Brady’s Thoughts From Louisville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I attended The Classic in Louisville this past weekend, and there was plenty to take in. However, I'm starting to go through kids I thought played well and highlighting them in a longer form of writing than just a tweet. I'm unsure how long this will go into this week, but it could take a while.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='361079' first='Lana' last='McCarthy']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'd never seen the New Hampshire native before this weekend, but I loved watching her work when she got two feet in the paint. She's agile for her size and fluent in her movement. McCarthy did a solid job demanding the ball without yelling at her teammates when she got position on smaller defenders. McCarthy gives them a target and pays off the pass with soft finishes around the rim. I'm not surprised prominent Division 1 schools are after her. She'll be a significant contributor for schools looking for a post in the 2024 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='533082' first='Libby' last='Gilmore']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've loved Gilmore's game since I first watched her this past high school season. The Arrowhead wing was one of the best defensive first-year kids I saw, and it's down to her strength and lateral quickness. She never gets beat to a spot, and when the offensive player initiates contact, she doesn't move. As you can imagine, those are the makings of an excellent defender. However, I thought she had a solid weekend offensively. She made perimeter jumpers, got to the rim at will, and took care of the ball. Talking to some D1 coaches who didn't know who she was, they were impressed by what she brought to the table.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Avalyn Albrecht</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-1 incoming freshman has the tools to be an intriguing prospect. She's a good athlete for her size and played the top of her team's 1-3-1 zone and caused opposing guards to be uncomfortable when they crossed half-court. She leaked out whenever a shot for the opposing team went up and got some easy finishes in transition, but what perked my head up was her ability to pass the ball. She made a few passes through traffic that I didn't expect, one in the half-court and one in transition that I thought was intriguing, to say the very least.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aubryn Clark</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Classic in Louisville was the second weekend that I saw the 2027 guard who will attend Rhinelander. Her poise at her age playing up a year is palpable. She hardly gets flustered and does an excellent job breaking pressure and creating advantages in semi-transition opportunities. Another thing I loved about Clark was when she knew to turn her offensive game up a notch in the overtime game I watched on Sunday. Even though they lost that game, questionably, Clark scored on the two offensive possessions her team had by beating her defender off the dribble to finish, with one being a nice inside-hand finish. Most people in the state won't see her play in high school, but her ability is well beyond her years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->