SHE Can Ball Sleepers: Brooklyn Goes Hard

Sunday, I attended the SHE Can Ball Showcase hosted by the Springfield Ballers in Springfield, Massachusetts. I had the opportunity to see a lot of under-the-radar middle school and high school talent. Below are a few who caught my attention. &nbsp; [caption id="attachment_355158" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/04C8BE65-016C-4F62-A70B-1A214988166B-crop-1537x1010-1637594063.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-355158" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/04C8BE65-016C-4F62-A70B-1A214988166B-crop-1537x1010-1637594063-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: [player_tooltip player_id="299627" first="Juliette" last="Tarsa"][/caption] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="353205" first="Brooklyn" last="DeRoy-Olivero"] - Springfield Central - 5’8’’ - SG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Deroy-Olivero is sneaky tough. She is not a player who will pop out at you after a first glance, but if you key in on her throughout a game, you’ll notice that she will impact the game consistently. Her best skill is her shooting, and she got hot as a pistol yesterday. When Deroy-Olivero gets one three to fall, a barrage of outside conversions will soon follow. She also is an adequate ball handler and playmaker who runs the floor well in transition. Deroy-Olivero makes for an excellent glue piece to a team. </span> &nbsp; <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355187" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/469EF3D5-3F01-4FBC-92B5-21CA322BB096-scaled-crop-1852x1216-1637598168-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="355180" first="Ella" last="Smith"] - Berwick Academy - 5’7’’ - CG - ’26</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Smith impressed me instantly with her hard work during drills and stations. At. showcases, I always look for who stands out during the skill development portion of the event. Often, players go through the motions or cut corners in drills to get them over with, but not Smith. 100% effort and full speed through every station, and she gave me the impression that her goal for the day was to get better. I like the way Smith handles the ball, her intensity on defense, and her work ethic. </span> &nbsp; <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355190" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/F093D727-836E-4072-ADF1-924A585062AC-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1637598326-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="355189" first="Emersynn" last="Cage"] - Glenbrook Middle - 5’9’’ - CG - ’26</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Cage was the most intriguing prospect out of the ’26 class because of her size and skill set. Her ball-handling was smooth and fluid, most noticeably when Cage was weaving in and out of traffic in transition.  I was very impressed by Cage’s defense and versatility. She showed the ability to guard 3 positions and stay in front of her assignment consistently. </span> &nbsp; <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355192" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/7CC5537A-5738-4AD3-A8F6-0D46D58F3900-scaled-crop-1914x1257-1637598415-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="355182" first="Tyler" last="Swan"] - Springfield Ballers - 5’3’’ - PG - ’26 (Right)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Swan’s athletic ability is through the roof, and she outworked everyone on the court. She hustled and asserted herself on offense better than anyone. What makes Swan a special talent is that she is a very quick and explosive slasher and no one can stay in front of her on the perimeter. Swan gets to the rim well before the help defense can slide over. </span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="355181" first="Dasanni" last="Auston"] - Duggan 5’3’’ - PG - ’26 (Left)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Auston, like Swan, is another ’26 prospect who is small in size but a relentless scorer and slasher. Another player whose work ethic popped out at me during the stations. You could tell by how agile and shifty she was with the ball,when manuevering in and out of cones, that she would go off when the games started. The hard drives and fancy finishes that Auston showed us on Sunday made her a prospect to watch moving forward. </span> &nbsp; <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/F0D0F12D-C66A-4A44-B8F0-FAE8EEA357FB-scaled-crop-1852x1216-1637598674.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355198" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/11/F0D0F12D-C66A-4A44-B8F0-FAE8EEA357FB-scaled-crop-1852x1216-1637598674-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="355196" first="Zeynep" last="Goktepe"] - MacDuffie - 5’8’’ -  CG - ’24</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Perhaps the biggest sleeper of the day was [player_tooltip player_id="355196" first="Zeynep" last="Goktepe"]. The biggest reason Goktepe has flown under the radar is that she has only been in New England for a few months. Bringing her insane talent from Turkey, Goktepe was easily one of the best players overall from the day. She was so much fun to watch because she didn’t say a word and silently killed her opponent. Goktepe keeps the ball on a string, plays under control, and ball security is top-notch. She proved that she could score at all three levels and has one of the best shooting strokes from the perimeter. Goktepe is easily a top 40 ’24 prospect in the region, my initial impression, with her stock elevating by the day.</span>