February New Standouts

I got to watch a few teams play this week that I had not previously gotten to watch this season and with that, I got to see some really good players whose names have not been put out there as much as they probably deserve. So to eliminate any confusion, the following players are new in that sense, but certainly not new names to their opponents. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="388802" first="Grace" last="White"] | Senior | Guard | Assumption </strong> White is an elite shooter, but she finishes really well around the basket as well. I was really impressed by how she would shift her body in the air to create better looks for herself when she got inside the paint. Really good speed and footwork. She is always ready to shoot the ball and if you give her even a little bit of space, she’s going to be able to get her shot off. White handled the ball really well in both hands as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="388813" first="Nia" last="Gandolfo"] | Senior | Guard/Forward | Assumption</strong> Gandolfo is so poised when she is on the court and she really is just a very solid all-around player. Offensively, she’s got great form on her shot and her shot selection was extremely impressive in the game I watched. She also isn’t afraid to draw contact inside and goes up strong. Gandolfo can handle the ball and does a great job of keeping her head up when she’s dribbling. Defensively, I loved how she consistently had her hands out and would instantly widen her stance to make it hard for the offense to get around her. She moved her feet really well to stay in front of whoever she was guarding and worked hard to put herself in great rebounding positions. <strong>Delaney Cooper | Sophomore | Forward | Assumption</strong> Cooper has really good length and is a great scorer. The lefty has a great mid-range game, but she’s even better from the outside. The sophomore is shooting nearly 40% from 3 on the season (currently the best percentage on her team), despite being the primary post player on her team. On top of her shooting, I was also impressed by her ball-handling ability for a post player. She didn’t handle it much, but she was comfortable when she did and definitely has the skill when it comes to her left hand. Defensively, she has the potential to be one of the best shot blockers in the state. Her timing isn’t all the way there right now, or at least it wasn’t in the game I watched, but she knew the angles she needed to put herself in and was just a split second away from some of her fouls being ruled blocks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164406" first="Amy" last="Thompson"] | Junior | Forward/Guard | Whitefield</strong> Thompson actually is somewhat of a new name this season, but that is only because she had to wait for the KHSAA to rule her eligible after she made the transfer to Whitefield this year. She has instantly stepped in and made a big impact for the Wildcats. Thompson has really good size and excellent hands on the defensive end. She also played just about every position on the floor when I got to watch and she played them all well. When she plays inside, she’s really smart about when to post up and when to move for her teammates. Whitefield played 4 games last week and Thompson notched a double-double (and some near triple-doubles) in 3 of those 4 wins. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="254282" first="Noel" last="Smith"] | Freshman | Forward | Whitefield</strong> Smith works so hard and while she has good size, especially for a freshman, she plays so much bigger than what she actually is. There are some players who could shine even if they score no points and Smith certainly falls into that category. She crashes the boards hard and really outworks opponents to get her team more rebounds. Last week, she pulled down 16 boards and added 12 points in her team’s overtime win against John Hardin.