Controlling The Middle

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you want to go out and have a successful game or even season, there are some things that must be a constant. Two of those things being individual and team defense. A team's defense decides their entire future. If you can't stop anyone when it matters the most, you aren't going to win those meaningful games a majority of the time. Below I am going to highlight five prospects that have been leaving their mark in the middle, both metaphorically and literally. Each player listed has been consistent and productive from their post position so far this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["582833"],"_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":"Starting off this article is an athlete that has put up some wild stat lines so far this winter. A player that is making a difference in the scoring, rebounding, and in the blocking department for her Saydel High School team is [player_tooltip player_id='788579' first='Paige' last='Rummans']. Rummans is an Illinois State Softball commit and one heck of an athlete. For players to consistent put up a double-double is impressive and that is actually what Rummans is averaging right now but to almost average a triple-double, that's eye-opening. Looking forward I don't expect Rummans to continue to average production like this all season long but something close. She has a lot of success because of her hard-work and hustle. Something you love to see. ","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["311358"],"_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":"Another player that is currently averaging a double-double with 19.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG, along with recording 5.6 BPG is [player_tooltip player_id='311358' first='Brooke' last='Kroggeman'] of West Delaware High School. Kroggeman is a 6'0 Post/Center and a good one at that. She moves well for her size and is efficient running from rim-to-rim on each end of the floor. This season, Kroggeman is controlling the middle in multiple ways for her team. She is scoring at high rates, rebounding on offense and defense, and blocking over 5 shots per contest. Whenever an opponent beats their original defender against this group, they have to worry about where Kroggerman is or else it will be a block party. There are only a handful of players that made this article because of their high production in the lane. This is something Kroggeman should be proud of but not satisfied with moving forward. ","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["311356"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='311356' first='Rebecca' last='Aagard'] of North Polk isn't going to give you 20 points per game but what she is going to give you is a consist presence near the basket. Aagard stands at 6'2 and is averaging 7 PPG, 7 RPG, and 5 BPG. On each possession she controls the middle to a T and makes sure that it is tough for any offensive player to get an easy basket. With having such a height advantage, as long as Aagard stays disciplined, these numbers will stay consistent until the end of this season. North Polk is a group that should be making it to Des Moines to end their year but that is still a few months away. If they want to roll into the State Tournament with some momentum, they need to continue to work hard and clean up their small mistakes now. As for Aagard, I'm not sure where she will end up but she could be a productive college player. She just needs to find the right system.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["314117"],"_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":"Waterloo West added a solid piece is Nakia this season to transfer but their consistent Senior leader, [player_tooltip player_id='314117' first='Brooklyn' last='Love'], has done of good job of letting everyone know why she is a D2 commit. Love has the mixture that every coach loves. She has length, athleticism, skill, and she adapts quickly. There aren't many situations when I watch Love that I think she is unsure about what is going on around her. She moves with a purpose on every play and that has led to her having a productive Senior year in more than a few ways. Waterloo West is 9 games into their season and Love is averaging 12 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2 SPG, and 4.1 SPG. As you can tell, she is doing it all in attempts to help her team each and every contest. It's going to be exciting to see Love at Newman next year under new Head Coach Amy Briggs. Briggs seems to run a free flowing offense that lets the players work off of each other at a high rate. This is a style that Love is going to be able to adapt to and overall, succeed in. ","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Gretta Gouge","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"12122","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Garner Hayfield Ventura","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Garner Hayfield Ventura High School has started their season with a 5-4 record this winter in large part due to their upperclassmen presence on roster. Their leader in the middle at the Power Forward position is 5'11, Gretta Gouge. Gouge is a player that doesn't venture too much out of her comfort zone of the floor. She sticks to what she knows and makes a lot happen while only given a limited amount of space and time. Coming out of break this week, Gouge is helping her team by averaging just under 10 PPG, bringing in 14.1 RPG, and stopping 1.5 attempts per game due to her blocking ability. This article is all about player that control the painted area and Gouge does that for this team. To give some more context, she has not attempted one three point shot all season. She understands where she u0022makes her moneyu0022 and thrives in those positions. Something that is awesome to see.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6597478e1481e"} /-->