Players to Watch: Underrated On-Ball Defenders
Point of attack defense has never been more important to the game of basketball than right now. With the amount of offense initiated by high ball-screens and dribble drives, having tenacious defenders who can step into this role and compete…
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Continue ReadingPoint of attack defense has never been more important to the game of basketball than right now. With the amount of offense initiated by high ball-screens and dribble drives, having tenacious defenders who can step into this role and compete is vital. Here are some of the best ballhawks you may not have heard of:
Chelsea King | Wisconsin Rapids | Class of 2022 | Forward | Unranked
King is the strong safety/linebacker hybrid of the Wisconsin Rapids defense. She slides her feet extremely well and can keep pace with the opposition’s best ball handler. Her length and athleticism endow her with the potential to be an elite on-ball defender but it’s her constant activity on that end that actualizes that potential. King envelopes her matchup like a freakishly athletic linebacker swallowing up the running back on a screen pass.
Her instinct to cheat off of her assignment and intercept passes takes her over the top as one of the best defenders in Division 2. This is the whole strong safety bit. Her incredible recovery speed leads to this habit of cheating off of her main assignment, but when the result is a live ball turnover or an imperative trap, it’s hard to complain about the means. King is the defensive rock for WR and anchored them in a tough fought win against SPASH.
Samantha Schmitt Samantha Schmitt 5'6" | PG Oregon | 2024 State WI | Oregon | Class of 2024 | Guard | #40 Overall Prospect
Watching Schmitt faceguard Milton point guard Saige Radke Saige Radke 5'7" | PG Milton | 2022 State WI –whom I hold in very high regard–cemented her place on this list. Though only a sophomore, she’s demonstrated the potential to be a game-changer on the defensive end in a loaded Badger conference.
The conditioning and defensive pride required to spearhead a full-court press are rare, and Schmitt’s already flexed that kind of ability. Her speed enables her to keep up with just about any guard in the conference and her constant movement and anticipation let her shift roles. She can be the primary on-ball defender but because of her awareness, she doesn’t need to be to have a major impact on that end of the floor. Schmitt is one of those players that is just as fun to watch defensively as some are offensively.
Abby Fischer | Neenah | Class of 2024 | Guard | Unranked
Few sophomores fight over screens and read the opposing guard’s screen navigation as well as Fischer. Though a different Neenah sophomore may get more attention (check out the 2024 prospect rankings), Fischer’s defensive presence has been a key development for the Papermakers thus far.
At the point of attack, Fischer has shown incredible versatility. As previously mentioned, she fights over on-ball screens and is able to stunt the following offensive action because of her positioning. And despite her lack of size, she’s ahead of the curve in terms of denying post entry passes and getting a hand on the ball off the first post move. She’s flashed the ability to recover quickly as well, though this is a less pronounced avenue of her game. Keep an eye out for how she maneuvers throughout a defensive sequence, you won’t be disappointed.
Lucy Leininger | Germantown | Class of 2024 | Forward | Unranked
I’ve already written about Leininger’s incredible defensive presence here, but it’s worth bringing up again: Leininger is a stud. She’s just such a fluid defender. Leininger seems to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee on the defensive end. She oscillates between her matchup and double-teaming trapping zone in the full-court press and mirrors her matchup’s movements in half-court sets. She reads indecision extremely well and turns the briefest moment of sloppiness into a turnover going the other way. Read more on Lucy here.
Tiara Barksdale | Sun Prairie | Class of 2022 | Guard | Unranked
Tiara Barksdale is fearless on the defensive end. Her activity and hustle defensively saw her move into the starting line-up for Sun Prairie and she’s been a leader on that end of the floor. She’s quick enough to absorb initial contact and keeps her hands active in anticipation of an opportunity to turn defense to offense. With perhaps the exception of fellow ballhawk senior Rachel Rademacher, few guards put their body on the line as much as Barksdale.
And while it’d be easy to chalk up Barksdale’s defensive presence to effort and activity, some of the subtle nuances take her over the top. She always angles herself in a way that minimizes risk. When on the ball, she knows where her help is coming from and how to navigate ball-handlers into traps. Off the ball, she largely remains fundamentally sound on the help side but shifts the angle of her body ever so slightly as to be ready to dive for loose balls or pick off an inaccurate pass. Her defensive progression has been a major boost for an SP squad looking to separate from the pack atop the Big 8.