Small Classification Big Game, Pt. 1

High school basketball will be here before you know it. Teams will be battling for that state championship and players will be looking to have great individual seasons to help lead their teams. In this article, I have some players from the 1A classification that were named All-State last year and are returning to showcase their skills again this season. With it being the off season I saw a lot of the following players on film. There were a couple of players I didn’t get to see due to not being able to find any of their games. <strong>Sarah Crowe | 2023 | Forward | Mammoth Springs High School</strong> Catching is a ball skill that you don’t hear a lot of people talk about in basketball. All players must be able to catch the ball on the move, vs pressure, and in traffic. Sarah has the concentration and soft hands to do just that. This allows her to catch in traffic and finish quickly while putting the ball on the backboard with a soft touch. Those hands also help on defense when she’s anticipating passes and when rebounding. <strong>Megyn Upton | 2022 | Forward | Mammoth Springs High School</strong> Megyn can get to her spots around the basket and finish with a soft touch. She also flashed to the high post and was effective out of this position. Players that cut to the rim Megyn was able to deliver on-target passes for the lay-up. She could also hit the spot-up shooter in the numbers for the catch-and-shoot jumper. If the defense played the pass or got too close she could also put the ball on the floor and attack. <strong>AJ McCandlis | 2023 | CG | Viola High School</strong> Here’s a guard that has the leadership capabilities and on-court skills to lead her team. A combo guard that play either position effectively. AJ can finish with either hand in traffic, cuts hard with the purpose to score off the cut, can make tough shots (not bad shots) off the dribble and knock down the catch and shoot three. She is even willing to sacrifice her body to set screens to get other players open. <strong>Kylie Baxter | 2022 | Forward | Hillcrest High School</strong> Kylie is very valuable to her team with her ability to play inside and out. She can post up and be a threat from the low block, she can attack off the dribble and make on-target passes or finish at the rim through contact. Any shot that goes up on the offensive end or defensive end, Kylie is going to work hard to get in position and hunt the rebound down. Defensively she also applies good pressure on the ball. <strong>Jayleigh Smith | 2023 | CG | County Line High School</strong> Jayleigh displayed good awareness and anticipation on the defensive end of the floor. Offensively she sees the floor well and does a  good job of cutting to open areas on defense to be effective. She can also push it in transition and finish the play herself at the rim. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="304717" first="Ariel" last="Jefferson"] | 2022 | Clarendon High School</strong> Ariel is a good athlete that uses her athletic ability to wreak havoc on the defensive end. She’s quick enough to cover a lot of ground on closeouts to block jump shots, but also controlled enough to not foul. Offensively she’s hard to contain off the catch and off the dribble. She can shoot the three, score in transition, and has good vision in the open court to deliver the timely pass to her teammates. Ariel also rebounds well for her size. <em><strong>Other 1A All-State players I did not find film on</strong></em>: Bilendria Harris | 2022 | Bradley High School Jaci Vines | 2022 | Kirby High School