How I View Wings
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As of today, I’ve written 756 articles on this site. Last night, I thought about what I’d be writing about today, and I figured I’d talk about what I look for from players in each positional group. Today, I’d like…
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Continue ReadingAs of today, I’ve written 756 articles on this site. Last night, I thought about what I’d be writing about today, and I figured I’d talk about what I look for from players in each positional group. Today, I’d like to highlight what I look for in wings and guards and finish up with post players tomorrow.
The definition of a wing can vary from person to person, depending on the offense or defense teams want to run. At least when I talk about wings, I’m talking about non-point guards and non-post players to keep it as simple as possible.
Defensively
Wings are the most coveted kids in recruiting because of their versatility, skill, and overall ability to change the course of a game.
Much of the value that wings will give programs at the next level will be on the defensive end. The main trait that helps wings stand out is their defensive versatility. Most of the wings, although not all, are usually 5-10 on the low end and 6-3 on the higher end. Athletes who move laterally and provide length that leads to blocked shots, altered shots, and jump passing lanes tend to be coveted by Power Five programs.
I see this a lot, and I am a culprit in doing this, but very few kids can defend one through five at the high school level. Many may be able to guard one through five in their conference, but in reality, may only be able to line up against two or three positions on the floor if push came to shove.
What separates wings from one another the most is the ability to switch. Few kids with elite size can defend a high pick and roll and match up with a guard or post at a high level, but the ones that can have the potential to be some of the most heavily recruited kids in the country.
Most of the time, the 6’1-6’3 athletes will be the kids who get those college looks before they get to their freshman season or their AAU season after their freshman season.
Offensively
The beauty of the offensive prowess wings can bring is that they can be anything. For instance, Allie Ziebell Allie Ziebell 5'11" | SG Neenah | 2024 State WI is a gold medalist as a 5’11ish wing who’s one of the best shooters in the country. Teagan Mallegni Teagan Mallegni 6'1" | SF McFarland | 2024 State WI is a 6’1 wing who does an excellent job balancing her shooting with her ability to attack off the dribble, and those are just two Wisconsin. Those kinds of kids are all over the country, maybe not to that level, but that’s how kids like Alyssa Nelson end up at UW-Parkside and become their program’s all-time leading scorer.
There are so many talented wings, and all won’t end up at the Division 1 level. So that begs the question, what does it take to go Division 1 as a wing?
From what I’ve seen, at least in Wisconsin, it tends to be elite scoring and defense paired with a few other high-level traits.
Let’s use one perceived elite offensive talent and one defensive talent as examples. Those examples will be Kayl Petersen Kayl Petersen 6'1" | PF Waupun | 2024 State WI and Kallie Peppler Kallie Peppler 6'0" | PF Hortonville | 2024 State WI , and we’ll start with Petersen.
Kayl is a scorer who can put the ball in the basket from anywhere on the floor. Look no further than the State Semifinals in 2022 against Dominican. Petersen finished that game with nearly half of her Waupun team’s points, with 22 of 47, made four 3-pointers, shot 50% from the field, and was a threat every time she touched the ball. She’s known as a lethal offensive weapon, but her defensive game is unreal. Petersen’s rim protection isn’t talked about as much as it should, which is partially on me, but she blocked 11 Freedom shots in their rematch of the 2022 D3 state title game last season. Even as a passer, she can be a little underrated because the game after that, she dished out 11 assists.
Kallie will, hopefully, return at some point this season. The Milwaukee commit has a reputation for being a long and pesky defensive player who Hortonville has liked to throw on smaller guards to disrupt the opposing offense at the point of attack. After playing with Rainey Welson Rainey Welson 5'9" | CG Hortonville | 2025 State WI and her older sister Kamy, she’s done an unbelievable amount of work on the defensive end. However, when we talk about her, remember she’s been a 36% 3-point shooter in her sophomore and junior seasons and has scored over 25 on a few occasions at Hortonville, and with the talent around her, that’s outstanding.
I’m trying to convey that Kallie and Kayl are two of the best wings in the 2024 class, and they’ll play for successful mid-major programs in the Midwest. You must be good at everything on both ends of the floor to play at the D1 level.
I see 5’11 kids with all the talent you could ask for but never put it all together to get to that D1 level. Those kids are still scholarship players. However, the kids who end up D1 as wings are usually some of the best in each class. Let’s use the 2024s as an example. There’s an argument that 13 of the top 20 kids are wings. As a wing, you must be as well-rounded as anyone on both ends of the floor to reach the highest level.
Quick Conclusion
Long story short, for any wings or families of wings reading this, you need to be excellent at every facet of the game to reach the levels of kids like Kayl and Kallie. If there are weaknesses as a wing, college coaches notice quickly, and they’re looking for some of the best kids in the region, so if you’re not that yet, there’s work to do.