Legacy Classic: Long & Athletic Difference Makers (16U)
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Being a tall and athletic prospect is a blessing. Not everyone is given the height and ability on the hardwood that these players demonstrate on a night-in and night-out basis. In this article we highlight five prospects from this past…
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Continue ReadingBeing a tall and athletic prospect is a blessing. Not everyone is given the height and ability on the hardwood that these players demonstrate on a night-in and night-out basis. In this article we highlight five prospects from this past weekend that competed at the 16U level. Each prospect is someone that has size, skill, and a whole lot of athletic ability!
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Avah Underwood Avah Underwood 6’0″ | SF St. Alberts | 2026 IA is someone to know out of the state of Iowa and she made that obvious this weekend while competing with her Nebraska Supreme 16U team. Underwood is someone that has length, athletic ability, skill with the basketball in her hands, and a high motor. She was someone this weekend that her team could trust in while coming down the stretch of a ball game because of her ability and knowledge of situational basketball. Her Nebraska Supreme 16U team ended up going 4-0 and a big reason for that was because of her production. She was crashing the glass hard on both sides of the floor, she was running her team’s offense to a T, and she was making hustle plays whenever the opportunity presented itself. For high school ball, Underwood competes with St. Albert’s out of Iowa and she is someone that is always a factor in every contest that she laces up for. This past few days she proved that she is a player to watch moving forward out of the 2026 Class. From what I’ve seen, she is one of the better recruits out there, that really has a compete game. If she can build on this momentum moving forward, she is going to be a player we hear a lot more about moving into the future.
This is the second year that I’ve had the chance to sit down and watch Justine Tcheuhchoua Justine Tcheuhchoua 5’11” | SF Omaha Central | 2026 State NE compete. Every time I do, she seems to get better or add to her game in some sort of way. At this event, Justine was really doing a little bit of everything. She was handling her 1 on 1 matchup, she was scoring from all three levels including stepping out and hitting a few three pointers, and she was making the easy play that was given to her by the defender that she was matching up with. Her Nebraska Hoops Elite 16U team is one that runs a 5-0 system, so you have to be able to move off of the ball and pick your spots wisely if you want to be successful. That is something I definetly saw out of Justine this weekend. If she was cut-off or was being pressured, she was smart enough to back cut or move away from the play to create space and this is just one example of how she thinks about the game from a mental standpoint. There is a lot to like with this one. She was someone that was a constant during the high school season this last Winter and she proved that again this weekend.
Air Minnesota is a program that runs some great action throughout all of their grade-levels. Someone that is a Swiss-army knife type prospect for their 16U group is Lillian Morrisey. Morrisey has the ability to go off and have a double-double every game but that is not how she thinks about things. All she is trying to do is make the right play and help out her fellow teammates in the long run throughout the duration of a contest. This weekend that was on full display. Morrisey was one of the first on the floor for loose balls, she was rebounding at a high rate, and she was leaving it all on the floor – effort wise. This is one of those prospects that is willing to always help out others without getting the praise or attention and that is noteworthy. Morrisey is someone that I would personally love to coach. She does a lot of things right and she seems to always keep that positive attitude, even when things aren’t going her way, per se. If she can continue to be a selfless individual, she is going to go places on the hardwood. That’s for sure.
Highlights
In the brief time that I had to sit down and watch Lauren Jackson compete, she demonstrated that she can be a factor in her team’s success in more ways than one. Jackson has some solid size at 5’11 and she moves really well for that size. She understands that hard-work pays off on the both ends of the floor and that was something that was obvious at this event this past weekend. Jackson did a great job of standing out for her Minnesota Bobcats program in a few ways but to me, she really ate on the defensive side of the floor. She was consistently working to front the post against alike sized players, she was making calculated risks while going for loose balls or rebounds, and she was communicating at a high rate to the other teammates on the floor around her. When you combined all of this stuff together, you get someone that can help you win a lot of games throughout the duration of a contest and that what happened this past weekend. I don’t get to see Jackson on the high school floor but I’m sure it’s much of the same and that’s impressive.
Adalee Klein Adalee Klein 6’1″ Vinton Shellsburg | 2027 IA may be a prospect out of the 2027 Class but she has fantastic size and demeanor for her age. Klein was dominating this weekend near the hoop. She was scoring with her back to the basket in waves, she was rebounding at a high rate on both sides of the ball, and she was using her size to her advantage every chance that she could get. On an Iowa prep 2026 Black Team that has some ballers and some great size, Klein stood out as one of the best producers on the floor at all times. She just seemed to make the right plays all weekend long, displaying that she understands the mental side of the game to a T. Sometimes when you have size like this, you can get into foul trouble or get killed on one a certain side of the ball but not Klein. She displayed that she can hold her own at a consistent rate, no matter the situation. If she can keep up this type of play, she is going to be someone out of this Class in Iowa, that we talk about a lot moving forward. She just needs to stay locked in. Something that shouldn’t be too difficult for a prospect with her type of skill-set.