Team Final’s 17U-Blue squad has great talent and depth
We’re coming closer and closer to finishing up our AAU content, but we still have more left to give to you and in this article, we’re back to talking about Team Final EYBL, a great AAU program focusing on a…
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Continue ReadingWe’re coming closer and closer to finishing up our AAU content, but we still have more left to give to you and in this article, we’re back to talking about Team Final EYBL, a great AAU program focusing on a lot of South Jersey talent.
Having already looked at two of their three high school AAU teams, we go to the final team represented, the 17U-Blue squad, one that is highly competitive and highly entertaining.
Let’s go to the tape to see what makes these players stand out and why you should keep your eyes out for them this coming fall.
We start with rising senior Taja Brown, a 5-9 small forward from Timber Creek who has developed into an elite forward in the Tri-County Conference. Brown led the Chargers in rebounding and nearly averaged a double-double this spring.
She makes her living inside the perimeter and was one of the best interior options for this squad over the summer, making easy work of opponents in the lane. She’s a physical player who makes great use of her size on the floor.
Brown crashes the boards really well and does a fantastic job boxing out opponents when she’s out on the floor. With Timber Creek losing their best scorer, Brown is going to need to step up in a big way, so expect a strong senior season out of her.
Alongside Brown is rising senior Olivia Ettore, a 5-9 shooting guard from Kingsway who did just about everything on the floor in just her second season playing on varsity.
She’s a complete guard and someone who is just as dominant on the offensive end as she is on the defensive end. One of the best facets to her game as a player is her shot-blocking ability which will often go under-the-radar, but she nearly averaged a block a game last season.
Ettore is also a shut-down defender on the perimeter and is great at creating turnovers off steals. On the offensive end, she’s an excellent three-point shooter and creates a lot of space with the ball in her hands. Once she gets that space, it’s game over for her opponent.
The last player we’ll be discussing in this article is rising senior Grace Molinari, a 5-6 point guard from Gloucester Tech who is arguably the best three-point shooter on this roster and showed it off during AAU play this summer.
She’s been the anchor of the GCIT program for the past two seasons and will be relied upon in the same way this coming fall. We’ll be seeing a much-improved Molinari as she’s really worked on rounding out her game.
We’ve seen an added emphasis on passing and rebounding from Molinari and she’s really stepped up to the challenge. She’s looked a lot more aggressive with the ball and also someone who’s looking much more often for open teammates than ever before.
That’s a testament to the attention she attracts with the ball in hand, which frees up space for her teammates to get into open positions to score.
We’ll continue to follow these players through the rest of the summer and fall and you should continue to follow us here at Prep Girls Hoops for more New Jersey high school content.