Area Rankings: Which Spring Mills player reigns a top the EP?

Joe's Note: These rankings are not a definitive statement of the talent in the state. Instead, they are meant to start conversation and drum up excitement for the upcoming season and for the talent in the city going forward.   15-11: McKenna Crites, Moorfield; [player_tooltip player_id='410471' first='Arin' last='Lease'], Frankfort; [player_tooltip player_id='391461' first='Kennedy' last='Kaposy'], Petersburg; Reagan Edsall, Spring Mills; Liz Pryor, Hampshire   10-6: [player_tooltip player_id='384119' first='Mary' last='Rivera'], Washington; [player_tooltip player_id='379485' first='Kaila' last='Fitzpatrick'], Musselman; [player_tooltip player_id='387358' first='Lexi' last='Adams'], Washington; [player_tooltip player_id='473113' first='Olivia' last='Hedrick'], Jefferson; Corrin Edsell, Spring Mills   5 [player_tooltip player_id='473111' first='Kaydance' last='Bradley'], Martinsburg, PF, Jr., 6-5: The battle for the title of best big in the state comes down to four players upon first thought: [player_tooltip player_id='153432' first='Kadie' last='Colebank'], Ashlynn Van Tassell, [player_tooltip player_id='379527' first='Zaniah' last='Zellous'] and [player_tooltip player_id='384101' first='Allie' last='Daniels'].   Bradley deserves to be among that conversation, as well.   Not bad even at half health, the Martinsburg Bulldog brings a deceptive game to the court when healthy - one presenting numerous problems for opponents. Even the top four would have trouble countering her abilities as they run all over the court to defend her. Oh yes. Slight lapses of response ending up leading to dangerous outcomes in the quickest of moment. Bradley could unleash a solid 3-point shot, whip a pass to her teammates or perform the pick and roll to perfection, which would cause trouble for any team. And that is just the beginning. Let her collect a full head of steam and you risk getting dominated on the boards and giving up two easy free throws. She's just that long and in charge in the paint. Her arms stretch that far, her jumps are that high, and she reads missed shots that well. Altogether, Bradly certainly is one of the EPs top 5 players heading into the 2022-23 season.   4 Izzy Blomquist, Hampshire, G, Jr., 5-6: The Eastern Panhandle may not get a huge share of attention from the rest of the Mountain State, but it should.   Players like Blomquist prove that.   Tucked away in Hampshire, the Trojan excels as an athlete playing basketball. Her natural abilities allow her to compensate where her court skills are a little behind. Because of this, she's well suited to run in a transition offense, she covers a lot of ground in just a few steps, and she possesses a long shooting range capable of hitting those pull-up 3s while on the run.   Her main sport may be soccer, but there's plenty of potential for a college career in basketball, as well.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/05/Kadie-Colebank--673x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-426276" width="188" height="286"/></figure>   3 [player_tooltip player_id='153432' first='Kadie' last='Colebank'], Tucker County, C, Sr., 6-2: [player_tooltip player_id='153432' first='Kadie' last='Colebank'] (at left) looks and sounds like a different player from the one we saw struggle with the Mountain Lions' Class A state semifinal loss to Cameron just a few months ago.   Entirely different, as luck would have it.   Where she left her head down on the bench and genuinely felt the pain in the entirety of the fourth quarter as Cameron pulled away, that's all gone. Replacing this sullen attitude, is a positive mindset with compliments of numerous positive changes to her game. Skills look polished and refined. If you had to put a fine point on it, you could almost say she's finally embraced her role as the hard bruiser down low. Anywhere you look on the floor, she bangs and smacks elbows. She wins every rebounding battle. She puts her shots back up, and generally looks at peace in her big role. In short, her skills in general look polished and refined. There aren't many other players in the state who can say such a thing about themselves. Cameron's Ashlynn Van Tassell and Wheeling Park's Josie Stone are the only two that come to mind.   All of them share in the understanding in what their team is asking them to do. And while the other two always looked comfortable, it wasn't always a given that Colebank would get there. Not at all. There were times in the past where multiple doubles teams may have frustrated her. Or an opposing big playing physically on her visibly shook her and she backed down. All of that is in the past. Or about as far away as Alpha Centauri is to us. Confidence bristles from her shot. Rebounds are much more secure, and it is about as much as you could ask for from a senior.   2 [player_tooltip player_id='342234' first='Olivia' last='Bolduc'], Spring Mills PG, So., 5-4: Good point guards don't just appear out of thin air. They must be crafted, shaped, and molded by their environment and the heat of the battle. They need to have made mistakes and learned from those mistakes. Quite simply, the position can be unforgiving if one isn't thoroughly ready for the amount of responsibility.   Good thing for Spring Mills.   The Cardinals have a ready-for-battle leader in [player_tooltip player_id='342234' first='Olivia' last='Bolduc'], and she clearly survived the initial fire by going through the process and coming out with confidence. No questions asked. Try to rattle her. Try to confuse her with different defensive looks. Try to take away what she does best. It doesn't matter. She quickly adapts. Those weaknesses end up becoming strengths. Those new looks are now opportunities. There's no getting her down or making her second guess herself. She's solid through and through, which is why she comes in at No. 2 on the list.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/09/26-Kilah-Dandridge-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-504236" width="140" height="210"/></figure>   1 [player_tooltip player_id='384008' first='Kilah' last='Dandridge'], Spring Mills, G, So., 5-8: No one does basketball in the Eastern Panhandle quite like [player_tooltip player_id='384008' first='Kilah' last='Dandridge']. One year after debuting at Spring Mills, she's making her game look even smoother - almost as if she's loving the game of basketball even more than the game is loving her. Heck, even the parts of her game she rarely shows off are ready for the spotlight.   Her approach being unique, her composure unmatched, she's delivering with a settled and focused mindset. On a team featuring three of the top six players in the EP, she is leading, she is scoring and she's consistent. What more can you ask for?   Not much.   Coincidentally, all of these standout features also serve in making her the perfect No. 1 slot for the wild, wild East. More than ideal, really. Digging past the outer shell reveals there's much more to love about the Cardinals' No. 1 option. By looking at the small things and the attention to detail, they are combining in painting a clearer picture.   Take for instance her composure, an often-overlooked aspect of the high school game. Where others her age may be a bit jittery and overactive on both sides of the floor, every move Dandridge is making has a purpose. There is no wasted energy or second guessing. When she sees something, she attacks. When she picks up on something, she exploits it. Plus, she stores everything away for later usage in her brain.   How can you not like someone like that? Being calm and collected in the heat of the battle makes for a killer basketball player, and Dandridge possesses the composure gene in spades.   And then there's her penchant for making the game fun ... Though it may not seem she's always enjoying herself on the court, she's always enjoying herself on the court. Even going up against teams who can cause her to maybe break a sweat never really get to her. They try to make her uncomfortable. They try to take her best moves away. Regardless, she keeps finding ways to make her points happen and her impact unforgettable.   In terms of leaving a stamp on the game, it really doesn't get any better than that.   Or does it? Because beyond her individual strengths lies something the entire Spring Mills team possesses in spades with it definitely flowing out of Dandridge: Enthusiasm for their teammates. Yes, there's nothing Dandridge loves more than when her teammates get in on the scoring fun or stand out in their own special way. The occasions lead to celebrations on the bench and just bring her team that much closer. It's almost like she doesn't really care who excels as long as the team wins. It's very reminiscent of last year's state Gatorade Player of the Year, Dionna Gray. The now-Kent State Golden Flash always knew when to take control or get her teammates involved and she celebrated each equally as hard. And Dandridge definitely follows in those steps.   Add everything with her talent and an all-around great grasp of the game, and you get someone who has the skills to keep herself atop the EP list not only now but for the next two years.

Joe's Note: These rankings are not a definitive statement of the talent in the state. Instead, they are meant to start conversation and drum up excitement for the upcoming season and for the talent in the city going forward.