Freshman Showcase: Justin’s Fab Five

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was great to see the class of 2026 go to work at the New England Freshman Showcase this past Saturday. I had seen some of these players play before, and I was excited to see the players I had not seen play before as well. There is a lot of talent in the 2026 class. Here is my Fab Five from the event. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6302e65dd981d","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Sophia McClendon ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Belmont ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Team New England","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/A5C32247-2D67-4B7E-941F-DC7AEBB6D5B4-scaled.jpegu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022alignnone size-medium wp-image-483718u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/A5C32247-2D67-4B7E-941F-DC7AEBB6D5B4-225x300.jpegu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022225u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eSophia had one of the most impressive showings at the showcase. She is a versatile player, who is a strong built. She is aggressive, and looks to attack down hill. Sophia has a good inside and out game. She uses her effective hesitation move to get to the basket, and to get by defenders. She is good finishing through contact, and draws a good amount of fouls. She can also shoot from the outside. In the first game she played, Sophia made three three pointers, and finished with 17 points. I was a middle school coach last year, and coaching against Sophia was a tough matchup to game plan for. Sophia is a player to watch as she enters the high school basketball scene.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["481346"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/520354E7-C1EA-45F3-B7C9-8B7531CDBA80-scaled.jpegu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022alignnone size-medium wp-image-483794u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/520354E7-C1EA-45F3-B7C9-8B7531CDBA80-225x300.jpegu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022225u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eLauren is a stretch guard. She has a versatile skill set, and  good size and length for the position. In the showcases she showed how she can attack defenders off the dribble, and go down hill. She also showed how she spaces the floor, and can be a threat from three point range. On defense I liked how she was able to stop the ball in transition. Lauren has a lot of potential with her game.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["483912"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/DAFF11F8-406B-477A-A203-ACC1E32869FC-scaled.jpegu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022alignnone size-medium wp-image-484318u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/DAFF11F8-406B-477A-A203-ACC1E32869FC-225x300.jpegu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022225u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eMadison is a very crafty and skilled Point Guard. She has strong ball handling skills, and can score at the rim, and also shoot from three. She used her very effective spin move, a countless number of times throughout the event to get in the lane and by the defense. Madison is an explosive playmaking guard. Madison has the making's of being a high level Point Guard at the high school level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Sarah Muir ","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'5u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"12123","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"Concord Christian Academy ","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"MCW Stars","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/5FBD2622-7218-4D40-88C4-DF6150554914-scaled.jpegu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022alignnone size-medium wp-image-484362u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/5FBD2622-7218-4D40-88C4-DF6150554914-225x300.jpegu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022225u0022 height=u0022300u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eI really liked what I saw from Muir at the showcase. She is a Point Guard who you can trust running your team's offense. She has a high motor, and played with lots of energy throughout the day. She can run the floor, and I saw her finish layups on both the left and right side through contact. She showed her high basketball IQ, by reading screens well on defense, that lead to turnovers. She did a good job hedging, and getting over the screens. On offense she had a high IQ play, where she took advantage of the defense jumping the passing  lane, and she had a nice up fake leading to a pull up jumper.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["273928"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003ca href=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/IMG_6099-scaled.jpgu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022alignnone size-medium wp-image-483022u0022 src=u0022https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/08/IMG_6099.jpgu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022300u0022 height=u0022200u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eSophia had an impressive showing at the event. She is a very skilled Point Guard, and a high energy player. She can make flashy plays, but is also fundamentally sound. She made some very high level precision passes. She has very good court vision, and accuracy on her passing. She also showed her smooth shooting stroke, and nice follow through from three point range. One game she made 4 three pointers. Sophia might not be the biggest player on the floor, but does a good job creating separation, and still mages to get in the lane. Sophia is a hard working and crafty Point Guard. She has the tools to set herself up for a successful high school career.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"edit"} /-->