Johnston Winter Tip-Off: Five Freshman Standouts
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When bringing in 10 highly skilled teams to come compete under one roof, there is going to be a handful of standouts. In the article below I am going to cover five freshman standouts from the day, who will have…
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Continue ReadingWhen bringing in 10 highly skilled teams to come compete under one roof, there is going to be a handful of standouts. In the article below I am going to cover five freshman standouts from the day, who will have a chance to compete at the collegiate level one day in some form or facet.
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Macy Meyer Macy Meyer 5’6″ | SG Dallas Center Grimes | 2027 State IA is going to be a name we hear a lot over the next few years throughout the state of Iowa. Meyer is a 5’6 Guard, who can handle, score, and defend with the best of them. Joining up with a team that just won a State title can sometimes be intimidating but not for Meyer. She has more-so jumped into this first year at DCG and she is only going to get better. In this specific event, Meyer saw the floor and produced late in their game to help seal her teams comeback. I remember specifically that she had a nice take to the hoop off of the dribble from the wing, finishing with an opportunity for an AND1. This helped give her Mustangs team some energy and really helped them understand that they COULD make their comeback happen. I’m not sure of Meyer’s college ceiling just yet but from what I’ve seen so far, she is going to be someone who could produce at that level one day. There is a lot of time between now and then but in general, this is a player worth knowing moving forward.
There isn’t enough positive things to say about Tylee Weite Tylee Weite 5’10” | SG Des Moines – Valley | 2027 State IA and her game on the court so far this season. For her freshman year, Weite has stepped up big time to help her Valley Tigers team grab the #2 spot in the 5A Class. She is doing a little bit of everything. She is scoring from all three levels offensively, rebounding whenever the opportunities present themselves, and defending all different types of players in the meantime. I think the best part about her game is the patience she possesses. So many young players force action or try to do things over and over that aren’t working. That is the opposite for Weite. She demonstrates a positive aggressive demeanor but doesn’t try to force anything. If a certain look isn’t there, she will rotate the ball and try to figure something else out. All of this was on full display in her teams victory against Sioux City East. She took care of her business and because of that, she looked productive along with everyone else.
If I recall correctly, Ava Cupito may not have started for her Hopkins High School team but that doesn’t change the fact that she consistently produced on the floor. From the some-what small sample size I got the chance to see, Cupito has a flame thrower for an arm. Doesn’t matter where she is located on the offensive end, if you give her any space over half court, you are in trouble. Not only is she a great shooter, you can tell that she knows she is a great shooter. She has confidence and doesn’t hesitate to let it go unless she is being over-played defensively. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to see Cupito again on the high school floor in person but she can definitely play. If she doesn’t have any college offers yet, just wait until after this Freshman year.
Katelyn Muller
Katelyn Muller
When you hear about the Muller sisters at Dowling Catholic, you think about lengthy playmakers who are complete game-changes in the middle of the lane. That’s going to be the case with 5’11 Freshman Katelyn Muller but I also have a feeling that she is going to be a perimeter threat. In her teams big comeback against Pleasant Valley in this event, Muller was an X factor. A player that stepped up and produced on both sides of the ball, almost every possession either directly or indirectly. With her sister Ellie in the middle of the lane and 2 more years of high school ball, it’s going to be fun to see how these two gel together on the varsity floor. If you include these two and add the other personal this roster has, they should have some convincing success over the next few seasons but we will just have to wait and see.
Someone who may of not seen the floor a whole lot in this event, but is still regarded as a top player in her 2027 Class throughout the state of Iowa is Daya Phillips Daya Phillips 5’10” | CG Johnston | 2027 State IA . Phillips is a strong and dedicated player. She possesses superior size, speed, and skill compared to most her age and she is slowly seeing the court more and more as the season goes on with her Johnston Dragons team. With how good this team’s roster is, it makes sense as to why the Freshman aren’t stealing a majority of the varsity minutes from others. The way they have things set up, they are slowly placing Freshman on the floor with four other veteran players at a time. I think this gives everyone some quality experience and helps them prepare for the future. As for Phillips specifically, she has a lot of promise and talent. She has the ceiling of a Division-1 player at the end of the day, she just needs to continue to go out there and kill it.