Saturday Level-Up Challenge Standouts: Top 5 Players
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Saturday, I enjoyed watching the abundance of talent at the Zero Gravity Level-Up Challenge at Mass Premier. Every court gave you a fun and entertaining brand of basketball, and it made for an action-packed day! I wanted to touch on…
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Continue ReadingSaturday, I enjoyed watching the abundance of talent at the Zero Gravity Level-Up Challenge at Mass Premier. Every court gave you a fun and entertaining brand of basketball, and it made for an action-packed day! I wanted to touch on the 5 players that I saw who, in my opinion, performed at the highest level.
#5: Tania Hendricks Tania Hendricks 5'11" | PF Fontbonne Academy | 2024 State New E – Fontbonne Academy/Shooting Touch – 5’11” – PF – ’23
’23 PGH Ranking: Watch List
Hendricks was one of the most active players from Saturday. She is a long, athletic stretch 4 who can shoot efficiently and play solid defense. Hendricks’s weak side help was tremendous, and she made it challenging for anyone to score around the basket. Shooting Touch is not the biggest team, so they rely on Hendricks to impose her will on the interior, and she did exactly that in the two games I saw. With the way she defends and her ability to step out and hit jump shots, she can easily find a home in the ’23 rankings come June.
#4: Avah Ingalls Avah Ingalls 5'9" | CG Pinkerton Academy | 2022 State New E – Pinkerton Academy/Team Saints – 5’9” – CG – ’22
’22 PGH Ranking: #18
Ingalls was the best offensive wing player I saw. I always thought her skill level offensively was one of the best in her class, but it falls under the radar because of her size. Whether Ingalls is 5’9” or 6’9”, she will find a way to score on anyone standing in front of her, and she will do it with either hand. No one in the class of 2022 has a better off-hand than Ingalls, and the confidence she has finishing with her left is incredible. She challenged any rim protector at the basket, including 6’6” Boston Showstoppers center Chinenye Odenigbo Chinenye Odenigbo 6'6" | C Noble & Greenough | 2023 State New E . Seeing Ingalls attack one of the best shot blockers in the region and be as efficient as she was throughout her games, grabbed my attention and the many onlooking spectators.
#3: Chayil Mauristhene Chayil Mauristhene 5'8" | SG Noble & Greenough | 2023 State New E – Noble & Greenough/ Boston Showstoppers – 5’7” – ’23
’23 PGH Ranking: #14
Mauristhene’s on-ball defense is no secret to anyone. It is hard to find another player in the ’23 class who is as tenacious as Mauristhene. What I was eager to find out about her game that I did not see in film is how creative she is off the bounce. Mauristhene has all the physical tools to get to the basket at will, such as strength, speed, and quickness, and she was very innovative off the dribble creating countless scoring opportunities for herself. What impressed me the most is that when the Showstoppers needed a basket, Mauristhene got the ball and didn’t settle for a jump shot or give in to fatigue. She used her tight ball-handling to get to the rim, hit tough contested shots in the lane, and then defend the other team’s best offensive player. From my perspective, I think Mauristhene had the most responsibility of any player I saw, because she had to play at an elite level on both ends of the floor in order for her team to win; and she answered the challenge better than anyone.
#2 : Sophia Vital Sophia Vital 5'3" | PG Tabor Academy | 2023 State New E – Tabor Academy/Bay State Jaguars – 5’3” – ’23
PGH Rank: #11
Vital has always been one of the most electric players in the region, but the one flaw (which isn’t her fault) is that she is undersized. When a player is short, it is harder to be grouped with skilled players who are taller because, in theory, those athletes can affect the game in more ways than smaller players making them more valuable. That said, Vital was not just great on Saturday; she was transcendental. To see her completely control the basketball game against the Lady Rivals, who are elite competition, was the definition of special. No matter who was guarding her or what kind of defense they threw at Vital, she shredded it with ease. Her passing and playmaking were off the charts, and she maximized the ceiling of the other players on the court with her play. Her jump shot was falling, and she set a tone on defense. Vital made it clear she not only is by far the best point guard in the class of 2023, but one of the best players regardless of size.
#1: Megan Olbrys Megan Olbrys 6'1" | PF Norwood | 2022 State New E – Norwood/Bay State Jaguars – 6’1” – ’22
PGH Rank: #17
Olbrys did not just play like a top 5 player in the ’22 class in my eyes but in the eyes of opposing coaches as well. She was so dominant throughout the day her opponent had to put their hands up and wave the white flag, because Olbrys was in such a zone I am not sure anything could have stopped her Saturday. Her outside shot was falling, the mid-range game was fluid, and she dominated the interior. Olbrys is number 1 because she was going up against top prospects in her class and other classes and took them all to the cleaners. Olbrys is so physical and hits so hard down low that opposing teams wanted no parts of her. She was sensational all-around and proved to be the toughest players to walk the Mass Premier courts. No one’s stock went up more than Olbrys from day one of the Level Up Challenge.
🚨’22 PGH-NE Top 20 Alert🚨
Megan Olbrys (‘22)
Norwood/Bay State Jaguars
6’1’’
Combo forwardPGH Rank: #17
Position Rank: #4@MeganOlbrys has her fingerprints all over this game! Dominating on the inside and showing her outside arsenal as well! So tough so and physical 📈🔥💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/xprsEA1MUZ— Bash Hudson (@BashHoopsNE) April 10, 2021