David Barns Brightest
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The David Barns Showcase featured a multitude of notable names, new arrivals, and up-and-comers. Here are the girls who burned brightest on the big stage: ring the bell! Merrick Schwalbach MI #94 SF #21 HEIGHT 5'7" POS SF CLASS 2025…
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Continue ReadingThe David Barns Showcase featured a multitude of notable names, new arrivals, and up-and-comers. Here are the girls who burned brightest on the big stage: ring the bell!
Merrick (#95) started confident and aggressive right from the opening tip at David Barns. She displayed a dynamic range of offensive abilities, while still doing the less glamorous work (rebounding, defense, passing). She showed her patience and poise creating good shots for herself, and her teammates. Merrick passed into the high post, relocated to space, then hit the pull up jumper. She drove into the paint with a jump stop pivot, turned on a dime then fired a reversal pass left handed to an open teammate on the perimeter. She dove on the floor to secure an offensive rebound and then passed it to an open teammate for a shot. Two highlights: 1) Catching a pass at full speed in transition for a left handed layup no dribble 2) Defensive rebound front rim then full court transition dribble all the way for two. Schwalbach was one of my nominees for the MOP because of her complete performance Saturday. Merrick made her mark on the event and will be a must see player for Stoney Creek.
Roehm (#91) literally shot the lights out in the gym at David Barns. From the two games I saw, she made at least 5 triples and I probably missed one. One aspect of her game I was not expecting is how quickly she accelerates to the rim off the catch. She finishes extremely well with her left hand around the rim as if she prefers the left side. Roehm had multiple attack dribble left-handed layup finishes in traffic. She made 3’s off the catch, relocating after a pass, and an off the dribble 3 from the logo. Her ability to switch hands to finish in traffic makes a help defenders task of stopping her without fouling extremely difficult. Roehm’s fireworks display on offense led to her taking home the MOP hardware this year. rnTweets by KeiraRoehm
Highlights
Alison (#89) was a top performer at the 2022 David Barns event and she lived up to herself once again this year. She gelled very well with her teammates on the court, showing her strength as a ball handler, passer, and shooter. Farr scores at all three levels, but plays exceptional on ball defense as well: forcing turnovers, deflecting the ball, and making steals. She secured offensive rebounds twice and put the ball back in, while being fouled. Alison stole the ball multiple times and succeeded in rifling the pass for assists. She drained a wing 3-pointer for icing on the cake. Alison is an all around prospect who should be receiving a serious look as someone who excels at many facets of the game.
Highlights
Mack (#88) made a statement, showing how elite of a prospect she is at the David Barns Saturday. Playing against strong competition, she controlled the defensive boards and demonstrated her effectiveness as a stretch post player: making a multitude of outside shots. She put up about 20 points in the final game, hitting multiple perimeter shots out the gate. Mack also hit a pull-up 3 in the second game and had a strong take to the basket. Her assertiveness in the paint was most impressive when she rotated to block a driving guard with both hands and then secure the loose ball. “Prepare for success”, that’s exactly what she did before playing and the results followed. Duthie definitely caught the eye of next level coaches in attendance Saturday and put her name in the conversation for MOP. Seeing her excel at this event makes me hopeful to see her compete again at our Top 250 Expo in September. Watch out for this girl KLAA West.
Highlights
Gibson (#20) stands out. Her athleticism on the court leaves an impression and she put it on display Saturday at David Barns. A highlight of the day happened when Larissa jumped out of her shoes for a defensive rebound and then outran everyone to the rim, finishing the layup through a foul. She “can” score plenty, but it was her passing abilities that propelled her forward Saturday. Larissa zipped a pass 3/4 court to a streaking teammate behind the defense. She collapsed defenders on her drive then dished to Duthie on the wing for 3 points. Her inbound passes were crisp and she can deliver balls into the post from different arm angles. Larissa drove twice to the middle past her defender, forcing fouls on her layups; she blew past her defender baseline forcing another foul. Gibson has the potential to be an all-conference caliber player in the MMAC this winter.
rnLeft: G. Wright, Center: Gibson Right: D. Deel
Schlorf (#90) is another one of those all around solid basketball prospects: she does the “little things”. Little things to me like high fiving every teammate when she comes out of the game, getting up off the bench to communicate with her teammates on defense, vocal and active: those are big to me. Schlorf did all that and more at David Barns. She was one of the best passers out there. Makayla knocked down a 3 pointer from the top of the key, but emphasized assists and high percentage attempts. She had an offensive rebound put back at the rim and also a steal with the advanced pro hop two foot finish. I am eager to see how Makayla and Tecumseh look this winter.
Highlights
D-UP!
Defense doesn’t get the glamour or hype, but I want to point out a couple of moments that stood out Saturday. Early in the first game, Howell’s Maurisa Mikus (MJ) followed a pass from the wing to the corner; she closed out with such quickness and acceleration that she blocked the 3-point shot attempt…Wow! 2028 Janielle Turner turned up the heat with her chest-to-chest ball pressure, forcing an over and back off of an inbound pass. After that, she forced the ball handler to step on the sideline a second time! Selena Titus Selena Titus 5'3" | PG Jenison | 2025 State MI of Jenison leaped out of bounds under the basket and threw the ball off an opponent to keep possession. Those are next-level plays.
At the Buzzer
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Evan Bell is currently a scout for Prep Girls Hoops, Varsity Girls Basketball Head Coach at Lapeer High School, and Director of Lapeer County Cobras . Our mission at PGH is to cover as many athletes with D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO potential in the state as possible. If you have knowledge of a prospect off our radar, please DM Evan through Twitter @CoachEvanBell or email him at lapeercountycobras@gmail.com