Standouts from around the AAU landscape – Part I

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lady Copperheads at War Games ATL</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mackenna McClure, Lady Copperheads 2026 and 2025, G, 5-9 - </strong>Similar to Greenbrier East legend and older sister Haley, Makenna possesses a long-and-lanky body with the can-do-anything on-the-court-attitude. She's just as tough as her sister. Nothing gets to her. If she comes out of a scrum with the ball, she's attacking the transition game immediately. She's still young and still has a lot to learn, but there's potential for her to follow in her sister's footsteps. She's going to keep growing and while already showing an attacking attitude, that instinct will be growing with her. Hopefully, she grows out of her preference going left as defenders will seek to take that away higher up the competitive ladder. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>W.Va. Thunder at War Games Northeast</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ella Sellars, W.Va. Thunder 2024 GUAA, G, 5-10</strong> - Are you a coach whose into recruiting hard-nosed, energetic players? Well, then you should probably take a look at Sellars. Seriously. You aren't going to find many more intense players. She's a magnet for action and loves being in the middle of everything. She loves getting out in transition where her speed and shot selection standout. Thanks to her covering a lot of ground quickly with big steps, she gets to the basket faster and has time to chose how to approach her shot. Just as importantly, she moves her feet on defense and has the ability to "sag" off of a defender for Help D, with plenty of time to get back on her assignment.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayven Carter, W.Va. Thunder 2027, F, 5-10</strong> - Carters owns tremendous upside on the basketball court. She's quick enough to guard multiple positions with her length, and smart enough to know when to attack an opponent or back off. She rebounds and causes trouble in the passing lanes. Offensively, she's more of an inside-the-arc player. But, that's OK. Because her height lends itself to a more jumpshot and make trouble in and around the paint kind of offensive game, she makes it work. Of course, that doesn't always come out as she shares the paint with fellow standout Sydney Mobley. Yet, Carter shows tremendous ability to score whenever.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Niko Kaufman, W.Va. Thunder 2025 Gold, CG, 5-6</strong> - I enjoy Niko Kaufmann's game. Not just because of the baller aspect, but her selfishness matches what she does on the court. 100%. She will do anything her group needs. 3s. Rebounds. Steals. It doesn't matter. She'll get it done. On top of all that, she's comfortable playing both guard spots. Kaufman still has some kinks to work out, but everyone usually does when they are just a freshman.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WPA Bruins at War Games Northeast</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sofia Wassick, WPA Bruins 16u UAA, PG, 5-7 -</strong> Wassick is at her best when she's running the point or in transition. Almost always. Her best assests help her team so many number of different ways in those scenarios. For instance, she specializes in slashing into the post, drawing in defenders, than finding an open teammate. She's a good sell at building a head of steam and faking out defenders. If she can't do that, she can finish at the rim then make her free throws, but its best if she's making decisions to help others score. Defensively, she's going to fight through screens and move her feet to get where she needs to be. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->