Next Player Up: North Meck

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the beginning of every new season, it means there is a changing of guard per se with each high school team.&nbsp; Some teams may have graduated players, and some players may be calling a new school home.&nbsp; In this series called, “Next player up,” I'm looking at some of the conference winners from last season and the players that are going to step up to help their team continue to have success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's start with North Meck who won the Queen City 3A/4A conference.&nbsp; Last year, they graduated three seniors that are beginning their college careers: Neveah Farmer, Kairah Dixon-Booker, and Dearia Page.&nbsp; All three of these athletes were excellent leaders on and off the court, so let's take a look to see who is going to step up for their team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='612332' first='Boston' last='Bates'] has really had a great progression over her high school career, and I imagine she will be the leader that steps up for her team during her senior season.&nbsp; She is one of the toughest players in her conference being able to guard a range of players from battling inside to protecting the perimeter.&nbsp; She keeps her opponents in front of her stripping the ball away to push the steal up the court to the other end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings have two freshmen that are already on people's radars as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='691830' first='Lenise' last='Joseph'] has been catching everyone's eyes this summer as an immediate contributor for her team.&nbsp; She is strong in the paint showing off nice footwork scoring off her post moves.&nbsp; Her ability to score with either hand makes her very difficult to defend, and she knows how to absorb contact scoring despite hands in her face.&nbsp; On defense, she always has the right position protecting the basket blocking shots, and she hustles back preventing opponents from scoring on fast breaks.&nbsp; She will be a great addition alongside [player_tooltip player_id='822098' first='Shanon' last='Hoover'] who is a dominant rebounder on both ends of the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='772566' first='Morgan' last='Knox'] is another addition to the team.&nbsp; She's already incredibly versatile knowing how to fill in the gaps, flash across the paint, and get the pass to score her points.&nbsp; She shifts the defense with her constant cuts, and she's a lengthy asset on defense blocking shots and deflecting passes.&nbsp; You can see that her IQ is high already knowing how to get offensive plays going, and she can elevate over her opponents to shoot her shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->