All “A” State Tournament Standouts – Bigs

<p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p>Revisiting my week in Richmond watching the All "A" State Tournament this is the first article about the standout players of the tournament.  Missing from this series will be the players of Owen County who received their own article as Champions.  In this article, the focus is on the best Bigs of the All "A" to be followed by the smaller statured stars of the game in articles yet to come.   </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Julia Hunt - ’24  6’2"/C - Holy Cross (Covington) </strong></p> <p>I could probably write an entire article on Hunt, she is that good and has so many attributes to discuss that no amount of coverage would really be enough.</p> <p>Let's start by pointing out that she shot just under 59% from the field had 2 double-doubles and a triple-double (10 blocks) in the 3 games of the tournament.  She finished with totals of 53 points, 37 rebounds, 19 blocks, 6 assists, 3 steals, and made 70.5% of her free throws.  In the semifinals, she scored the 1st 14 points for her team and that included ALL of their 1st Half points. </p> <p>She made plays from every area of the court you would typically see a Big set up:  the corners, high post, low post, mid-post.  She scored off of Flex Cuts, Dive Cuts, rolling to the rim after a pick, high to low lane slides, driving from the top of the key, a baby hook in the center of the lane.  About the only thing I don't remember seeing her do was shooting a free-throw line jumper, but then I have to look down to take notes sometimes.</p> <p>But more impressive than all of that she freed the ball from being stuck in that spot between the rim, the flange, and the backboard and she runs with a bounce in her step that suggests she hasn't finished growing into her body yet.  That makes everything she has done so far look like the prelude to much bigger things to come.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Abby Gilbert - ’25  6’2"/SF - Jackson County  </strong></p> <p>Gilbert is another future D-1 player who scored 17 points, grabbed 33 rebounds, made 4 assists, and blocked 7 shots in two games.  She was a terror on the boards to opponents turning missed shots into points and blocked one shot by coming all the way across the lane to swat it and altered who knows how many shots.  </p> <p>At one point late in the 1st round game she even rebounded her own miss from the free-throw line (after it has been batted around a bit) made a spin dribble for a layup, scored, and was fouled.  Then on the "and 1" free throw she was able to rebound her pwn missed free throw again.  </p> <p>Gilbert is currently the #16 leading Rebounder in the Commonwealth averaging 10.8 rebounds per game.  She also has the ability to handle to ball away from the basket but I don't recall her doing it that often during the All "A's".  Maybe I am just not remembering it but I will attest that I have seen it in the past.  I believe she might end up being a Small Forward in college. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Grace Mbugua - ’25  6’4"/C  - Danville Christian  </strong></p> <p>Mbugua is the #1 Rebounder in the Commonwealth this year and will likely retain that position for the next three years.  Few players have her height and athleticism.  She would still be an elite player at 5'11" due to her speed, skills, and balance.  </p> <p>Like all high-level bigs, she impresses by scoring off the glass, low-post pivot turn types of scores, and by challenging and blocking shots.  But she has more versatility than that to play away from the basket, and in transition with or without the ball.  This is a sure-fire D-1 player.  There are a few programs that would take her right now.  </p> <p>She tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, shot 55% from the floor, including a right wing three, and made both of the free throws in 29 minutes of play.  I would have liked to have seen more, thankfully she has three more years left in high school.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kenady Ward - ’23  6’4"/C - Jackson County  </strong></p> <p>Despite no current offers, Ward is a prospect because of her size and basketball IQ.  You cannot teach someone to be as large as she is but you can teach them to maximize the advantages that come with it and diminish their disadvantages.  She keeps the ball high and sees her opportunities to move early to limit her lack of foot speed.   </p> <p>In two games she had 18 points, 14 rebounds, made 53% of her shots, and blocked 6 shots playing all but 5 minutes.  She scores mainly on rebound putbacks, and pivot-turn low post score but also has the ability to hit the free throw line jumper and is making 70.6% of her free throws on the season.   </p> <p>In the offseason, I suggest she continue to work on short jumpers and free throws to maximize her scoring potential outside of the low block.  Her team has a few good rebounders that can put the ball back in when she misses.  If her percentages go up enough that could mean additional offense for them and allow her to play more in the High Post where she is already an asset as a passer and screener </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->