Spooky Nook, The Final Battle – Select 2024’s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the majority of teams, this was going to be their last battle of the summer. You could feel the excitement pouring from the courts from players giving all they have left to impress just one more college coach, to those dreading the final seconds ticking off the clock for their last AAU game <em>ever</em>. It was a weekend to remember for everyone, but for the 2024s, you could tell they had a fire underneath them. Players were diving for balls left and right, just trying to showcase their passion before a long break from the sport they love creeps onto them. There were many athletes who impressed me, but only a select few really showcased their ability to impact the game from all levels. Here's who got the job done from the class of 2024:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62e6fdd444ae6","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":473114,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Brie Droege","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Columbia HS","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Lady Raiders","_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":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eAn athletic guard with a great nose for the game. Brie Droege plays on the same team as her sister Brooke Droege for a solid Lady Raiders team. She is a knock-down shooter who can hit well beyond the arc. On the attack, she either goes strong straight to the rim, or can pull quickly for the PUJ. Her ability to pull from a quick stop makes her hard to guard since if you play the shot, she will gladly go right by you to the rim. What I was impressed most with was that Droege makes the offense flow by flashing, cutting, and making the extra pass to create better spacing for her teammates. She is able to excel with breaking down the defense without the ball in her hands just solely from her ability to see the gaps develop, and cut through them. She has a good mix of when to attack and when to shoot, both of which she can finish consistently. Overall, Droege is a u003cemu003esmoothu003c/emu003e player who has multiple elements to her offensive bag, which allows her to impact the game with u003cstrongu003eandu003c/strongu003e without the ball in her hands.u003c/pu003ernu003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eu0022She is a consistent scorer and can score from all 3 levels. She is a gym rat who gets out there and competes. They (Brie and Brooke pretty much do whatever you ask them to do. It's been a pleasure watching them grow and mature not only as basketball players but young ladies as well.u0022 -Kevin Glover, Lady Raiders Coachu003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":473112,"_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Addisen Solikowski","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"12125","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Thornton Academy","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"Maine Attraction","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"A scrappy ATHLETIC guard who's a matchup nightmare for opposing guards. Sulikowski might have been one of the more athletic kids I've seen at her size. She looks as if she can be a post player because of her height, but her handle, shot and quickness say otherwise. She has a nice smooth shot from deep, hitting off the catch from kick outs and reversals. If she's not shooting off the catch, she reattacks to the rim getting pretty far off the initial dribble to set her up for good positioning in the paint. A lot of the time, Sulikowski would post her smaller defender in the low post using a clean turnaround jumper after easily using her body to seal them. Each time, she was able to create a good amount of space from her defender and easily shot over them for the bucket. When she's doing work in the post, she does a nice job of identifying the strong side help digging in to kick out to the corner for the shot. On defense, Sulikowski is a good defender who uses her length to keep her player in front, giving little room to get by. Even at her size, she was able to guard smaller, quicker defenders successfully. At both ends of the floor, she GOT UP for rebounds, pulling them down for the easy put-back or kick-out to start the break. Overall, Sulikowski is a u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003ematchup nightmareu003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e for opposing teams that are just forced to send a double when she gets into the paint. And, if you don't box her out, u003cemu003egood lucku003c/emu003e.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ef3201e2518","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["299221"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eAn athletic, aggressive guard who gets it done on both ends of the floor. Edens wants to get into the paint, make contact, and then power up off two feet every time she attacks, and she does it u003cemu003eextremelyu003c/emu003e well. She will weave through the defense, tucking the ball like a football, using her step through very efficiently to get to the rim. She was one of the u003cemu003ebestu003c/emu003e I saw in Spooky Nook in terms of attacking efficiently; not just by getting to the rim, but being able to power by the defense, and finish consistently. With this, Edens isn't a flashy player, but she is smooth and gets the job done whether it be on the catch, rip, and attack going both ways, or the catch and shoot. She has the range to outside, but is mainly a drive-first guard. On defense, she will pick up the other team's point guard and does a nice job with containment D. In one of the games I saw, her job was to shut down the other team's best player. Edens did not back down from this challenge, meeting this player at the half-court line applying suffocating pressure to turn her and make her uncomfortable. She forced this player to throw up low percentage shots, and guided her into multiple double teams for the jump ball. She u003cemu003eshut. her. down.u003c/emu003e Just as she was asked to. Because of this, I strongly believe Edens's defensive effort was one of the main reasons for her team's success. On top of her offensive bag and defensive presence, she also pulls down boards on both ends of the floor, using her strength to separate from the defense and start the break. She has a solid handle and is pretty dangerous when she has momentum in the fast break, reading the defense really well to find the weak spots and exploit them for the bucket. Overall, I really enjoyed watching Edens compete. Her work ethic and ability to flat out get the job done made her a top standout in the class of 2024.u003c/spanu003ernrnu0022Nia has been a great addition to the Starters Family. She is a legit scorer that can do it from all 3 levels. She has a great one-on-one game that is hard to stop - so you better send a double!u0022 - Brian Medeiros, CT Starters Coach","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":473117,"_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Brooke Droege","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"12123","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Columbia HS","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"Lady Raiders","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eA big scoring PG who looks to get it done from the outside. Brooke Droege is the PG to the power-combo with her SG sister, Brie. She is an athletic guard with a smooth stroke from deep. She will look for her shot first, either from deep or a mid-range off the catch. Droege will use her combo moves to get by her defender and into the paint, where she is just so smooth weaving through the defense for a soft touch at the rim. What I liked most about Droege was her edge to sneak behind the defense for boards on the offensive end. Overall, she is a scoring PG who looks for her shot first and drives second.u003c/pu003ernrnrnu003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eu0022She is a highly skilled young lady, who has a great IQ and instinct for the game....She can score from all three levels and is a gym rat....They [Brie and Brooke] pretty much do whatever you ask them to do. It's been a pleasure watching them grow and mature not only as basketball players, but young ladies as well.u0022 -Kevin Glover, Lady Raiders Coachu003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["330790"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eA big guard with a clean stroke from 3 who's sneaky good. Mori has a smooth shot with good elevation where she can knock it down consistently. She is VERY effective off the catch, jab, and attack, but picks her spots when to use it. As a result, she is very u003cemu003eeffective and efficientu003c/emu003e, since the majority of the time she dribbles in the half-court, is when she is looking to attack or create a better passing lane. From when I was watching, Mori rarely took useless dribbles, but when she did put the ball on the floor, she made something happen for her team or herself. On her drive, she elevates up over her defender, and kisses it off the glass with both hands. She can do this from the wing, corner, and top of the key, using her size to get over the defense for a soft touch. She can be quiet at times, but I believe it is because she is waiting for the u003cemu003ebest opportunity to attack instead of attacking without a purpose.u003c/emu003e Mori also makes the extra pass and had tons of hockey assists (passes to the player who gets the assist) in the games I saw, which helped her teammates get the best shot possible for that possession. In transition, this is where Mac can be dangerous. When going downhill with the D in front of her, she can shift through them very well out of transition, and on u003cemu003emultiple occasionsu003c/emu003e looked way too easy for her. I can see Mori taking over games as she becomes more aware of the damage she can do, and the skills she possesses. I'm excited to see her develop this high school season, and have no doubt she's going to be a force come summer 2023.u003c/spanu003ernrnu0022Mac is a great athlete who uses her length and footwork to cause problems on the defensive side of the ball. She will hurt you from the outside as she has great range from beyond the 3-point line. She has been another great addition to the Starters Family.u0022 - Brian Medeiros, CT Starters Coach","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"edit"} /--> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These five 2024's are going to be <strong>the ones to watch</strong> this high school season. Their <em>passion</em>, <em>effort</em>, and <em>skill set</em> are only going to grow in the coming months. It's going to be fun watching them come this summer, and I would <em>urge</em> you to do the same.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Athlete</td><td>Class Year</td><td>AAU Team | State</td></tr><tr><td>Brooke Droege</td><td>2024</td><td>Lady Raiders Glover | PA</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='315378' first='Addisen' last='Sulikowski']</td><td>2024</td><td>Maine Attraction | ME</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='299221' first='Nia' last='Edens']</td><td>2024</td><td>Starters Blue Star| CT</td></tr><tr><td>Brie Droege</td><td>2024</td><td>Lady Raiders Glover | PA</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='330790' first='Mackenzie' last='Mori']</td><td>2024</td><td>Starters Blue Star| CT</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption>The Final Battle - Select 2024's</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:table -->