Playoff Recap: Standout 2023s

The playoffs have been in full swing for high schoolers in North Carolina in both private and public. Here are some of the standout 2023s that I have seen over the past week. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Dearia-Page-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422087.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-396306 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Dearia-Page-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422087-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="385145" first="Dearia" last="Page"] (North Meck, G) has had a spectacular season. She was knocking down shots from deep on offense and getting inside for rebounds on defense. She was a terror on defense grabbing steals to push right up the court with ease. She got to the hoop showing off a nice finish at the rim no matter what kind of contact may have been there. She even had an old fashioned three point play to add to her points.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Neveah-Farmer-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422149.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-396308 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Neveah-Farmer-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422149-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="254583" first="Nevaeh" last="Farmer"] (North Meck, G) has been known as an excellent ball handler for years, but what seems to be understated is her defense. She was a lockdown defender knocking the ball away from her opponents trying to dribble by her. She was constantly setting up her teammates for their own points dictating what play they were going to run and moving to shift the defense with ease.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Mia-Xerras-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422243.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-396311 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Mia-Xerras-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422243-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="116914" first="Mia" last="Xerras"] (Myers Park, G) came alive in the second quarter against North Meck driving hard to the hoop showing off her own ball moves to create some space and score her points. She did well finding her open teammates cutting up the court on fast breaks to get some transition points for her team. Her defense was great knocking the ball away from her opponents when they tried to dribble by her.   [player_tooltip player_id="361675" first="Christiana" last="Young"] (Winston Salem Christian, G, featured photo) showed off her range shooting from deep. She made sure to control the tempo for her team. She knows exactly when to drive hard to the basket battling through contact and showing off a nice finish at the rim no matter what it takes. She throws passes exactly where her teammates need them to score the basket.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Destinee-Barnes-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422315.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-396313 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Destinee-Barnes-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422315-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="385123" first="Destinee" last="Barnes"] (Winston Salem Christian, SF) can play anywhere on the court no matter who is guarding her. She handles the ball efficiently from the top of the key, and she can power dribble her way in the paint to score points. She is aggressive going after rebounds, too.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Lettie-Michael-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422363.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-396315 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Lettie-Michael-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1646422363-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>Lettie Michael (North Davidson, G) was knocking down shots from deep, and she was moving well without the ball to get these open looks. She was instrumental in getting inside to grab rebounds, and she anticipated her opponents’ next moves with ease grabbing steals to push the other direction.