Cardinal Classic: Friday Standouts (Part Three)

For starters, why has there not been a WBB scholastic live period in June until now?!? I love this opportunity for athletes to show college coaches their skills in such a unique way since most of the time these coaches are watching these players with their AAU teams rather than their high school team. GRC put on an awesome event called the Cardinal Classic and it drew in an excellent slate of college coaches across all levels. There were a ton of talented teams competing, including some of the top teams in the surrounding states. I placed a focus on catching as many Kentucky teams I could in the 2 day period. I actually did something a little different for this article, typing out the notes exactly how I wrote them as I was there, so my apologies for the lack of sentence structure at times. However, here are some of my standouts from Friday.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Henry Clay 62 South Laurel 44</h2>   I already mentioned my standouts from Henry Clay in another article in this series, so only mentioning South Laurel players below for that reason.   [player_tooltip player_id='747650' first='Skeeter' last='Mabe'] (South Laurel)   Definitely doesn't play like a 2027. So versatile - able to play and defend any position. Strong. Solid handles, strong passes, rebounds hard. Instantly knocked down a 3 when defender was a step off of her. Made great drives to the hoop. [player_tooltip player_id='747656' first='Shelbie' last='Mills'] (South Laurel)   Poised ball handler and distributor. Plays so hard and makes great decisions. Good passer and creator. Deep range on outside shot and crafty finisher on drives. Plays absolutely fearless and looked just as tough as ever despite playing on a bad leg.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Franklin County 55 Manual 37</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='328576' first='Juliana' last='Frazee'] (Franklin County)   So strong. Great moves around the basket. Secures rebounds strong. Seals and makes it really hard for the defense to move her out of positioning. Really stays with plays. Great passes when help defense collapses on her. Can handle it until guards get open on outlet passes.   [player_tooltip player_id='990359' first='Madison' last='Jackson'] (Franklin County)   So active - all over the court. Really went after rebounds well. Some crafty finishes around the basket.   Makiyia Wheeler (Franklin County)   Quick PG who really works to be the best player she can be so constantly improving her game. Had some really good finishes on players much bigger. Ran the point well. Set up team in offense and made good passes. Handled pressure. Great change of speeds.   [player_tooltip player_id='376789' first='Ashlinn' last='James'] (Manual)   So athletic and quick. Makes it extremely difficult for the defense to stay in front. Can score at all 3 levels. Can distribute and create for teammates. Always an excellent floor general and so unselfish, but really hoping to see her take over as a scorer this season because she can really score in any way imaginable.   [player_tooltip player_id='329434' first='Alana' last='Smith'] (Manual)   Has made so many improvements to her game this spring and summer. Great moves down low. Some tough finishes over long defenders. Rebounded strong. Made a big difference in Manual's run in the first half.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Montgomery County 29 Bowling Green 22</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='158176' first='Hayden' last='Barrier'] and [player_tooltip player_id='502282' first='Savannah' last='Simpson'] (Montgomery County)   Already mentioned these two in another article in this series, but this duo is going to be one of my favorites to watch this season. They mesh so well together and really help show each others strengths on the court. Inside-out game is going to be strong plus they both can score outside the perimeter, at the rim, and anywhere in between.   Elaine Purvis (Montgomery County)   Advanced skills and poise for a 2027. Floor general. Can knock down shots or get to the rim. Constantly draws help defense.   Baylee Warner (Montgomery County)   Another 2027 with a really bright future. Long and active. Good scorer, solid passes, and disruptive defensively.   [player_tooltip player_id='560652' first='Katy' last='Smiley'] (Bowling Green)   Good shooter. Can knock down shots from anywhere. Just solid all-around and length allows her to make things tough defensively as well. NaTajia Alexander (Bowling Green)   Will be a really good addition this year. Solid guard skills. Can score the ball and distributes well. Was handling pressure. Chloe Potter (Bowling Green)   Great passes. Really solid and poised with the ball. Moved well without the ball. Gave good direction when team was rushing.   Nataya Wardlow (Bowling Green)   Almost always going to be one of the smallest players on the floor, but she doesn't play like it. Such a solid PG. Handled the ball and stayed composed. Made great passes. Applied a lot of pressure defensively.

For starters, why has there not been a WBB scholastic live period in June until now?!? I love this opportunity for athletes to show college coaches their skills in such a unique way since most of the time these coaches are watching these players with their AAU teams rather than their high school team. GRC put on an awesome event called the Cardinal Classic and it drew in an excellent slate of college coaches across all levels. There were a ton of talented teams competing, including some of the top teams in the surrounding states. I placed a focus on catching as many Kentucky teams I could in the 2 day period. I actually did something a little different for this article, typing out the notes exactly how I wrote them as I was there, so my apologies for the lack of sentence structure at times. However, here are some of my standouts from Friday.