Around the State: Underrated Upperclassmen
Upperclassmen get the job done. They lead their teams in all aspects of the game both on and off the court. Regardless of the talent distribution on the roster, upperclassmen know their programs inside out and their experience is always…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingUpperclassmen get the job done. They lead their teams in all aspects of the game both on and off the court. Regardless of the talent distribution on the roster, upperclassmen know their programs inside out and their experience is always essential. When upperclassmen are at their best, teams look more coherent. Here are some underrated upperclassmen that have shown skillsets worthy of the next level:
Ava Kok — Neenah — Class of 2023 — Guard — Unranked
With certain teams, there is a lot of fun to be had by just watching how a certain player moves on a certain end of the floor. Watching Kok create space for herself on the offensive end is an example of this phenomenon. Her savviness in manufacturing space for three-pointers is a treat. She isn’t fazed by aggressive trapping in uncomfortable locations on the court. Her ability to find the safety valve out of a double-team and use that as a mechanism to get open herself is beyond high school basketball. Her use of V-cuts and Iverson cuts demonstrates that she is a pure shooter who adds a ton of value to an offense as a spacer and shot maker.
Defensively, Kok is looking to jump passing lanes and create turnovers. She makes up for her about average speed with intuition and active eyes. Her anticipation can get her into trouble by overplaying a passing lane, but when she remains disciplined she’s an absolute nuisance to work around. And on the ball, she uses her help defenders as safety nets and plays more aggressively because of it. An advanced level three-and-D type player with a lot of upside as a shooter.
Karissa Smith Karissa Smith 5'9" | SG Appleton North | 2023 State WI — Appleton North — Class of 2023 — Guard — #84 Overall Prospect
Smith’s offensive game begins with her jumper. A super-smooth, singular motion that releases high and with a consistent launch angle. Like many other players with clean fundamentals, her jumper’s mechanics allow her to launch from deeper ranges with greater accuracy. Which brings me to some gaudy numbers. 8 three-pointers against Neenah en route to a 31 point performance despite the loss. And in the game prior she hit 4. That’s collegiate-level shooting. And beyond the three-point shot is her incredible patience. The cliche of taking what the defense gives you exists because it’s true, and a habit that Smith practices. She waits to see how the defense reacts, analyzing switches and locating help defenders, before beginning her attacking motion.
What will take her game to the next level is adding a more complex dribble package to her offensive skillset. Her catch-and-shoot motion is elite, but as a shooter the hole in her game is with pull-up jumper. All 8 of her three-pointers against Neenah came in catch and shoot scenarios and two of her misses were off the dribble. She’s so close to becoming an elite shooting prospect with a versatile offensive game and some tweaks to her handle — a go-to right-to-left crossover, incorporating more hesitations, and dribbling harder — can turn her into an elite overall prospect.
Cayla Gunderson — Manitowoc-Lincoln — Class of 2022 — Forward — Unranked
Gunderson has acted as Manitowoc-Lincoln’s offensive hub through the 2022 season. And she looks like a ton of fun to play with. She’s a pass-first big who takes advantage of her 6’0″ frame, finding cutters by delivering over the top of the defense. And her work rate under the glass is contagious, fighting for offensive rebounds or attempting to tip the ball out to reset the possession. The same aggression that fuels her work on the boards translates to her attack on the rim. She consistently puts pressure on the rim, but where she can take another step forward is in cleaning up her finishing, which can be erratic at times.
And on the defensive end, she’s demonstrated impressive versatility with her ability to rim protect as well as guard perimeter oriented player. She’s a swiss army knife who guards 2 through 5, drawing the toughest defensive assignment for the Ships. It may sound simple but she gets in a low defensive stance on the perimeter and stays vertical on the blocks. An asset on that end of the court that not many teams have. She’ll need to bulk up to absorb more contact–which will lower her foul count as well–and reach her potential as a defender.
Allyson Kakes — Two Rivers — Class of 2023 — Forward — Unranked
In her matchup against the aforementioned Manitowoc-Lincoln, she was Two Rivers’ unstoppable force. Her presence in the post–especially when a smaller defender was switched on her–befuddled the TR interior defense. This kind of aggression is a symptom of her playstyle, not an outlier performance. Kakes is proficient in her ability to gather and set herself up for easy baskets, using her strength and power dribbles to compliment her touch around the rim. She’s an intelligent player who uses subtle changes in her angle at the point of attack to create openings to finish. And though there are bigger bigs than her, she still finds ways to find easy looks for her team. Her habit of setting back screens to set up teammates on the low block is a testament to her unselfishness and gravity as a basketball player.
What shocked me defensively was her speed attacking poor control of the ball. Like a defender in soccer attacking a poor touch, Kakes shows impressive explosion attacking loose handles and weak passes. And her raw speed in the open floor is a facet of her game that may take some by surprise. She reads the floor extremely well on both ends and is a very complete prospect. She’s averaging 18 points a game on great efficiency, but the most impressive stat that embodies her game is that she’s attempted 62 free throws in 7 games. She’s a dominant force that deserves greater recognition as a forward prospect.