PGH Freshman Showcase – The Pen Grabbers

<!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --> <p class="has-text-align-center">Threats, Buckets, and S.W.A.T teams</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This next group of 2026s are undeniably deadly. Their ability, drive, and excitement are what seperates them from everyone else. They were the 'pen-grabbers' of the day, and demanded to be noticed. I wouldn't be shocked if you've heard these names before. I would get used to it too...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63078935e74d8","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["393472"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eA u003cemu003elimitlessu003c/emu003e potential kid who is next up. Owumi was one of the few 2027s that played in this year's freshman showcase. I think she was one of the best, if not u003cstrongu003etheu003c/strongu003e u003cstrongu003ebestu003c/strongu003e kid there. Her athleticism, IQ, and drive are what set her apart from everyone else. Not to mention she's straight-up nasty. She loves the spin/drop step on her attack, and finishes consistently. What was impressive about Owumi was her ability to read help D even off of her spin, which is crazy since any player performing this move can be a bit disoriented after gathering. But, she was still able to read the help D and identify where the open man was. She has great length which really benefits her abilities since she uses this advantage to shoot over her defender and seal by them. Owumi consistently followed her shot and was able to get her own rebound numerous times. She would power up for the board and then go right back up strong for the bucket. She must've had at least 10 pts from this. One of my favorite things about Owumi was that she constantly ran after the ball to track down her player, or the open leaking man, for a tip-behind or chase-down block. Not to mention how she crashes hard at both ends of the floor and has no issue going sideline to sideline to get the rebound. Overall, Owumi is a u003cstrongu003ephenomenalu003c/strongu003e player with so much potential. She's a 2027 u003cemu003eprodigyu003c/emu003e who's about to make a name for herself all over the country.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["481343"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":486088,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eAn athletic shifty PG that makes it look easy. Danis was a fun player to watch. I was just amazed by how easy the game came to her. She is a very smooth player who has a lot of moves to her bag. Danis will mainly look for her shot first and can hit from deep. She has a quick PUJ with great footwork that allows her to stop quickly and pull on the attack. One move that impressed me the most was when she was on a breakaway, with her defender on her hip, she used her body and inside arm to seal her defender to make a lefty one-handed scoop. As a rising freshman, and player just in general, I was very impressed with her athleticism and ability to make some great plays. Also, Danis is an unselfish player and will look inside often at her bigs. Not many players do this at the high school level anymore, and I think it attests to her as a PG, as well as her IQ. Overall, I really liked Danis's game. Her u003cemu003eeffortlessnessu003c/emu003e when completing a move is pretty impressive, and I'm excited to see her next summer when she starts to realize her potential.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["481354"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":486090,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eAn athletic big who wants all the smoke. Nunnally-Gardner is a sneaky player. Her quickness, handle, and athleticism suggests she could develop into a big off-ball guard. Nunnally-Gardner is sneaky fast and uses this speed, with her size, to bully her defender. Whether she is on the wing or the block, she is constantly going at her defender, u003cemu003eneveru003c/emu003e backing down from any pushback. She does a nice job of sealing her player on the block to turn middle for the float. From the wing, she will attack and finish with a step-through, which is rare for a post player at any level. On defense, Nunnally-Gardner creates problems for her player. She is a strong defender who fights to keep her positioning each and every time on the block. Oh, and did I mention she can u003cstrongu003eswat the life outu003c/strongu003e of someone who gets too close. The ball... literally u003cemu003eobliteratedu003c/emu003e by how bad she blocked it (it's on the PGH socials…). Personally, I don't think I'd step foot in the paint if she was there. I'd advise you to do the same.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["278585"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":486091,"_player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eA scrappy u003cemu003efirecrackeru003c/emu003e who's got a lot of heart. She is an attack first PG, and she does it well. Immediately when Gonzalez got into the game she attacked the basket, shifted through inside, and got the bucket. Literally within 3 seconds. I loved it. She's 5'0 but knows how to get enough separation from her defender in order to get the shot off. She will break her player down with a combo move, coming off a screen, or just her quickness when in transition. Gonzalez also has great vision in transition. Multiple times I saw her bait her defender in the break, and once she saw them bite, she dished off to her teammate for an easier lay. u003cspan class=u0022Apple-converted-spaceu0022u003e u003c/spanu003eIf she was starting the break, but there was someone ahead, she would kick ahead with a one-handed u003cstrongu003ebulletu003c/strongu003e that looked easy. But, my favorite thing that Gonzalez did didn't show up on the stat sheet. She was ALL OVER the floor, diving after loose balls, tracking down a rebound that was miles away from her, and stopping the transition break from way behind. She was EVERYWHERE running around to the ball, but with a purpose; to get the ball back and help her team succeed. She's a scrappy u003cstrongu003efirecrackeru003c/strongu003e, and I'm all for it. Ms. Gonzalez, keep doing you kid.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["483059"],"_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":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eAn u003cemu003eunder-the-radaru003c/emu003e guard who will be very dangerous with confidence and experience. DiBiasio is a kid I think has a lot of talent, but just needs to get her name out there more. She's quiet, but she can definitely do some damage, and proved it this weekend. She looks to attack first, finishing with a scoop, or step-through. My favorite move of hers was the jab cross. Every time, it made her defender guess where she was going, and made them take steps back. She was able to get in the lane for the shot or the kick out every time she used that move. But DiBiasio was smart, she used it when she knew it was going to be effective which is why I think this kid can be u003cstrongu003edangerousu003c/strongu003e. She doesn't use a move just to use it, she uses it with a purpose. As the games went on, she started to seem more and more comfortable out there, driving more often and finishing more consistently. Overall, I truly believe DiBiasio is going to be something special. I just think she needs to start realizing how much talent she actually has, and start to gain that confidence. DiBiasio, I'm excited to see you excel soon.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This group is a POWER 5! Their talent and motor are going to transcend their abilities as they go through high school. New England has some pretty <em>special</em> players, and you definitely don't want to miss out on these 5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Athlete</strong></td><td><strong>Class</strong></td><td><strong>AAU</strong></td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='481357' first='Bella' last='Owumi']</td><td>2027</td><td>MCW Stars </td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='481343' first='Alexandra' last='Danis']</td><td>2026</td><td>Bay State Jags</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='481354' first='Brooke' last='Nunnally-Gardner']</td><td>2026</td><td>Bay State Jags</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='278585' first='Tiyara' last='Gonzalez']</td><td>2026</td><td>Team Providence</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='483059' first='Peyton' last='DiBiasio']</td><td>2026</td><td>MCW Starz</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption>Freshman Showcase - Pen Grabbers</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:table -->