NE2K Fall Showcase Evals
Last weekend, a sold-out event featuring sixty rising talents from the Tri-State Area and beyond took place in West Deptford, New Jersey hosted by McDonald’s All-American Committee member Kenneth “KP” Pannell. There was performance testing (3/4 court sprint time, reach,…
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Continue ReadingLast weekend, a sold-out event featuring sixty rising talents from the Tri-State Area and beyond took place in West Deptford, New Jersey hosted by McDonald’s All-American Committee member Kenneth “KP” Pannell. There was performance testing (3/4 court sprint time, reach, vertical shuttle run, lane agility) and a total of six ultra-competitive 5-on-5 games. Teams were broken down into different colors by t-shirt (green, yellow, orange) and each team played two games. New York was well represented and yours truly was in attendance taking notes and scoping out the talent!
Showing off the ability to create for herself and for others equally as efficient, Vanessa proved she is a legitimate scoring threat and a total team player. She got creative in transition pushing the ball up ahead of the pack and attacking the rim, putting her crafty layup package on full display. She was money from the mid-range all afternoon long and often drew the double-team as single coverage could not fully contain her. In the individual performance testing, she went on to record a 24″ vertical, tying for the second best of the event.
Maia Charles
Maia Charles
Maia showed a lot of grit and tenacity on both ends. She imposed her will early on and was aggressive and physical under the basket. With effective and disciplined footwork she worked around defenders and used nifty post moves to get easy buckets. Recording a 23″ vertical, she tied for third place out of all sixty girls at Riverwinds. Her impressive bounce and long reach made a major impact on defense as she made the ball-handler think twice before driving inside for fear of rejection.
Aiyanna Smith
Aiyanna Smith
The Royals’ freshman showed tremendous promise and a loaded skillset! Playing much bigger than her 5’9″ frame suggests, Aiyanna played “big guard basketball” and was aggressive when taking smaller guards off the bounce. She was rock solid from 15 feet, proving to be an emerging mid-range specialist. She kept up the intensity all afternoon long and it was quite obvious that there is no quit in her motor!
Grace Lanier
Grace Lanier
Grace was one of the quickest players I saw on the day. She had extreme bounce and proved to be an electric rim-runner, speeding past defenders and taking it the full length of the court. Her offense was clicking on all cylinders from her pretty, high-arching 3’s to her smooth mid-range stroke, to her crafty layup package. She kept tremendous poise and never once looked rattled when the defense applied stifling ball pressure.
Josephine Pinnock
Josephine Pinnock
Josephine understood the assignment, plain and simple. She crushed the performance testing and put on an offensive clinic in 5-on-5 play. She handled the ball with confidence and kept a low and tight dribble, making it hard for defenders to reach in and swipe for steals. Playing with a ton of physicality, Josephine put her head down and attacked the lane, racing to the rim and getting buckets at will. Her mid-range was hot and her step-back 3 was lethal, as she showed why she’s one of the top 2027’s in NYC.
Laila Sierra
Laila Sierra
Laila was quite impressive off the dribble, showing solid handles and the ability to get to the rim at will. Her quickness proved too much to handle at times as she blitzed past defenders, weaving through traffic and attacking the lane. She was solid from the elbow and showed flashes of becoming an emerging mid-range threat. Laila played with fire and intensity in both games and kept a competitive edge over opponents all afternoon.
Skylah Kemp
Skylah Kemp
Skylah came to the NE2K Showcase ready to WORK! She breezed through the performance testing and recorded one of the best times in the lane agility (2.94). In 5-on-5 competition, she stood out to me as one of the most impressive of the bunch! She showed off a fearless game and loaded offensive firepower to go with it. Effective dribble penetration opened up clear paths to the basket for easy lay-ins. She was also comfortable taking shots from the mid-range and setting tough screens for teammates to get their own shot off. Defensively, she defended well both on & off the ball, using excellent lateral movement and keeping the opponent locked in front. Big senior year loading!