LBI Summer Showcase Day 1: Top Defenders

Mindy McCarthy July 9, 2021 @ 11:38 AM

Many players focus solely on their offensive performances, but I assure you that colleges are wanting to see athletes who play on both ends of the court. Here are some of the top defenders from LBI Summer Showcase. I have said it before, and I will say it again: [player_tooltip player_id="235207" first="Tiir" last="Nyok"] (FBC Carolina Elite Lyn, SF, 2022, pictured above) is one of the best defenders at her age. She goes after the ball whether she is picking the pocket of her opponent or jumping into passing lanes. She pushes these steals up the court quickly whether she takes it all the way herself, or she finds an open teammate. She sees the floor well making quick passes into her teammates that only they can grab. Madison Mims (Team Curry 16U UAA, PG, 2023) crashes the boards and immediately pushes it up the court to set up an offense. She is aggressive when driving the ball showing no fear of contact when she gets close to the basket, and she had some old fashioned three point plays. Her defense turns to offense taking her steals the other direction for some points, too. Olivia Tucker (Carolina Flames 15U EYBL, PG, 2024) was tipping the ball all over on defense, and she was pushing it up the court. She even had some nice old fashioned three point plays scoring through contact. She showed off her range shooting from behind the three point line on multiple occasions. [player_tooltip player_id="285949" first="Jasmine" last="Nivar"] (Carolina Flames 15U EYBL, SG, 2025) seemed to know how to score off of steals whether she was grabbing them herself or she was running the floor getting ready for the pass in transition. She picked the pocket of her opponents with ease knowing where exactly to go with the ball. She certainly showed off her shot from behind the three point line as well.