Big 8 Preview: Janesville-Craig’s Most Intriguing Prospects

Janesville-Craig comes into the 2021-2022 season with one of the youngest cores of any Big 8 team. But that doesn’t mean that JC doesn’t bring the heat on the court. The Cougars have high-level talent at senior, junior, and sophomore and will be pushing for conference supremacy this upcoming season. Here are the most intriguing prospects that they hope will get them there: [player_tooltip player_id="209609" first="Mya" last="Nicholson"] -- 5'10" -- Guard -- Class of 2024 -- #13 overall recruit, #2 CG Nicholson has so much variety to her offensive game. There are so many layers and surprises that come with her play on both ends. Oh, she can shoot it from 25 feet out? And she has a low-post game? Now she’s taking a defensive rebound and finishing coast to coast?! It just simply never ends. Her offensive game starts and ends with capital-r Range, but that shooting touch that makes her deadly from outside the arc translates to the rim. Her precise footwork in the post--combined with a series of feints and fakes--gives her open, high percentage looks that force you to respect her from all three levels of the half-court. Just look at this play below and be enamored: https://youtu.be/39lCPKfAt0c As a 2024 prospect the reason she tops this list is simple: how far can she take it? At 5’10" with guard skills and three more varsity seasons to go, the most intriguing aspect of her game will see what she adds to it every year. The most obvious one offensively is to develop a tighter handle--she’s still a little too reliant on others setting her up to score instead of initiating her own offense. And on the defensive end, she needs to develop her speed instead of relying on her frame in order to body smaller, quicker guards. Nicholson is going to be a problem for many head coaches in the conference for years to come. Bryn McBride -- 6'0" -- Forward -- Class of 2022 -- Unranked Where JC struggled most this past season was at the anchor spot in their 2-3 zone. With no steadfast rim protector, paint points would decimate the Cougar’s defense. Enter two-way presence, McBride. Listed as the tallest player for the 2021-22 season, McBride has an incredible opportunity in front of her to be an essential cog in the Janesville-Craig rotation. The 6’0" senior will undoubtedly play the center position in this zone--and this responsibility has the potential to complement what she does on the offensive end as well. Offensively, she can be an absolute x-factor that detonates the JC offense. Her sweet shooting stroke and constant movement along the perimeter have been rewarded with the effervescent green light. And when she’s on, JC’s offense flourishes. This is why the Cougars need her to be a scrappy interior defender as well. To maximize what she could be as a player she needs to improve her reaction time around the rim and move with more purpose. The ability to be a high-impact player on both sides of the court is there for the taking for McBride, she just needs to step into that role. [player_tooltip player_id="206576" first="Ellie" last="Magestro-Kennedy"] -- 5'8" -- Point Guard -- Class of 2023 -- #11 overall recruit, #5 PG A dominant on-ball presence who can overwhelm her opposition with speed and aggression. That’s what first comes to mind when watching #12 play. Her quickness and ball-on-a-string handles startle average defenders, and once she has a step on you--she’s in the paint finishing or dishing the ball out to an open shooter. And though she seems to never dip below 90 mph--as opposed to her usual 110--every dribble move, cut, slash, and pass is intentional and oftentimes effective. Not to mention the fact that she’s looking to charge pace into every action. Off of makes, misses, free throws, it doesn’t matter. EMK is coming at you with speed and power. But this isn’t always a perfect strategy. And this is what I’m most looking forward to seeing this upcoming season. How is Magestro-Kennedy going to marry her instincts to push-push-push with the fact that a guard as ball-dominant as she is needs to play at a variety of speeds, commanding tempo rather than defaulting to one rhythm? While she’s a willing and accurate passer, but her instincts of drive-first-think-later get her into trouble when trying to create on the perimeter. And if a team has an elite perimeter defender, they can nullify her offensive potential. Seeing how 12 changes her approach to commanding the offense can exponentially increase the explosiveness of this already potent offense. But make no mistake, if you’re looking for a player that’s going to bring their 110% on every play on both ends of the court, look no further than Magestro-Kennedy. Lily Campbell -- 5'7" -- Guard -- Class of 2024 -- Unranked The other 2024 rotation player on this roster alongside 24, Campbell is uniquely positioned to have an impactful role this upcoming season. Defensively, she’s one of the only players that can play at four different spots in the zone -- and do so at a high level. Active hands and a long wingspan make for problems both at the top of the key and on the wings. And offensively she’s constantly moving. She understands how to play off of the lead guards, whether that means finding the gap and spotting up, or cutting to the basket when Magestro-Kennedy drives to get an easy layup or floater. Consistency is going to be key for Campbell. Whether that’s developing a more reliable jumper, being more patient with the ball offensively, or locking in on her rotations defensively. What makes her such a tantalizing prospect is that she demonstrates all of these attributes in phases, but doesn’t always put it all together. She’s has a lot more varsity basketball ahead of her -- it makes sense that in her freshman campaign from yester-year she wasn’t a fully developed prospect -- and she’ll undoubtedly build on what is a promising foundation. [player_tooltip player_id="204121" first="Kate" last="Huml"] -- 5'8" -- Guard -- Class of 2022 -- #40 overall recruit, #16 CG I firmly believe that basketball is about creating space, finding space, and manipulating space, and no player embodies this philosophy more than Huml. Though her offensive package may seem simple, it’s extremely effective. A jab step to create space for a three, faking a cut to open up space on the perimeter, hesitating at just the right moment in an in-and-out dribble to get to the rim, Huml just knows how to get her shot profile. The epitome of a player who plays within the flow of the offense and takes what the defense gives her. She’s also an extremely sound perimeter defender--she engages the offensive player at the point of attack and knows exactly when to trap in that 2-3 zone. What I’m looking to see this upcoming season is whether or not Huml will tick up her assertiveness on the offensive end. There are times when she plays too much within the flow of the offense, and if that offense is stuck, this presents a problem for the senior guard. She’s simply too good and too important for this team not to call her own number more often. She’s a threat from every level and stretches a defense out. Just a little bit more balance in that backcourt of her and Magestro-Kennedy can maximize both players’ potential.