2024 State Tournament: Prospects Who Deserve Respect
In this article:
Over these next few days I am going to have several evaluations published from this past week’s action at the State Tournament. In this article, we talk about five players that did a great job of standing out in their…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOver these next few days I am going to have several evaluations published from this past week’s action at the State Tournament. In this article, we talk about five players that did a great job of standing out in their personal contests. Each prospect produced in more ways than one and they deserve some respect for that!
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!
The State Tournament was the first time that I had the chance to see Alijah Stabler Alijah Stabler 5’7″ | PG Beatrice | 2027 NE compete on the high school court and she looked pretty solid as it pertains to her overall game-play. Stabler definitely looks the part of a PG. She stands at 5’7 with an aggressive attitude while attempting to attack her opponents. When it comes to the intangible parts of the game like feel, sense of urgency, and knowledge of space/distance in certain situations, Stabler seems like a veteran. She is a smooth operator with the ball in her hands and she doesn’t let anyone forget it. Throughout the State tournament, several players impressed me but I think that Stabler was one of the best. Especially out of that 2027 Class.
Highlights
Norris High School had a winter to remember and a big part of that was because of the play of Ella Johnson inside the middle of the lane. Johnson was a handful to deal with throughout the duration of an entire contest and we saw that first-hand this past week. The Norris Titans put together a week that they should be proud of and in the middle of all of their action was Johnson. As it pertains to players that have size, balanced footwork, athleticism, and discipline, she showed out as one of the best I’ve seen this season on the high school floor throughout the entire state of Nebraska. She has demonstrated a lot of promise on more than one occasion this year and I hope that leads to some opportunities to play at the next level in the future.
Highlights
MaKenna Starkey
MaKenna Starkey
MaKenna Starkey of Minden High School showed off a lot of positives this past week with her Minden team during their State Tournament run. Starkey is a 5’10 Post, that loves to work with her back to the basket. She does great job of posting early on in a possession and working toward the ball every chance she can get. If she doesn’t receive it where she wants, she understands to disengage the situation and move around to a more open spot near the baseline or rim. All in all, I was really impressed with the play of Starkey and what she brought to the table for her team. She does a lot of the “dirty work” that athletes don’t receive thanks for. If she continues to play this way and she continues to put up some nice numbers over the next season, I’m sure there is going to be a college coach or two giving her a call to see what her future might hold.
Jessa Hueser
Jessa Hueser
There were several noteworthy players competing the past week in Lincoln. One of the best that I saw at the Point Guard position was Jessa Hueser of Lincoln Christian. Hueser was a Sophomore this season, who embodied what it means to lead a team by example. She may not always be the player that will lead you in scoring but she is the one that is going to leave everything on the line for her teammates, no matter what that means. It could mean that she is the first on the floor for a loose ball to get a turnover or she is making an extra pass for her shooter to hit a wide-open three pointer on rotation. Whatever her team needs, she is willing to do it and when you combined that with natural skill and better than average height at 5’10, you start to imagine the possibilities that could be. There isn’t a ton of easily accessible information about this Lincoln Christian group but I think it’s safe to say that they have their Point Guard for the next two year moving forward.
Just as you would think that Bridgeport High School is going to lose all their momentum with this Senior Class, they reload. As of most recent, this group brought in some talent Freshman that really made a difference this winter at the Varsity level. One of the most impressive being Point Guard, Olivia Brown Olivia Brown 5’6″ | SG Bridgeport | 2027 NE . I’ve highlighted Brown a few times over the year but this past week, she was fantastic yet again. Her team may not have won their Championship but they gave it a respectable effort in the end with some of their players really showing off what they could do on the brightest of stages. Brown stayed composed, produced on and off of the basketball, and she demonstrated what it means to be a leader more times than not. Something that I love about Brown’s game is that she trust in her off-season work. She knows that if she puts in the time and effort when no one is watching, it’ll make all the difference when everyone is. That speaks volumes, not only to who she is as a player but more-so an individual in general.