PGH Top 250 Expo: Team 1-3 Standouts
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I’m going to dive deeper into this event as the week goes on, but I wanted to at least get some quick hitters out today, so I’m going to pick 3 standouts from each team from the expo and discuss…
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Continue ReadingI’m going to dive deeper into this event as the week goes on, but I wanted to at least get some quick hitters out today, so I’m going to pick 3 standouts from each team from the expo and discuss what I saw from them on Saturday! Before I start, I want to be transparent and say that I only caught 1 game for each team, so I could’ve caught some players worst game and some players best game. For teams 3, 4, 11, and 12, I saw them play significantly less as the last 2 games of the day were 12 minute halves (running clock with no halftime) versus the 1st 4 games that were 20 minute halves. So, all of these factors definitely played a role into who I’m going to discuss in these quick hitters, but I will get into more detail throughout this week.
Team 1
Fox’s versatility caught my eye almost immediately. She started off playing on the wing, but she quickly took over at the point guard position and showed off her ball handling skills, ability to create, and 3-level scoring. Fox made strong drives to the hoop and knocked down multiple outside shots. Her passing was impressive along with her floor vision. She plays with a lot of mental and physical toughness. I loved how hard Fox played every second she was on the court.
Highlights
Alvin wasn’t the tallest player on the floor, but she was one of the hardest to stop. You can’t execute a hesi much better than what Alvin was doing on Saturday. She was consistently getting past defenders and making stuff happen. She has good speed and she made a lot of smart plays. Alvin could score just as easily as she could create. She played good defense as well.
Highlights
Gibson has a lot of skills, and when you take into account that she only just began her freshman year of high school, those skills only become more impressive. She was making some really tough drives to the basket and she was finishing on both sides of the rim. Gibson has excellent length. She uses her length well to grab rebounds and to alter shots defensively. I said this on Saturday, but when I looked down at the roster and saw Gibson was only a 2026, I was shocked because she was playing like an experienced vet.
Team 2
As Steve said on Saturday, Whitaker plays with a swagger that just grabs your attention. Her athleticism is crazy and she uses it so well when she’s on the court. She elevated to get rebounds, deflections, steals, and blocks. Offensively, she was really shifty and showed she can handle the ball well. Whitaker finished some extremely tough shots around the basket and her ability to get into the paint was tough.
Highlights
Simpson showed a lot of strengths as she ran point guard for her team on Saturday. She essentially showed the skills that you would want in a point guard. She was handling the ball, she had great court vision, and she was making excellent passes. She was consistently running the floor in a very high paced game. Simpson also showed her versatility and ability to play off of the ball in a shooting guard position. She was knocking down shots with good form and she wasn’t needing much space to get her shots off.
Boyd was doing a little bit of everything in the game I caught. She was really strong on the boards, securing multiple rebounds on both ends of the floor. She was also making great moves in the post and I like how much she was switching things up to keep the defense guessing. For a post, I was especially impressed by Boyd’s passing ability. When she got the ball and couldn’t do anything herself, she located her teammates and made great passes to them.
Team 3
Truthfully, before I get into these players, I want to note that this was one of the hardest teams to pick 3 standouts from because there were much more than 3 players that stood out to me on their team. It also doesn’t help that this was one of the later games that was significantly shorter than the others, so I will definitely be hitting more players from this team (and the 2 above) as the week goes on, but here are the 3 I had the most notes on at the end of their game.
Bale has been solid on both sides of the ball every time I’ve watched her play, regardless of who she’s playing with or against. The lefty is a true 3-level scorer with the ability to knock down outside shots, get to the rim, and score in the mid-range. She does a great job of using both sides of the floor and she sees the floor well. She made some really good passes and had multiple assists. As a shooter, Bale has excellent range and a quick release.
Allen contributed so much to her team beyond scoring and that’s why she had to be on this list. Since I know she can put the ball in the basket, I was beyond impressed by her willingness to create so much for her teammates. She was handling pressure, forcing the defense to step over, and then delivering great passes to her team. Allen was bringing a lot of intensity on the defensive end as well.