It’s A Perfect Week To Smile

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a perfect week to smile! Why? Because a little known fact is that the first week in August is officially known as International Clown Week. It's basically a week to celebrate the way these talented performers make us all smile. Well, there's been some great basketball played this summer by athletes from the state of Michigan. There've been a lot of players that brought joy just by watching them play. You could even say that some of the players were "clowning" the competition. So, in honor of International Clown Week, let's look at 5 players that have made me (and certainly many others) smile just by watching them play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62e72c44aa7a5","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["357376"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Bamm, as it turns out, was a great fit with [program_tooltip program_id='713156' first='UTS' last='Lady Elite']. Seeing her talent really stand out this grassroots season was enough to make anyone smile. She was flat out dominant on the the glass on both ends of the floor throughout grassroots season. Bamm was comfortable offensively, showing power on the block and touch from mid range.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["280221"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Watching Williams do her work in the paint with HYPE is most definitely smile worthy. She's so physical on the defensive end that it can frustrate even the most talented offensive post player. Williams has the athleticism to go with that toughness, giving her the ability to play the game at a fast pace. A college coach somewhere is going to get a steal with [player_tooltip player_id='280221' first='Rachel' last='Williams'].","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["244272"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Seeing someone excel and leave their mark certainly makes me happy. That being said, I was happy to see Polega really stand out and make her grassroots season memorable. She played with West Michigan Drive and made the most of her spring and summer. Polega successfully defended multiple positions and was a threat to score from all 3 levels.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["417905"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Standfest was a joy to watch throughout grassroots season. You name it and she probably did it this summer, and most certainly did it well. Standfest seemed to hit every corner of the stat sheet in every game. She thrived as a go-to scorer, rebounded like a finely tuned post player, and scored on the wing with regularity. Standfest had one of the most impressive summers in the class of 2024 in my opinion.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='502307' first='Keira' last='Roehm']","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"12121","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Saline","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='715753' first='Michigan' last='Mystics']","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"One thing that makes most of us smile is young talent that shows a bright future for basketball in Michigan. Roehm is a high level freshman to be that will be an instant impact type of player. She's a shooter at heart and shot the deep ball with incredible efficiency this summer. Roehm is a terrific passer as well, specifically when feeding the post. She'll be fun to watch over the next 4 years.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-64bdf9263ec8b"} /-->