Updated Rankings – ’23 Small Forwards part 3

I took a photo specifically for this article about a week ago and if you see two players in the featured image that means I finally figured out how to upload it with our newly updated app for posting these articles.  But regardless of that I finally wrote this article I told these players I was going to write at least a week ago before life got in the way. This is the third article in the series of Small Forwards from the class of 2023 written to accompany the update of our Player Rankings.  Below are four players that are teammates on two different teams.  Enjoy. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="199616" first="Gracyn" last="Grantz"] - 5'7" Lafayette  Richmond Heat </strong> I only saw Grantz play once last season, during the 11th Region Semi-finals, but because the Heat play on the PGH Circuit I have been able to catch several games since then.  And more than anything, two things stood out to me,   That she isn't 5'9" like we have her listed and she is a Guard, not really a Small Forward.  But she is defintely a fine player who exhiblts a ton of hustle and poise on the court during tough situations. She is a floor general that can maintain the bounce while her teammates run through their cuts on offense with her eyes up looking for opportunities to hit open cutters.  She has a complete offensive game, scoring from all three levels.  Has the ability to penetrate for points or assists and can known down the open mid-range and three point shots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="329430" first="Natalea" last="Clark"] - 5'9"  Madison Southern  Richmond Heat </strong> Clark is a leader who talks to her teammates during love and deadball action, especially on defense.  What's more important is she appears to do it in the right way so as not to step on toes.  She is coming back after some time off for an injury that limited her to only three games last season, She is a multi-faceted player that can shoot the three, drive to the baskt for layups or pull up for the short jumper.  She is a solid rebounder, a very good shot blocker and not the player you want to pick the ball up around or she will have it tied up for a jump ball instantly.  She has a real knack for getting those tie-ups, with her log arms and an instinct on where the ball is going to be once the dribble stops. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="393709" first="Daveigh" last="Reichenbach"] -  5'8"  Spencer County </strong> Reichenbach is an inside scoring thereat with a major emphasis on scoring inside.  She has all of the skils to play on the perimeter but it is what she can do around the basket that makes her standout most.  She can drive to the rim, receive it moving to the hoop on excellent cuts or beat her defender to the spot and post-up.  Once she has the ball on the inside she has a toolbox full of moves to put the ball in the basket. For the last two seasons hee team has been the second best team in the 8th Region, taking 10 of their 16 losses against teams that made the Sweet 16 field.  Back for her Senior campaign, Reichenbach bring her undersized frame with the game of a big back for more.  She is actually listed among the Shooting Guards but we must have her confused with a teammate (see below). <strong>Lexi Runyon - 5'9" Spencer County</strong> Runyon is listed in the wrong category (see above) likely confused with a teammate.  Any player that made 45 three-point shots last season on 37.5% shooting should probably be listed as a some type of Guard but I digress. She is a higly skilled player used to playing at a very fast pace, like the rest of her team.  Runion it an excellent ballhandler, adept at running the break and running the offense.  An ideal player to have the ball in her hands late because she knocks down free throws in the high 70's and has ecellent spped to avoid the defense and safely burn a little clock. Spencer County graduated five Seniors off of last years squad,.  But the team has depth and some nice talent ready to step into a larger role and possibly take the next step on the coming season into the Sweet 16. <!-- /wp:paragraph -->