More Unknown Names to Watch This Season

Brady Peterson October 12, 2023 @ 07:17 PM

Now that I've gone through and done rankings stuff for a few weeks, I want to talk about kids I haven't highlighted before and give them some shine. The kids I talk about today are players I've come across at games but never saw enough to get a thorough eval on.   Lyla Maggit   The lefty from Sun Prairie West was intriguing when I first saw her at the first Sun Prairie West vs. Sun Prairie East game last winter. Maggit is a 5-11 wing who moves well, has excellent length, and doesn't shy away from much. There were moments when she sped up and made mistakes, but I chalk that up to her being a freshman. Stuff like that happens. Now, I'll be curious to see if she can carve out a role for herself in her sophomore season now that there is a significant amount of minutes up for grabs, and having experience at the varsity level already, she could play valuable minutes for the Wolves.   [player_tooltip player_id='558941' first='Jaycee' last='Mani']   The identity of Germantown over the past few seasons has been two letters "KK." The 2023-24 marks the beginning of a new era of Germantown Warhawk girl's basketball, and I'm eager to see what it looks like. Mani could fit what they want to do to a tee. She's a scrappy, undersized guard who can create turnovers in full-court presses, knock down three-pointers, take charges, and play pressure one-on-defense. Most have written off Germantown and don't think they'll compete in the GMC. Although they won't be as scary without KK, kids like Mani can make some other GMC kids' lives miserable for a few hours.   Kasey Stepflug   The Waterford forward is another kid who I found intriguing this past summer. She's a 6-4 kid who looks like she's still getting used to being 6-4. However, Stepflug did some impressive things for a kid of her size. She made a few perimeter shots with her [program_tooltip program_id='713043' first='Wisconsin' last='Impact'] team this summer. Her size and growing skillset are intriguing because you don't find many 6-4 kids who can shoot it at all, and Stepflug could improve in that aspect over time because it doesn't look awkward or anything.   Zoe Dispennette   I saw the St. Thomas More wing at a [program_tooltip program_id='713047' first='Wisconsin' last='Shooters'] workout. I left impressed with her ability to shoot the ball. She wants to be as perfect as possible on reps, which will serve her well when working on skill stuff away from game minutes. Going into her sophomore year at STM, there's plenty she can still improve on, and with game reps, she'll continue to improve on both ends of the floor. I'd bet on her figuring things out soon, solely because of the quality of the work she's putting in behind the scenes.

Now that I've gone through and done rankings stuff for a few weeks, I want to talk about kids I haven't highlighted before and give them some shine. The kids I talk about today are players I've come across at games but never saw enough to get a thorough eval on.