Film Room: First Edition
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On Twitter, I asked for some highlights and full games to watch over, and I have more than enough to go through starting tonight. I’ll start with the individual ones sent to me to give me time to watch through…
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Continue ReadingOn Twitter, I asked for some highlights and full games to watch over, and I have more than enough to go through starting tonight. I’ll start with the individual ones sent to me to give me time to watch through some of the complete games sent my way. No idea how long this will take, but I’ll have two articles up tonight.
Many of Lecce’s best moments come from her getting downhill toward the basket. Lecce isn’t the tallest wing, but she uses all her length to finish over any defender. It’s something she’s worked on because she’s not afraid to drive into traffic to rise and finish with floaters anywhere within ten feet of the basket. Lecce’s a solid athlete who runs the floor and finds open pockets to give her teammates an easy dump-off pass. As she gets older, I think she has a chance to be a solid 3-point shooter with volume, and if Lecce adds that to her skillset, she’ll have an excellent arsenal to pair with her ability to move her feet, which translates to her skill on the other end.
Aubrey Leonard Aubrey Leonard 5'8" | PG Laconia | 2025 State WI
We’re talking about state championship basketball here, and I couldn’t be more excited to talk about a Laconia kid again. I vividly remember how dominant Leonard was against Laconia without lighting up the scoreboard for most of that game. Most of her points came from the free-throw line, and we’ll get to why in a second. I want to start with Leonards’s ability to do all the small things at a high level. One, she never gives away what she’s doing until the last second, she forces defenders to commit before making a decision, and you’ll see it in her transition highlights in the attached clip. Another aspect was how well she cut the Blugolds’ full-court press apart. All year they trapped and put kids in uncomfortable positions, but Leonard made it look like they were chasing her around the floor, which they were. Once the Spartans built a lead, the Blugolds panicked and started fouling the ball handler, Leonard, and sent her to the line a bunch in the second half, where she closed out the state title game hitting free-throw after free throw.
Emma Close
Close and Mikaia Litza Mikaia Litza 5'8" | CG Wauwatosa East | 2026 State WI , who we’ll get to in a day or two, will make up one of the better class of 2026 backcourt pairings in Southeast Wisconsin, and each has this undeniable quality to their games that stick out like a sore thumb. Close’s touch and feel for the game stand out the most. The guard had moments this season that showed poise, determination, and skill around the rim, mainly when she attacked the rim with traffic to maneuver around. Much of her development will come from playing against high-level competition more regularly. For instance, she understands how to utilize ball screens and what to do when she gets kids who go under, chase her, or when she sees two bodies. Once she gets used to how quickly she has to make those decisions, she’ll be an extremely challenging guard to maintain.
Megan Johnson Megan Johnson 5'11" | PF West Salem | 2025 State WI
The West Salem wing is another one of these three/fours with the strength and athleticism to play both spots, even if they’re slightly undersized to be a four at the next level. Johnson is this Swiss army knife kid who can succeed in most situations she’s put in on a unit. At West Salem, she played mainly in the paint in the half court but was also one of their most athletic kids and ran transition offense for the Panthers. Her ability to chip in all aspects of a game helped the Panthers get to the state tournament, and if it weren’t for a rough shooting night as a team, they could’ve played for a state title. Her shooting touch isn’t on display as much as it was, at least last year, in AAU, but she can step out and stretch the floor.