Top Centers of the Freshman Showcase
Kentucky High School Basketball say hello to your new nightmares in the paint, and in some other areas of the court. Surely, some of these players have given a few of your trouble already because 7th graders are eligible to…
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Continue ReadingKentucky High School Basketball say hello to your new nightmares in the paint, and in some other areas of the court. Surely, some of these players have given a few of your trouble already because 7th graders are eligible to play High School sports. But maybe you are one of the lucky opposing Coaches that hasn’t had to game plan against them just yet. A good Center in High School is a luxury that most teams do not have. Many teams have no Centers at all and have to defend against them with someone that is more of a Power Forward or even a Small Forward. Other teams are forced to play a Zone which only helps your opponent to beat you with their shooters.
There were a few players that might have fit into this category that I moved to an article about Power Forwards I have in the works for later. So if you are not here, take a look at that one. Don’t get too caught up on what position I put you in. We can change it later if you start running the floor at another position down the road or develop the skills that might suggest you would fit somewhere else. I did my best to try to find a spot for you into a generic lineup. Plus, I am trying to project your future position on a College team. Your actual Coach is doing the same thing with a real lineup trying to get you on the court. Your actual Coached need you to fill a spot on the team they have, not some team you might play on later.
Enough said about all of that. On to a few write-ups on the players I was watching Saturday.
Kourtney Peterson
Kourtney Peterson
When it comes to having a developed low post game, Peterson, is currently the best offensive threat to score with her back to the basket in the low post. She has perfected the turn over her left shoulder, one of the most basic moves that every Center needs to score. Learning that and developing it into a reliable tool in your bag is Step 1 of being a Center. That one move is the move nearly every other Post Move is based on. You force the Defense to prove they can stop it, or you score on them at will. (Learn over the right shoulder first if you are a Lefty.)
She has also nearly perfected the same move over her right shoulder, the power dribble and a short turnaround jumper, but they are still in development. Get those down and learn 2 counter moves to those and she would already be a D3 level Center. She already has that kind of size and is close enough on the skills that she can begin working on trying to elevate her game to higher levels. Some of that will depend on how much more she grows, how much time she spends hitting the weights and agility drills and what other skills she develops between now and then. If she puts in the work. and from just seeing her today she does, she is going to go to College for Free at some level.
Peterson was dominant in the paint. She clearly understands the rules involved in the three second lane well enough to know how to maximize her time in there and many players do not. She ran the floor well and used proper spacing to be available to the ball. Sealed off her defenders to be open and set herself up to score using her best moves. She was good at tracking the ball during shots to put herself into good positions for rebounds, especially on defense and had the speed to chase down one long rebound in the corner. She did a good job staying behind her opponent on defense to not give up great position without fouling and to set herself up in a position to block the shot. She is not a great shot blocker yet, but she has the defensive fundamentals down that will allow her to become a great shot blocker in the future. She just needs to develop her timing, explosive leaping and maybe grow a little bit more. Because she knows how to defend the post without fouling she will get enough minutes on the court, instead of on the bench in foul trouble, for that timing to develop. I would have put her in the “Top Performers of the Day” article but I needed her HERE for the “Centers” article.
A bit of a funny story, she showed some signs of frustration when I went to get pictures of her team after a game that I didn’t call her number. Akeem Webb and I were on the same court and he was grabbing the pics for 1 team and I was getting the other. He must have missed her during the minor chaos of the post game exodus from the benches. That happens all the time that we can’t catch a player before they are gone. So nobody got her photo then and now here I am on her 2nd game in front of us not getting her photo again. She had to be thinking “What do I have to do to get noticed? Are these guys blind or something?”
She had to have scored at least 20 points or more on our court and grabbed about 10 rebounds and blocked some shots and gave all out hustle when she was in the game. She had been so dominant that nobody could have possibly missed. She was not disrespectful in any way, I want to make sure I point that out. There was just a look of disappointment that washed over her face as she realized I had not called on her. Good thing I noticed that and asked her if Akeem had her photo from before. Who knows what impression of PGH she would have walked away with had it not been for that moment.
The thing you cannot miss about Packer is her ability to Block and Alter shots. At one point I think she blocked 3 in about 30 seconds. She gets such good extension with the length of her arms and body and has great footwork that helps her to navigate the paint and close the distance needed to get a piece of the ball. She is very strong, as well, and uses her physical attributes and feel for the flow of the game to find her way to multiple rebounds. It isn’t just her great size, there is something inside of her that makes her want to block every shot possible and grab every rebound possible. A motor that makes her an asset to have on the court before you even begin to discuss her skills. This is another player I would have put into the “Top Performances of the Day” article, but I had committed before the event to write an article about the Centers and had to have her here.
When you start looking into her skills you might start thinking Packer is more of a Small Forward than a Center. She clearly has spent some time running one of the nearly ubiquitous 5-Out Offenses of the current age. She has some skill dribbling the ball and the ability to take it to the hole when the opportunity presents itself. She can shoot the three if she is open. She has good passing skills that I would like to see her use from the High Post or Low Post a little more often and I imagine that is something I will see during some of her games the next few years.
When you look into her scoring package inside the lane she is currently more of a Power Forward than a Center. Mainly scoring while facing the basket than playing with her back to it. She may not fit into this category as a Center for much longer if she doesn’t further develop her Post Up skills. At least not on Offense. That isn’t a bad thing. There is more than one path for her to go down as a player based on where she is right now. Maybe she will end up being a player that can play all 3 Frontcourt Positions, maybe she will begin to specialize in one of them. There is no wrong answer as long as she is continuing to gain skill and techniques that she can use to be exceptional on the court.
I do not know if she plays the dreaded V-ball game, but I imagine she is a nightmare to face around the net if she does. Hopefully, for the sake of Basketball she is not swayed to the darkside of the gym where they keep the nets, knee pads and 3-colored balls. I feel like I might be betraying the spot just be bringing this up. Read no more about this abomination of nets and kneepads. Think only about Hoops and Backboards and Orange-colored spheres.
Highlights
Kamilla Marcum
Kamilla Marcum
Marcum is Glass Eater. She finds her way to more offensive putbacks than almost anyone we saw on Saturday. She probably averaged at least 6 to 8 points per game off of the glass. She is also an excellent defensive rebounder as well. Has a very strong body that she knows how to use to her advantage to seal off position for herself in the lane. She uses that position for rebounding and to get herself open to receive the ball in the paint. But she needs to further develop her skills in what she does with it after she gets the ball. She has clearly done some work to develop a post-up game but it just isn’t there yet. The basics are there and if she keeps putting in the work she it going to get there.
She also has a good looking outside shot. That can be a great asset to have for a Big because very often their defender has to sag off of them when they go to the perimeter so they can help out in the paint. A Big being able to shoot from the outside is almost not fair to defenses. How are they supposed to find a player that can stop you in the paint and on the arc? I think with a little bit more development Marcum could play D3 ball now, without growing any. If the guy in the stands that I think is her Father is her Father, something tells me she has the genetics to be a beast in the weight room. So if she puts in the work on her game, develops her body the best she can over 4 years, keeps learning more about the intricacies of the game she could be going to College for Free. It is the growing that is going to decide what level she ends up on.
Looking forward to seeing how she continues to develop over the next few years.
Carley Boyd
Carley Boyd
Boyd is currently position-less, but not in a good way. Not in the way that she can play any position on the court. In the way that right now she doesn’t really fit any one position, Before you see that comment in a negative light let me explain. She is good and she has a ton of upside. She has many great fundamental skills in the works and could eventually be a player that could play the 3. 4 or 5 (or all three). But right now she doesn’t have a specific category. The one thing she does at an elite level though is maybe the most important skill in basketball. She can SHOOT and with her height it is very tough to defend her shot. She has the length to shoot over people and needs almost no space to get off a clean look.
Of every player there on Saturday Boyd is the one the intrigues me the most. I almost wish I could watch her play every 2 weeks between now and her Senior year to monitor her progress. To see her as she adds another tool to her bag or perfects the skills she already has. This is a player with huge upside. She reminds me of what WNBA All Star Breanna Stewart must have been like at some point in her development. Not to put too much pressure or too high of expectations on a player. But I believe Boyd could end up being that type of player that can do everything there is in Basketball.
I feel like right now she is an Infant compared to the Grown Woman she is going to be when she graduates College. Don’t take that wrong either. I see such great potential in where she can go with this game and I know she is getting the type of Coaching on the Club and High School level she needs to get there. Senior year of College Carley Boyd would travel back in time and destroy Freshman year of High school Carley one-on-one. I have no doubts she is going to play in College right now and attend classes for Free if she will put in the work. Hit the weight room, do the agility drills, keep working on the basketball skills and believe in herself. This is something Boyd can absolutely do if she puts in the work.
Caroline McCurry
Caroline McCurry
McCurry is listed as a Forward in other places and her height is more consistent with that position but she displayed an ability to play with her back to the basket on Offense so she was a better fit at Center to me. But then I haven’t seen her nearly as often as her Coaches and several others. From what I saw she is a Post Player with some Perimeter Skills and needs to keep working on both areas. Especially in the Offensive end. Defensively, she is very effective at mixing it up in the paint and has a nose for the ball off of the glass. I wouldn’t yet call her one of the Glass Eaters but like most of her game she is developing.
She has a good foundation of skills and fundamentals developed but hasn’t yet hit her stride in any certain area. She isn’t elite, yet, but she could be. I really like her upside. She can do a little bit of everything you would want a Big to do. She is a good passer, rebounder, defender, is strong and has good balance. She is comfortable putting the ball on the floor, blocked a few shots, ran the floor well and knocked down the three point shot. All in all it was a good day and I look forward to seeing her continue to put in the work and improve over the next 4 years.