Courtside Girls Camp – Standouts From Afar (Part 2)
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I didn’t have the chance to be in attendance for this years Fall – Courtside Camp but from afar it looked like a great event. This camp had players coming from all over the country to compete on just a…
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Continue ReadingI didn’t have the chance to be in attendance for this years Fall – Courtside Camp but from afar it looked like a great event. This camp had players coming from all over the country to compete on just a few courts and some players really showed out. Below I will be highlighting the individuals that stood out the most to me from afar.
(Something to note – Like I mentioned above, I was not in attendance so I am ONLY going off of all the film that I have seen/been given.)
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!
The amount of high-level guard talent at this event was obvious and a player that did a great job of showing out in her own way was Izzy Eisbach Izzy Eisbach 5’9″ | SG Nodaway Valley | 2026 State IA of Nodaway Valley High School (IA). Eisbach is a natural Shooting Guard, that can be moved around to play the Point position if need be. In the past 6 months, Eisbach’s game has progressed and you saw that this past weekend. On multiple occasions she was setting up her teammates for success, scoring at an efficient rate, rebounding on both ends of the floor, and playing some overall stifling defense against her opponent. Eisbach is a college level player, who will receive some offers before her high school career comes to a close. From what I’m hearing, she is locked in coming into this winter and is ready to show off to the state what she can really do. This camp was a solid momentum builder for her moving into the season.
Highlights
I’ve said for a few months now that Rylee McLucas Rylee McLucas 6’0″ | SF Millard North | 2025 State NE has a superior mixture of length, skill, and knowledge of the game compared to her opponents a majority of the time and it was no different at this camp. McLucas was doing a little bit of everything, showing off her versatility each possession. Sometimes she would come down the floor and score the ball, sometimes she would create off of the dribble, and sometimes she would move away from the play giving her teammates space to maneuver for an easy bucket. It didn’t really matter, whatever she was attempting to do, she succeeded. This winter it’ll be interesting to see how the high school picture in Nebraska plays out. There are some teams coming into the winter that will be favorites to win it all but for the most part, the State picture is pretty open across the board. I’ll be in attendance a few times to see McLucas and others compete. From everything I’ve learned/seen up until this point, I’m expecting some competitive games!
Alyvia McCorkle Alyvia McCorkle 5’8″ | PG Bettendorf | 2026 State IA is a Division-1 Point Guard and that was obvious from the show that she put on at this event. McCorkle is an interesting prospect. A rare breed, if you will. I think that mentally she is very high functioning. Meaning that she is seeing things happen on the floor – 2, 3, 4 moves ahead of when they are actually happening. When she plays the PG spot and knows she is the best offensive player on her team, she is dominate scoring the ball. If she realizes that she isn’t the best offensive weapon on her team, she is very good at getting that player the ball in a favorable position. When I break it down in these simple teams, it seems easy but it’s not. To be able to “flip the switch” like that, at this age and against some decent competition, is impressive. Hopefully she can ride this success into the season this winter at Bettendorf High School.
Highlights
A name to know out of of the state of Nebraska, who is going to make some noise over the next few seasons is Sanai Cotton-Welchen Sanai Cotton-Welchen 5’3″ | PG Central | 2027 NE . Cotton-Welchen has that mixture of lengthy arms and skill that everyone dreams of at a young age. At this camp she demonstrated her abilities on a few different levels. She was creating havoc on defense with her active hands and quick feet, she was cleaning up the glass against alike size opponents, and she was doing a good job of giving it her all each possession. Like I said above, over the next few years if she can stay locked in and work on the correct things moving forward, she will have a successful high school career at the very least.
Ari Phillips Ari Phillips 5’10” | CG Johnston | 2027 State IA has a high potential on the basketball court. Right now, her mixture of skill and knowledge of the game are better then most, which is impressive considering that she is just starting off her Freshman year at Johnston High School. It may not be this season exactly but over the next few years, Phillips will be starting for this Dragons teams and they will be in the conversation to win a State Championship. With players at this age, development is so important moving forward when trying to predict their ceiling but I’ve seen how dedicated Phillips is and I would be surprised if she didn’t play Division-1 basketball when her high school career comes to an end. She consistently displays a bunch of intangibles that would translate to a lot of programs at that level. She has put in the work, now all she has to do is go out there and put it into action.
Keyaira Haywood
Keyaira Haywood
Keyaira Haywood’s body of work speaks for itself. Not only at this showcase but in general the past year or so. Haywood is a quick and crafty Point Guard, that is going to take Illinois by storm once she gets to the High School level next season. At this camp, Haywood had her full arsenal on display offensively, while being a tyrant on defense at the same time. I’ve never seen Haywood play live but this is one of those players that I would go and make the trip to see this winter. She is years beyond her age level – skill wise and that’s only going to grow. You can tell just from the 3 minutes of Courtside Film Video that this is definitely a name to note going into the future.