17u players who caught my eye on Day 1 of Live at the PAC

Joseph Albright

May 21, 2022 @ 10:17 AM

Aubrey Cole, Indiana's Best 17u Red, PG, 5-3 - Cole is the kind of point-guard made for the transition game. She loves to get out and run. Once she's in the open court, her vision and up-tempo game really take over. She maintains good court awareness and delivers all three types of passes on the run accurately, so teammates get easy shots. She's smooth and collected, but commanding while on the floor. Sydney Donaldson, Rockford Heat 17u Elite, SG, 5-10 - Donaldson makes playing multiple positions look easy. She looks at home as a shooting guard, her natural position. But she has the post moves and the shooting skills to makes things interesting at the 3 and 4 positions. In her opening game, she used several great down-low moves to get to the basket. Her athleticism helping her blow by opponents and score. Coaches looking for a kid capable of going 2-4 should take a look at Donaldson. Kayla Walter, SLAAM 2023 Barlow, SG, 5-5 - Kayla is a bulldog on defense. No ifs, and, or buts about it. She plays with a tough approach not easily tempered by screens or foul trouble. One of the most impressive parts of her game is her ability to sniff out said screens and switch onto another defender with no loss of ferocity. Her arms are constantly moving everywhere, thus making her an ideal candidate to guard positions 1 through 5. [player_tooltip player_id="148136" first="Jasmine" last="Brown"], Example Sports 17u Wolfpack, CG, 5-8 - I walked away from my first-time seeing Brown (pictured above) impressed with her decision making. Despite a hard-charging attitude and straight-forward plan of attack, there's a certain grace about her game. She always makes the right passes, scores at all levels, and moves well with nice handles on the offense end. All of it coming naturally to the young lady, who will definitely make waves at the next level. Xaviera Smalley, W.Va. Thunder 17u GUAA, C, 6-3 - Smalley doesn't get as much praise as her Thunder teammates. But she's okay with that. Instead of whining about it, she goes about her job on the block with a certain zeal and flare. No matter what she's asked to do, she attacks the job. Set up and pick and roll play for her and watch as she executes wonderfully. Draw up an out-of-bounds play to get her open for a short jump shot and she converts. This young lady is a diamond in the rough that coaches should see ASAP.