PGH Top250 Expo: Top Upperclassmen

Following yesterday’s article specifically revolving around the underclassmen, today we’re going through the best upperclassmen who were in Appleton over the weekend. With all of the talent that was there, it’s almost impossible to name all of the players who stood out, because there was plenty. So I encourage people, if able, to watch the games in Appleton on BalletTV. These players are ones who stood put on various ways, both offensively and defensively. This list is in no particular order. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="264943" first="Tieryn" last="Plasch"]-5’6 G-’23 Northwestern: </strong>A rising junior from the northern tip of Wisconsin may make Plasch the most remote prospect in Wisconsin altogether. I learned of her early on when I began writing through a short film study series, and she is one of the more gifted players offensively in Wisconsin without question. She has excellent spatial awareness and she maximizes the space she has to score. Plasch also possesses a high-level jumper with a high release which will help with her possibly being a little bit small for the next level. Her ability to score at an absurd efficiency is outstanding shooting basically 50% from the field and over 40% from three a season ago. The responsibility, she has to score at her high school masks her ability to pass a little bit but she is great at reading pick and rolls and has great timing on those passes. She’s a bit underappreciated in my opinion but she’s a very complete guard with very few flaws in her game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="329584" first="Anna" last="Nielsen"]-5’10 G/F-’22-Verona: </strong>Nielsen is a bit of a mystery because I couldn’t find a ton of data from her at Verona. This is confusing for a few reasons one because even though Verona is extremely talented even if she just wasn’t starting I’d be surprised if she never played. Regardless, her play in Appleton was awesome. It was clear when I saw her that she had a bit more experience than most of the other players there because of the control she played with. She was making plays for others, she was always boxing out even on the perimeter where some players may just watch the ball. Above all else even though she was playing well it was obvious she doesn’t take the game for granted, and if she continues playing at the next level I’d imagine she’d still have that passion to just get better every time she steps on the floor. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="132394" first="Sidney" last="Scruggs"]-5’6 G-’22-Milwaukee Riverside:</strong> The one thing that even before mentioning the rest of how Scruggs played is her signature move, step-back jumpers. Her stepback jumper was great at creating space for her shot and comfort with it shows the amount of work she must’ve put into it. She did a good job setting up the offense for her team in Appleton. She seemed to always have a plan when it came to the offensive end which is essential for lead guards to have. Her sense of balancing getting her own shot and moving the ball around was good because I never felt she had gotten too selfish or selfless, so I can only imagine it’s very easy to play off of her. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="156076" first="Braelyn" last="Torres"]-5’6 G-’23-Kettle Moraine: </strong>Torres is an interesting case because for Kettle Moraine she isn’t a primary scoring option, but it’s obvious she can do that so watching her offensive game was something I keyed on watching her play. Her jumper is really quick with about as high of a release as you can get and it looks good. Her defense is some of the best I’ve seen because she has anticipation, plays on her toes and she’s always engaged on that end, her offense is a bonus. She is more pass-first offensively, which is ok, but Appleton definitely got me more interested in how improved she may be this coming season on offense. I have to mention again how good her defense was last season because she was basically getting three steals a game a season ago which needless to say is ridiculous. Next season keep an eye on her offensive efficiency and if it improves she is going to be an unsolvable problem for some teams this coming season.