College coaches, you need to get out to Muskogee to watch her - at least, check out the tape. She is a college player, for sure. Make it happen, coaches. You won’t be disappointed. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="211878" first="Ellie" last="Morrill"] | 6-0 F | Owasso | 2022 | <a href="https://x.com/EllieMorrill22">@EllieMorrill22</a></strong> <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TspKWkHLVic" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> I had a few different tapes to watch of Ellie’s Owasso squad and I chose this particular one because I wanted to get a closer look at how she did against two very good inside players for Union in Sydni Smith and [player_tooltip player_id="139701" first="Kaylen" last="Nelson"]. Morrill does a great job defending in Owasso’s zone defense. She has great size and length and very good lateral movement. She knows when to step out and put a body on someone in the center of the zone and is a very good shot changer. In the first few Union possessions, Morrill can be seen forcing Nelson to the end line and knocking the ball out of bounds, then forcing a turnover on the next possession. She has very quick hands and plays with a lot of toughness inside. On the offensive end, she does a good job of using her size to place good screens for her guards. She uses very good quickness to roll to the basket and when the guards find her beating her defender back to the rim, she finishes strong - often drawing contact, as well. Morrill has the size and ability to be a very good inside player at the next level. I look forward to seeing her path going forward. She is definitely one to watch! <strong>Jill Twiehaus | 5-8 SG | Jenks | 2024 | <a href="https://x.com/Jill_Twiehaus">@Jill_Twiehaus</a></strong> <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o0iTbiftERs" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Because I couldn’t find a full, recent Jenks game on Youtube, I am posting this video that - if my math is correct - is of Jill in the 7th grade. I watched a lot of different highlight videos and it is clear to see that Twiehaus should have been in our 2024 rankings. She was overlooked once. She won’t be again. Twiehaus is a flat-out baller. She is quick and has great handles. She has a beautiful shot, with a nice high release which allows her to shoot over most anybody - especially when utilizing her mid-range jumper. When bringing the ball up the floor, she has great handles, keeps her eyes up the floor and uses tremendous quickness to seize on any mistake by her defender. Jill is an intelligent defender with great length. She has quick hands and racks up the steals and is inordinately good at blocking shots. Twiehaus will be playing on the PGH Circuit later this year with Oklahoma Swift and I can tell you now that this is one player and team you will not want to miss. <strong>Avery Ellis | 5-11 PG | Vanoss | 2024 </strong> <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GejhOepF-sU" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Avery's older sister Emrie is the No. 3-ranked player in the class of 2021 and is heading to Arkansas. Somehow, we still managed to miss Avery in the 2024 rankings. Tiny Vanoss High has put together an outstanding season to date and are still undefeated at 20-0. Avery is the sixth man for the squad that features five starting seniors and will have the reigns handed over to her very soon. It is even more of a shame that we missed her - after watching the tape - she appears to most likely be a top-10 player in the class. Avery racks up the steals with her tremendous on-ball defense and quick hands. She is a gamer, not scared to get on the floor for loose balls and is clearly a big reason for her team's outstanding record and state title chances. Offensively, she is a very good shooter from all levels, probably best from long-range. She is the consummate sixth man right now and it will be very fun to watch how she blossoms when she is the one running the team. Clearly she has tremendous size for a point guard and has played all five positions off the bench for her team. This season she is averaging eight points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist per game. Coaches will want to keep an eye on this future star. We definitely will be.