Grassroots Wrap-Up: 17U, Part-II

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="61079" first="Jessie" last="Ringen"] (2022) of Rensselaer Central High School and NWI Thunder Gold 17U. With the 2021 grassroots season having ended a few weeks ago, I wanted to finish introducing several of the state’s teams in four final articles related to this. The bigger programs in 17U-15U have already gotten their own articles, while some of the smaller programs and individual teams will be found in these articles summarizing the remaining teams in each of the same age groups, 17U-15U. Below is a look at the remainder of 17U teams who stood out throughout the Spring & Summer of 2021.   Midwest Explosion 17U The Midwest Explosion program showcased a number of nice small college prospects from East Central Indiana...from Richmond over to Anderson, Muncie, and Marion, back East towards Ohio, including Winchester, Union City, and everywhere in between. This specific group was fun to watch, as they have some girls who should make some noise this Winter. [player_tooltip player_id="97326" first="Mariah" last="Claywell"] (2022) of Union City and [player_tooltip player_id="128149" first="Lauryn" last="Bates"] (2022) of Frankton probably stood out as their most dynamic players throughout the season. Both are ball-handling wings with well-rounded athleticism, great motors, and the ability to really create offense off the bounce for themselves or others. Both have the potential to be full-scholarship small college kids as well. Post [player_tooltip player_id="303418" first="Audrey" last="Voss"] (2022) of Daleville is an under-the-radar "big" who could be highly effective somewhere at the next level. She has a strong frame, she can be physical and tough inside, but she also has nice touch to 3-point range. Additionally, she works hard and runs the floor with effort. [player_tooltip player_id="127227" first="Olivia" last="Leas"] (2023) has been Blackford’s leading scorer each of the last two seasons. She has always been a talented, multisport athlete, but the difference in her game this year is that she’s shooting it much more consistently from 3-point range, and deep at times. I also liked what I saw out of [player_tooltip player_id="243590" first="Johwen" last="McKim"] (2022) of Eastbrook. She is not very tall, but she’s incredibly explosive, almost track star explosive, and she plays with an outstanding motor. She can create off the dribble, but she’s tremendous at getting in gaps, drawing contact, and getting to the free throw line. She’s also a hounding defender on the ball. Northwest Indiana (NWI) Thunder Gold 17U The gentlemen who organize the NWI Thunder program have done a nice job each year of finding several talented ladies from Porter County and surrounding counties. Looking back over the years, this 17U group was one of my favorites to watch. [player_tooltip player_id="128209" first="Abigail" last="Tomblin"] (2022) of South Central (Union Mills) has been a steady lead guard for this group for a couple of years now. I love her toughness and physicality at the point, she has a natural feel for the game/the position, plus she has a nice, balanced skillset, and she can score the ball in bunches or find open teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="303403" first="Grace" last="Weston"] (2022) of Westville continues to improve. She has very nice ball skill, she has good vision and can pass, but she’s taking care of it better and scoring it much more efficiently as well. I also like how hard she plays each possession. [player_tooltip player_id="61079" first="Jessie" last="Ringen"] (2022) of Rensselaer Central is a tremendous athlete, with a strong frame, speed, and great bounce. She has always flown around the floor making athletic plays, but the amount of growth she has shown in her skill development has also been impressive. She is a skillful wing who can play a point forward role, but I like her much more as a scoring threat. [player_tooltip player_id="241195" first="Jaci" last="Menard"] (2023) of Boone Grove was a move-in this past year from New Hampshire, and she is definitely more and more intriguing each time I see her. She kind of has an unassuming appearance, but she plays with a great deal of substance. She can be physical inside, she’ll battle with effort, and she can rebound or defend the interior. But she’s also fairly skilled around the perimeter, and she’s a very good face-up shooter. Look for her to have a big Winter in 2021-2022. [player_tooltip player_id="203664" first="Olivia" last="Marks"] (2023) of South Central (Union Mills) is another youngster on this team with nice potential. She is a wiry-strong, athletic wing forward who can make plays off the bounce. She plays with a really nice motor and comes up with a lot of blue-collar efforts. And another up-and-comer for this program is front-liner [player_tooltip player_id="300069" first="Victoria" last="Detraz"] (2023) of Morgan Township. She still needs some strength, but she has come a long way in the last year. She is extremely long, bouncy, and she plays with a nice motor. Her skill continues to grow, and she has a lot of potential if she keeps working at it. OPS-Jordan 17U The 17U OPS group was entertaining to watch. They didn’t have a great deal of size, but they had some skillful guards who made plays out in transition. It all starts with [player_tooltip player_id="128162" first="Nataley" last="Armstrong"] (2022) of Garrett, who has proven to be one of the most selfless guards in the state. She has great length, wiry strength, and good quickness. She can create offensively, but she also causes problems on the ball defensively. I still think [player_tooltip player_id="128123" first="J’Asia" last="Scott"] (2022) of Fort Wayne Northrop could be a real steal. She is a talented athlete who does a little of everything. She can create for herself or others off the dribble, she gets to the rim and can finish through contact, she can score it outside a little, plus she could be a high-level defender. [player_tooltip player_id="128148" first="Chloe" last="McClain"] (2022) of Kokomo is another quality guard in this backcourt, and the long, fluid athlete is one of the better shooters in the 2022 class, but she can also handle it on occasion and run offense. She has already given a verbal commitment to Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne. Wings [player_tooltip player_id="157176" first="Ellia" last="Foster"] (2022) of Bremen and [player_tooltip player_id="182146" first="Hailee" last="Kline"] (2022) of Blackhawk Christian both provide an offensive boost from the perimeter, plus both are solid athletes in most directions. Foster can score it in bunches for Bremen, while Kline does the same and could lead Blackhawk deep in the state tournament once again. And I wrote about [player_tooltip player_id="128156" first="Jasmine" last="Anderson"] (2022) of Fort Wayne Carroll just the other day. She was a welcomed addition this year to this group. Her combination of height, length, athleticism, and developing skill can create quite a mismatch for opponents. PAC Flight North UA Rise 17U You can tell when teams have been together for a while, because they just look more connected on the court. This group fits that bill, and if I’m not mistaken, they finished something like 12-3 on the Under Armour "Rise" circuit this Summer. I have raved about the inside-out game of [player_tooltip player_id="206420" first="Taylor" last="Bowen"] (2022) for some time now, and the Culver Academy forward earned an offer from, and eventually verbally committed to, Division-I Lipscomb University. She is a tough-nosed, gritty, physical kid inside, but she also has nice touch from around the perimeter. The point guard play on this team was also always solid. Whether it was [player_tooltip player_id="61080" first="Annika" last="Marlow"] (2022) of Rushville controlling tempo and executing the offense, or [player_tooltip player_id="128135" first="Tressa" last="Senesac"] (2022) of Benton Central flying around the floor making plays defensively or in transition. Both were fun to watch, and both bring a completely different style of basketball to the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="182143" first="Kennedy" last="Tolen"] (2022) of Benton Central has become a real problem for opposing teams to match up with. She is strong and physical, she works incredibly hard, but she also possesses some ball skill and she’s a very good perimeter shooter with a little range. [player_tooltip player_id="182139" first="Chesney" last="Tebbe"] (2022) of Westfield and [player_tooltip player_id="128168" first="Olivia" last="Yager"] (2022) of Rushville compliment the other backcourt members with their skillsets and abilities. Tebbe continues to play at a high level and has added a little more strength. She is a nice, quick/fast, and active combo guard who does a little of everything well. Yager is a nice, multisport athlete who can score the ball in bunches. She’s a solid perimeter shooter, but she can attack and absorb some contact as well. [player_tooltip player_id="61076" first="Abigail" last="Parker"] (2022) of Tipton was new to the group this year, and she seemed to fit right in perfectly. She is an athletically built wing with a really nice middle game. She can handle it around the perimeter and even create a little, but she is a tremendous mid-range shooter with a soft lefty touch. She’s also an active rebounder. Up front, [player_tooltip player_id="97285" first="Haley" last="Thomas"] (2022) of West Lafayette Harrison and Kaiya Walker (2022) of Fishers work hard to control the paint. Haley has good size, strength, and physicality, but she also has some touch facing the basket that extends to the 3-point line. Walker is undersized for how she plays, but she has one of the best motors around, she’s a quietly tough-nosed kid, and she always seems to come up with a big rebound or a tough defensive stop. Region Rebels Maroon 17U The Rebels aren’t exactly a household name as far as programs go, but they have some nice basketball players from Northwest Indiana who should draw good small college interest. Cierra Pipkins (2022) of Griffith is definitely an under-the-radar kid who scored in double-figures for a 13-4 Panther team that won their Sectional last year. She is a solid athlete who plays at her best when she’s attacking the basket. She’ll absorb contact, get to the free throw line, and knock them down, plus she doesn’t mind rebounding, and she’s a plus-defender. The Junior Andrean duo of Abbi Foster (2023) and [player_tooltip player_id="300077" first="Lauren" last="Colon"] (2023) are also key to this group’s success. Foster is a 5-8 forward who is tremendously scrappy and earns everything the hard way. She has length, fluid athleticism, and she will get inside and rebound/defend. But she also has the potential to become more of a wing as she continues to develop her skillset. Colon is a nice little combo guard who does some of everything around the perimeter. She’ll need to continue getting stronger, but she has good length, fluidity, and she can handle the ball and run offense or bury jumpers from around the perimeter. She also does a nice job of using her length to affect passing lanes. Two younger prospects who got some run on the 17U team were 5-3 point guard Juliet Starr (2024) of Kankakee Valley and 5-8 guard [player_tooltip player_id="295810" first="Lindsay" last="Arcella"] (2025) of Andrean. Starr is a steady and cerebral ball-handler who can knock down an open shot, while Arcella is a potential offensive weapon at all levels for Andrean as just a Freshman. She grew up in the Lake Central system.