Cardinal Classic: Thursday Standouts (Part Three)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><em>George Rogers Clark 54 Princeton 51</em></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='739686' first='Kennedy' last='Stamper'] (GRC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elite handles and super high IQ. Plays so much bigger than size. Great passer. Draws a ton of fouls. Makes a lot of smart plays. So poised - you would never guess she's a 2027 based on her skillset.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='311967' first='Ciara' last='Byars'] (GRC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Excellent size and strength. 3 level scorer. Can create looks. Rebounds well. Solid handles. Just makes a huge difference when she's in the game. Elite player.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='403466' first='Khania' last='Jones'] (GRC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An amazing addition for the Cardinals. Athleticism is crazy. Elevates so well to grab rebounds. Good finishes around the basket. Disruptive defensively.<br><strong><br>Mari Gerton (Princeton)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Excellent PG. Can knock down shots from DEEP range. Creates, draws help, sees down the floor, pushes pace, great change of speeds. Wasn't going to write down any players outside of the Kentucky teams I saw, but Gerton had to be the exception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Barren County 56 Boyd County 41</em></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abby Varney (Barren County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great passes. Plays really solid defense. Scores at all 3 levels. Good handles. Consistently solid in every way. Crashes the boards strong. Does all of the little things.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='470579' first='Katie' last='Gearlds'] (Barren County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good outside shooter. Strong finisher. Really effective on her drives because she recognizes when to go all the way versus when to kick. Good handles.<br><br><strong>Katie Elmore (Barren County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Really quick. Gets into passing lanes and comes up with steals. Constantly running the floor.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='167104' first='Audrey' last='Biggs'] (Boyd County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong and really tough to stop on drives. Makes good passes. Can knock down shots. Wasn't forcing stuff. Versatile - able to play any guard position plus be effective inside.<br><br><strong>Jada Ray (Boyd County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Potential is crazy high. Really good handles and really solid PG skills overall.<br><br><em>*I got to catch Boyd County on Friday as well, so there may be additional players and/or repeat standouts from their team in another article.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Rockcastle County 62 Bryan Station 39</em></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='231483' first='Talynne' last='Shearer'] (Rockcastle County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good length and strong. Stop and pop looked tough. 3 level scorer. Good versatility. Smart player. Great job giving up good looks for herself for even better looks for her teammates.<br><br><strong>Taylor King (Rockcastle County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Active hands defensively. Tough. Great passes. Saw the floor. Good shooter and strong drives. Good fakes to get defender off feet.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='494529' first='Macy' last='Spivey'] (Rockcastle County)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Very quick. Made some great passes, splitting through the defense. Runs the floor. Active defender.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='631217' first='Albertine' last='Cyuzozo'] (Bryan Station)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good size and strength. Some really good blocks around the basket. Rebounded well.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1056291' first='Elayna' last='Ward'] (Bryan Station)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sniper. Keeps knocking down outside shots. Caught ready to fire. Found the openings on the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->