Stood Out On Defense Last Season – Stoppers This Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defense win championships right? Well, I watched a lot of basketball last high school season and noticed some very strong defensive players. I'm going to give you 5 of the athletes that stood out on D last season, that could be relied upon as defensive stoppers this coming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["613943"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"When people talk about Ode's game, they sometimes like to focus on her elite offensive skill set. Can't blame anyone for that. But watch her on the defensive end. She's active and aware and more than able to use her length. Ode has nice anticipation to go with her length and uses them to attack the passing lanes. Her number of deflections this year could be scary.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["244278"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Utomi was excellent on the defensive end for Arbor Prep last season, and probably seasons before that. She was so high energy and active when playing defense. Utomi appeared to be everywhere on the court defensively. That was until you realized that it didn't just seem that way, but it WAS that way. Utomi can literally cover the entire floor and anywhere on the floor.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["420494"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"With the loss of a generational talent like Macy Brown, a lot of players are going to have to step up and step into a variety of roles. [player_tooltip player_id='420494' first='Reagan' last='Weaver'] could be a huge help on the defensive end. She was relentless on D when I saw her play last season. Weaver played with a tenacity and fearlessness that's needed from great defenders. As a guard, she wasn't scared to front post players and cause chaos down low.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["244312"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Popyk is a prospect that I've been very high on for quite a while now. She recently committed to Gannon University and I think they got a steal. A large part of that is Popyk's defense. She has a really nice combination of length and defensive IQ. Popyk's ability to get good defensive position can allow her to suffocate opponents if the pick up their dribble or get caught in a corner.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["417910"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Austin is a talented prospect that will have to take the lead defensively with Faith Carson at Ohio State. Austin can do just that. She's active and quick with super fast feet. Austin has the ability to defend from baseline to baseline and to get in her opponents face with pressure D. She's a true ballhawk on the defensive end and will be a problem for opponents.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6539356dd12fb"} /-->