All "A" Preview - 5th Bethlehem and 12th Danville

USE MY CODE: Mercer30 to receive a 30% discount on subscriptions.   First, it must be noted that this is not a preview of a game. In general, that is not our lane as a company. That is the territory of newspapers and other forms of media. Prep Girls Hoops is player-driven coverage. The score of the game and which two teams played if often not our focus at all. We just write about the players and what they did or can do on the court. These two teams are not even on the same side of the bracket at the All "A" and would only meet if both made it to the Finals. I am putting these two in this article because I am short on time today and feel like I know these players well enough to crank out an article before I have to hit the road to see another game. I did not get to witness all of the teams in next week's All "A" Classic play in their Regional Tournament. Some of them I have not seen play in person all season, or ever, due to conflicts in my schedule (or theirs). This article will cover two teams that fit into these categories. I have seen Bethlehem play recently and several times last season, so I might be more in-depth with them in this article. The Bethlehem Banshees return to the All "A" after missing it last season with a disciplined team that plays multiple defenses, with multiple skilled players that can shoot and handle the basketball. I have not witnessed a game played by Danville and like the other teams I have not seen play before this year or ever they are one of the teams I most want to watch next week. But due to not having seen them play this coverage will be lacking much personal flair. Scroll to the bottom to see those players.     [player_tooltip player_id='257280' first='Emma' last='Filiatreau'] - C - Bethlehem -- 2023   Time flies. Just when I learned to spell Filiatreau correctly without needing to look it up here she is playing her last season in High School and what a season. She is leading the teams in points and rebounds at 16.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, a double-double. At she does it in such an impressive way. She is a threat to score the ball inside and out. She can drive the ball along the baseline if the defense closes out far enough to challenge her three-pointer or nail the outside shot if left open. She is making 35.8% of her threes, 46.5% of her field goals, and 76.7% from the free-throw line.   How do you stop her? Well, it's very simple. You to have to play nearly perfect defense. Closing out to stop her shot, staying with her to deny her the ball so that she doesn't;t touch it on the perimeter or in the paint, or anywhere in between. You have to be strong enough to keep her from posting up in a good position and to keep her blocked off the offensive glass so that she doesn't kill you with putbacks. And don't forget to run to the floor and pick her up before she crosses halfcourt so that she cant score layups on a runout/ Easy, right? Of course not. Surely every team she has faced this season knew all of this. It just isn't really possible to do all of those things for any one player and if your team made all of the effort to do what it would take to stop her... what then? Read on as I introduce you to her teammates that will make you pay for that kind of focus.   If it wasn't clear above, I have a ton of respect for what Filiatreau can do on the court and I didn't even mention that she is 6 foot 2 inches tall. Hmm.     [player_tooltip player_id='228143' first='Carlie' last='Thurmond'] - PG - Bethlehem - 2024   Thurmond is an excellent athlete, ballhandler, decision-maker, defender, shooter, and from what I hear soccer player. Most players with her kind of speed, while very dangerous and able to score quickly from long-distance drives to the basket, will tend to be somewhat too reliant o that speed. Many players with this kind of speed will seem to get stuck in top gear and play too fast for certain moments in the game. They will over-penetrate, over-dribble, run themselves out of safe spots on the court where they could make an open shot, find an open teammate, or safely control the ball. Their speed will often be almost as much of a weakness as it is a strength, a weakness many coaches wish their players had due to the strengths involved, but a weakness. Not Thurmond. She has great body control. The ability to stop and change direction while keeping the ball low and safe, away from reaching hands. Her ability to shift gears in transition is what makes her so dangerous in a full-court setting. If speed is what is needed she will out-sprint the opposition up the court. If she needs to pull it back. even just for a second she will stop in traffic and find another path and speed away again in another direction. It's like she is driving through cones at times, with her eyes up, looking to find a teammate for an open look if she can't find her own route to the basket.   She is the 2nd leading scorer on the team averaging 15.5 points per game and the leading shooter in all three categories: Field Goals 47.5%, Three-pointers 37%, and Free Throws 84.3%. She only averages 2.8 rebounds per game, which is very good for a Guard, but with her leaping ability, I am a little surprised at that. It has to be due to the team's defensive schemes that keep her away from the hoop on that end in part. And there are other very good rebounders on the team too. But For any Coach looking to sign her, I believe she is very likely to be a much better rebounder in the right situation due to her athleticism. I don't know that this is something that will ever really be asked of her on any team due to her other strengths. I am just saying I believe she likely has this tool in her belt as well.     [player_tooltip player_id='544178' first='Ashlyn' last='Miles'] - SG - Bethlehem - 2024   Miles is an excellent player who, on a lesser team could be playing a much larger role, all of these players could even some not mentioned in this article. But as it stands she is a great 3rd or 4th option in this offense and an excellent rebounder and defender. Her 11.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds are nothing to sneeze at and her shooting percentages are also impressive. She is making 45.8% of her field goals, 33.3% three-pointers, and 67.3% from the free throw line. She plays on the backend of the 3-2 Zone and demonstrates the ability to defend the post or the drive. And while in the heat of a game where I am trying to take notes, I do sometimes lose track of which player is her and which is her sister she is also very effective in the Press. I know this because both players are effective defenders. I could probably take every word I have just written about Ashlyn and repost it about her sister in the next segment of this article as long as I change the stats. And I am seriously considering that right now. Maybe nobody would notice. Hmm. Nah.     [player_tooltip player_id='1059182' first='Tessa' last='Miles'] - PG - Bethlehem - 2025   Miles is an excellent player... wait I decided not to do that...   The younger Miles's sister is also an excellent player and a bit more perimeter-oriented. She takes more outside shots and plays at the top of the Zone, although I now wish I had paid a little more attention to who plays where in certain scenarios when the defense changes. Maybe I will get that figured out while at the All "A". Both sisters are excellent shooters who can handle the ball and drive to the basket. They are so hard to defend regardless of what defense is being played due to their versatility and an offense that lends itself to giving versatile players the freedom to react to what the defense is doing. [player_tooltip player_id='1059182' first='Tessa' last='Miles'] is averaging 11.6 points and 4 rebounds. She is shooting similar, excellent percentages to the ones listed above making an impressive 36.7% of her threes, 67.1% of her foul shots, and 43.1% of her field goals. And if I could say one more thing about the Miles sisters, both of them will be found in a Rankings in our next update if they aren't there already.     [player_tooltip player_id='259395' first='Love' last='Mays'] - PG - Danville - 2023   Mays is putting up impressive stats on the season. She has been averaging 22.9 points per game and grabbing 6.1 rebounds. Those are great rebound numbers for a Guard and there are only 8 players in the Commonwealth scoring more points per game than that (and two tied with her). I have heard she was a bucket and if those stats don't prove it then certainly the eye test would. She is making 39.5% of her threes and 70.8% of her foul shots, making almost 6 free throws per game. But when it comes to where she gets the majority of her points, I don't know where she gets them exactly. She scores most of her points inside the three-point arc and that could mean a ton of things, layups, putbacks, midrange jumpers, and post moves. I don't know but I will find out on January 25th.     Samantha Bottom - G - Danville - 2023   Bottom has shot 157 threes this season and you would too if you made 38.2% of them as she does. She scores inside of the arc so rarely that she is averaging only one 2-point shot per game. But she is making 54.5% of those 2-pointers, I am going to assume they are mainly high-percentage shots like layups, but maybe not. I will find out on January 25th. However, she does it, the result is 13.3 points per game. She is also pulling in 3.7 rebounds and making 77.4% of her foul shots.     [player_tooltip player_id='255509' first='Desiree' last='Tandy'] - SF - Danville - 2023   I have heard more about Tandy than the rest of her team. She is an excellent athlete and basketball player that has dropped in our Rankings in every update I have been involved in because we have not seen her play. That isn't really fair to her, but it isn't fair to anyone else on the list to have a player we have not ever seen Ranked above them either. For those interested in that sort of thing I have to imagine we will be more accurate in where she is placed in our update after the season and a few of her teammates will likely join her there. Not only will I have an idea of where to place her, but I know at least one of our other Scouts has seen her this season. She is averaging a double-double of 10.8 points and 10.9 rebounds, which places her 10th on the KHSAA Rebounding Leaders List. She is making 40% of her field goals on 191 attempts and 62.8% of her free throws.   See you in Richmond.

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