2022 Rankings: New Small Forwards

Mindy McCarthy February 10, 2022 @ 03:01 PM

The NC rankings were updated this week. Here are some new names at the small forwards position. [player_tooltip player_id="363019" first="Maleigha" last="Jackson"] | Phillip O. Berry Jackson is a player who can essentially fill all positions when she is on the court. She handles the ball well driving to the basket, and she can certainly knock down shots from outside. She doesn’t hesitate when it comes to battling in the paint for some points, and she is feisty when it comes to grabbing rebounds. She sees the floor well knowing how to move her body to get into the openings to make a contribution for her team. [player_tooltip player_id="382109" first="Gabriela" last="Modeva"] | Victory Christian Modeva is the perfect size to play in many areas on the court. She has the height to dominate on the block, and she is definitely one who knows how to grab rebounds. She can also play from the free throw line showing off good decisions from there whether she is passing to a teammate cutting underneath the basket or putting up her own jump shot. [player_tooltip player_id="382113" first="Kylie" last="Lewis"] | Cox Mill Lewis (pictured above) will consistently give you stats in many different categories each time she steps on the court. As a multi-level scorer, she shows off her range and her ability to drive to the basket. She is smart on defense jumping into passing lanes, and she can handle the ball herself moving it quickly up the court on fast breaks. Her evaluation of each possession gets her teammates involved as she sees them finding the open areas for their own points. [player_tooltip player_id="382114" first="Jamiya" last="Ratliff"] | Richmond Ratfliff is averaging double digits in points this season. She’s using her athleticism to get to the hoop no matter what it takes, and she can certainly step back for a nice three pointer, too. She crashes the boards hard to grab rebounds making sure to jump over her opponents. [player_tooltip player_id="384882" first="Madison" last="Nereu"] | Green Level Nereu has a great way of timing her moves on both ends of the court. She jumps into passing lanes using her length to grab the steal, and she knows how to slide around opponents into the help position to make sure players aren’t getting easy points around the basket. On the offensive side of the ball, she flashes in the paint at perfect times to get the pass and put the ball through the hoop without the ball ever needing to touch the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="384883" first="Markayla" last="Massenburg"] | Athens Drive Massenburg seems to have a knack for using her long arms to stop the ball from going where opponents want it to when she’s defending the basket. She can block shots with ease and jump in front of opponents trying to pass around her leading to steals to regain the possession. She does a great job bullying her defenders inside to make them move where she wants them to go. She has a nice jumper, too, that she uses to expand her scoring ability.