Recruitment Update: Class Of 2024 – Best Available Guards
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As we gearing up toward the second half of the season, there are still a good amount of uncommitted prospects residing throughout the state. In the article below we are going to cover five of the best available Guards out…
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Continue ReadingAs we gearing up toward the second half of the season, there are still a good amount of uncommitted prospects residing throughout the state. In the article below we are going to cover five of the best available Guards out of the 2024 Class, that could compete at the next level.
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Russell-Brown is nice on the basketball court. Someone that likes attacking her defender going either way off of the dribble, with great body control and touch once she gets to the rim. Not to mention that she displays a coordinated and fundamentally balanced jump shot in every given moment. When it comes to defense, she is no slouch. She understands what needs to be done and does a great job of taking away the space between herself and her defender, as the contest wears on. I’ve only been covering this state for about a year at this point but I’m really surprised Brown doesn’t have more interest/offers. She is a collegiate level talent and could help out a handful of programs around the Midwest given the right situation. Especially considering that she is playing off of the ball now a majority of the time and still producing.
Josilyn Miller Josilyn Miller 5’9″ | CG Verdigre Public School | 2024 State NE is coming off of a year where she had a season-ending injury but that hasn’t stopped her from continuing on her path of success on the hardwood. Miller is a playmaker and a swifty orchestrator for her team when she has the basketball. She displays a smooth dribble, a quick first step going either way, and a superior mixture of touch/balance. Whenever she gets downhill and is attacking her opponents, she understands to go through their hips at a tight angle and to use the rim as protection once she gets there. Some players have that “it” factor and from everything I’ve seen, Miller is one of those. No matter the situation, she makes things happen when she has time and space. If she doesn’t have time or space, she does a great job of creating it herself or dishing it off to an open teammate for an easy look at the basket. Looking forward, I know that Miller does have a few options as to where she could take her talents after this season. I’m not sure where she is going to end up but she can hoop and I expect her to produce wherever that may be.
If you have been following along with girls high school basketball over the past few years, you have probably heard about McKenna Yates McKenna Yates 5’7″ | PG McCool Junction | 2024 State NE of McCool Junction. Despite not playing the toughest teams or the hardest schedule in the state, Yates has been unstoppable over the past few of high school ball and that has translated to the AAU court as well with her ETG Midwest Elite 3SSB Team. Yates is calculated and deliberate in every move she makes. She is well-aware of the fact that she is more skilled than most others she comes across and that confidence helps her produce. From an evaluation perspective, there isn’t anything that she can’t do if we exclude things like guarding a true Center. She has been one of this states premier Gaurds for the past 3.5 years now and I’m not expecting that to slow down before her high school career comes to a close over the next few months. As for the future, Yates has a handful of D2 and D3 offers to continue on her journey. No matter where she ends up, I’m sure she is going to kill it with her ability and experience but as of right now, she is still one of the best available Guards from this 2024 Class on the board.
Kara Stricklin Kara Stricklin 5’7″ | PG Omaha Westside | 2024 State NE maybe the best Guard out of this 2024 Class that no one has been talking about. Stricklin is a 5’7 Point Guard for Omaha Westside High School and she has been on fire this winter for her team in every way you can imagine. As of most recent, Stricklin was named as a First-team player in the Metro Holiday Tournament. A big deal when you consider that the other 4 players chosen are all D1 commits or will be in near future. In fewer words, Stricklin can GO. That’s the best way I can put things. She makes quick decisions, demonstrates touch near and far away from the basket, and she is very fast with her dribble coming down the floor in transition while staying in complete control. This is another one of those prospects that doesn’t seem to have a lot of college interest at the moment but she should. She does too many good things to not be noticed. If she continues on this pace for the rest of her Senior season, she is going to end the year as one of the most productive and sound Guards in this 2024 Class.
When you watch film you can tell what a player wants to do by their actions. If they want to shoot or if they want to dribble and create, it’s all a little different but there are signs. I can tell you from watching Summer Bojanski Summer Bojanski 5’5″ | PG Archbishop Bergan | 2024 State NE play for five minutes that she is her team’s life-force on offense. Within a group that seems to have a handful of capable producers, Bojanski is always on attack mode. It doesn’t matter if she is setting up to knock down a three from behind the arc or if she is going to try and cross over her defender for a finish in the lane. If she see’s a gap in the defense, she is going to take full advantage of it and if she doesn’t see one, she is going to make one herself. Don’t get me wrong, she is a willing passer whenever things get too “crowded” but her best ability is scoring. If you go around and ask a collegiate coach what is the most important ability for a player to have in today’s game, they are going to tell you scoring. Doesn’t matter the Division. Which makes me think, I could see Bojanski’s game translate to the next level. She would need to learn how to play with some other players that are better than herself but if she picked her spots correctly, she could produce at an efficient rate within most systems.