Mt. Rushmore: Philly Showcase Day 3

After a fun weekend at Select Event Basketball’s Philly Showcase, I cannot express how impressed I was with the teams and players from New England and how hard they competed against top talent from the East. I had a blast sitting courtside, watching the athletes, learning about their skill set, and seeing them continue to develop and improve. Sunday was another exciting showing from the young women, and here are the 4 who I thought stood out the most.   [player_tooltip player_id="283103" first="Emi" last="Roberto"] - CT Supreme Elite/Trumbull - 6’0’’ - SF - ’22 ’22 PGH Rank: WL <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0198-crop-1086x713-1621340741.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-286355" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0198-crop-1086x713-1621340741-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Roberto was very impressive on both sides of the ball Sunday morning. She was efficient in scoring the basketball, and what I liked the most was that she was using the whole floor to generate offense. Roberto was connecting from three but was also taking advantage of the open spots in the zone defense and getting easy short corner looks all game. Her size and athleticism made her a force on the glass. She drew a handful of fouls from her relentless activity around the basket. Roberto is a very good defender who showed versatility guarding different positions. Her wingspan bothers the opposing team as she can easily cut off angles and passing lanes in the halfcourt, which led to rushed offensive action. Her ability to play both sides of the ball at a high level consistently makes her one of the more valuable players on CT Supreme Elite. https://x.com/CTSupremeElite/status/1394057919860297737 [player_tooltip player_id="183953" first="Julia" last="Elie"] - MT Elite Ducks/Rockland - 6’3’’ - PF - ’22 ’22 PGH Rank: #46 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0206-crop-1216x799-1621340792.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-286359" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0206-crop-1216x799-1621340792-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Elie came ready to play and was dialed in from the jump on Sunday. She made a point to bury her defender in the post and take advantage of her size advantage on the block. Elie showcased her excellent footwork and post moves, which more often than not ended with her shooting two free throws. She lived at the free-throw line, and no defender could handle her when she got the ball. Out of the games I saw over the weekend, no one was more skilled down low than Elie. Every shot attempt was going towards the basket, she does not force anything, and instead of settling for a bad shot, Elie will kick the ball back out on the perimeter and repost. She was a great anchor on defense, communicating, and her ability to switch out onto any player and hold her own is a huge reason why the Ducks team defense was suffocating at times. Elie’s impact on the Ducks’ success goes beyond the stat sheet, and her commitment to doing all the things that don’t show up on the box score made her one of the biggest standouts of Sunday.   [player_tooltip player_id="275713" first="Ana" last="Robles"] - Bay State Jaguars - 5’7’’ - CG - ’24 ’24 PGH Rank: WL <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-286073" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0207-crop-1261x828-1621280166-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> I saw Robles play a few weeks ago for the first time at a showcase in Rhode Island and was blown away by her athleticism, and my closing thought was she could be one of the most improved players in the ’24 class by the summer. Seeing her Sunday afternoon, I was floored by her improvement as a basketball player in such a short period. The Jaguars played a very good ’23 MCW Starz team, and Robles looked unphased by the tight physical defense she was seeing. I loved how she was using her athleticism to create shot opportunities. Robles’ ability to score off the bounce using a quick first step and the elevation on her pull-up jumper was unreal considering where she was weeks back. She was even showing confidence behind the three-point line connecting from there as well. Robles showed more fluidity in her game, looked comfortable on the court, and is developing into one of the most exciting players to watch in her class.   [player_tooltip player_id="269245" first="Kelian" last="Cedano"] - Lady Rivals/Bradford Christian Academy - 5’9’’ - SG - ’24 ’24 PGH Rank: #14 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0201-crop-1177x773-1621340856.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-286361" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0201-crop-1177x773-1621340856-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Since the spring season started, Cedano has leveled up every week, and I don’t think anyone can disagree with that. The performance she put on Sunday was one of my personal favorites. Playing up on the 17U squad, Cedano couldn’t have been more confident scoring early and often. The part of Cedano’s game I always appreciated the most was how consistent she was making plays from the high post. The main reason why I was so high on Cedano was her ability to seal the defender at the free-throw line, turn and face before exploding to the basket. That is a transcendent skill set that can be effective at any playing level. The fact that Cedano constantly wants to beat you with the in-between game is beyond impressive because it’s becoming a lost art in basketball. She has three-point range, can isolate on the wing and get a bucket, and on defense, she is so athletic and strong that she can make impactful plays at any moment in the game. Cedano played with purpose and with something to prove on Sunday, putting the whole building on notice. https://x.com/BashHoopsNE/status/1393952998741716993