Brady’s Takeaways: Forwards

The last of a three-part series running through some of my favorite prospects I’ve seen is about forwards. In over 20 games I’ve attended, there have been plenty of forwards who have stood out. Like wings, forwards come in many forms and have different roles depending on their team. That said, these are my favorite forward prospects I’ve witnessed. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="264946" first="Kylie" last="Wittnebel"]-6’0 F-’23-Beaver Dam: </strong>I have gotten to see Wittnebel play a few times and she dominates the game in her own way. Wittnebel doesn’t get a lot of plays called for her to score, but when she does it usually doesn’t involve a post-move. Most of the time Wittnebel scores in the post she seals her defender so well that the path of an entry pass can be seen from every spot in the gym. That doesn’t include her dominance on the offensive glass thanks to her size and will to get every rebound she can. Her length on its own is the source of an efficient high school offense. <strong>Reenie Ganzer-5’10 F-’23-Pius XI: </strong>Ganzer is the player whose play surprised me the most out of anyone I’ve seen. Ganzer going into a game against Waunakee, I had already seen and thought I had a good grasp on her game. Playing next to a D1 commit I thought she was good for floor spacing and finding soft spots in zones. I couldn’t have been more wrong. When Moore went out with foul trouble Ganzer absolutely shined. The junior controlled the paint against some talented and massive forwards that the Warriors were rotating. Ganzer isn’t imposing by any means, even being slightly small for a college forward. The Lady Pope simply blocked girls shots who are five inches taller than her, she earned points in the paint and was the reason the Lady Poped won the minutes Moore didn’t play. Ganzer is easy to look past, but please don’t. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263007" first="Megan" last="Zielsdorf"]-6’2-’22-Pewaukee: </strong>Zielsdorf reminds me of a role carved out in German soccer called the "Raumdeuter" which translates roughly to "space-interpreter." The Pirates are very guard-oriented and get up their fair share of 3-pointers, and they make a good percentage as well. What Zielsdorf did in their game against Germantown is pop up at important times, with big plays. Although she only scored 12 points a lot of them were because Zielsdorf moves a lot and makes herself available to her guards. The biggest play in that game from Pewaukee’s side was a Zielsdorf and-one layup that Zielsdorf made. I haven’t gotten around to talking about Zielsdorf until now, but she is an excellent player. <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="209617" first="Kayl" last="Petersen"]-6’1 F-’24-Waupun: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Petersen hasn’t decided that she wants to miss quite yet. The Waupun sophomore is still making over half of her shots from the field and from behind the arc. Petersen is the best scorer I’ve seen so far this season. Her shot is college-ready right now and with her size and lift and her jumper she can get it off wherever she wants, and she knows it. Being around the talent that Waupun has this season has only made it abundantly clear that if she keeps developing, she’s got a chance to be a high-level scorer at the next level. The only oddity is that she is three for ten from the free-throw line, but I’m going to assume that will sort itself out.</span>