Stock Risers: Summertime in the City

<p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few weeks ago, I attended the first annual Medina-Dixon All-Star Tournament featuring some of the premier New England prospects from Maine down to Rhode Island. A fun-filled weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, resulted in a few individuals raising their stock with their play. Below are a few names who got my attention.</span></p> &nbsp; <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="296984" first="Summer" last="Carpenter"]| Springfield Ballers|SG|’23</strong></p> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-439405" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/380AC025-4061-4E3E-8569-40C8466FD611-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1654263441-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Carpenter might have been one of the best athletes moving east to west at the Medina-Dixon Tournament. Her lateral quickness is elite, and she can effortlessly defend the entire length of the court. Carpenter’s conditioning and competitiveness allow her to sit in a defensive stance and dig in the whole possession, and she consistently does that. Carpenter sped up her opponent and forced turnovers all over the court with her anticipation and quick hands. </span></p> &nbsp; <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="362015" first="Jayla" last="Comes"]|Springfield Ballers|SG|’24</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_439402" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/BC63E544-8BBD-48AE-A4FB-18C169E562B8-scaled-crop-1706x1121-1654263222.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-439402" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/BC63E544-8BBD-48AE-A4FB-18C169E562B8-scaled-crop-1706x1121-1654263222-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: Produced4Soul[/caption] <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I watched Comes in the past, I recognized her as a dangerous scorer. She has a tight handle and a first step to get past her defender and into the paint. What stood out to me most during the tournament was Comes’ defensive intensity. I thought she competed hard and made timely deflections to disrupt the opponent’s offensive flow. With Comes’ effort on defense, she can transform into a very impactful two-way guard who can defend both the 1 and 2.  </span></p> &nbsp; <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184005" first="Blake" last="O’Grady"]| Medina Dixon All-Stars II|SF|’23</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">O’Grady is a high IQ player who understands spacing and is a knockdown three-point shooter, so there is no surprise she had an impressive weekend playing alongside some of the best slashers in the area. O’Grady’s relocation on the perimeter was crucial to her team’s success as she was shot ready and hit big threes the first night of the tournament. She also took advantage of mismatches on the wing. O’Grady had a couple of smooth drives and finishes after recognizing she had the upper hand in size. </span></p> &nbsp; <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270944" first="Claire" last="Keswick"]| Medina Dixon All-Stars II|SG|’24</strong></p> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-439391" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/49043BBA-C072-4FB0-A441-2D413046172E-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1654262691-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keswick took full advantage of her scoring opportunities at the Medina Dixon Tournament and was one of the most efficient scorers I saw. She showed confidence in her catch and shooting ability and knocked down key mid-long range jumpers. Keswick is very good at getting to her spots on the floor, and she was executing all weekend long. </span></p> &nbsp; <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="287235" first="Jasmine" last="Day-Cox"]|Next Level All Stars|CG|’24</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_439381" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/0F57ABC4-8D6D-48BB-A7ED-6C9B49494CA7-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1654262190.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-439381" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/06/0F57ABC4-8D6D-48BB-A7ED-6C9B49494CA7-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1654262190-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: Produced4Soul[/caption] <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Day-Cox’s defense speaks for itself, but it instantly raises her stock when she is playmaking at a high level like she was at the Medina-Dixon Tournament. Day-Cox’s athleticism and upper body strength helped her get downhill and power past defenders. She finishes through contact and will draw fouls consistently. Day-Cox was a terror on defense, jumping passing lanes and forcing turnovers left and right.</span></p>