On The Road Again: College Level Prospects To See This Spring
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During this upcoming AAU season I will be on the road 14 weekends providing coverage for both men’s and women’s basketball across the Midwest. In this article we highlight five prospects I’m excited to see from across several different states…
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Continue ReadingDuring this upcoming AAU season I will be on the road 14 weekends providing coverage for both men’s and women’s basketball across the Midwest. In this article we highlight five prospects I’m excited to see from across several different states these next few months. Each prospect is someone I’ve seen compete at a high level over these past few years while usually playing up a grade level or two.
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Out of the state of Iowa, a prospect that just happened to switch AAU programs moving into this Spring season is someone that has shown promise and determination on the court. Every chance she gets to make her presence felt, she does it and it doesn’t matter who her competition may be. The individual that I am speaking about is Adalyn Long Adalyn Long 5’9″ | SG Washington | 2026 State IA of Washington High School. Long just joined up with Pure Prep for this AAU season and I’m sure she is going to be a vital piece to her team’s puzzle. Long is one of those players that just makes it happen. She has a well rounded game, while being solid on both sides of the ball. Offensively, she can score from all three level while displaying a lethal jumper. Defensively, she can stay in the half court and control the tempo or she can pick up in the full court and create some havoc. I’ll have the chance to see Long compete a few times this season in a few different states. If she stays confident in her ability and stays positive, she is going to be someone that we see shining this season. She has the talent, she just needs to know that she can handle any situation thrown at her. Something that is more than do able in my eyes.
Highlights
Rayanna Jenkins will be competing with her AAU team out of Wisconsin once again this Spring/Summer season but I expect to see her at 3-4 different tournaments. Last year Jenkins stood out to myself while walking by a random court. She was clearly her teams most coordinated PG on the squad and she was killing her opponent every chance she got. Jenkins game is one that could translate to the collegiate level at the end of her high school career. She was someone that played up on Varsity as a Freshman, showing her worth to her program almost immediately. As her high school career moved forward, she kept showing growth and promise in her play styles. I’m not sure when everyone else is going to realize it but Jenkins could feast on a collegiate court in the right situation. She is fast, displays smart antics, she can shoot it, and she doesn’t settle for bad shots. If you put her in Pick & Roll situations with space, she is VERY tough to stay in front of defensively as she can score it from all three levels or she can dish it off to her Post for an assist. A lot of success on the court comes down to situational basketball and Jenkins has shown that she can do well in most, if not all situations presented.
Highlights
Riley Schellhammer
Riley Schellhammer
Recently the State of Iowa and Nebraska have come out with their initial WL for the 2028 Class, while highlighting some of the top young prospects throughout those States. Another prospect out of the 2028 Class, who I can’t wait to see on the road this Spring is Riley Schellhammer out of Indiana. Schellhammer is the clear favorite for the #1 player out of the 2028 Class in that state moving into her Freshman year of high school this Winter. At the moment she is currently playing up and getting significant minutes on Indiana Elite 3SSB’s 16U team for the AAU season but that isn’t going to satisfy her. Schellhammer already checks off a lot of boxes that collegiate recruiters have when they are looking to bring in a player. She has athletic ability, a crisp handle, the ability to shoot the ball from any distance, a willingness to assist open teammates, and she can defend like her life depends on it. As of most recent, she has taken a visit to the University of Florida to see what’s up. This doesn’t come as a surprise though as she has already received official offers from Valpo and Long Beach State to continue on her basketball career after high school. Honestly, this is only the start of it all. I know that she is getting calls on the daily trying to get her on collegiate campus’s for a visit. If she steps into her Freshman season and competes on the Varsity floor right away, I’m sure that list is going to continue growing over time but we will just have to wait and see.
Last AAU season, my very first tournament doing coverage for the year I sat down in Chicago and had a chance to watch Anna Campanelli compete. Almost right away, Campanelli showed that she was a prospect that I needed to know about. She was getting steal after steal, usually finishing the play in transition. She was scoring in the half court with ease. She was hitting shots from all three levels and most importantly – she did all of this while playing up a grade level. Since this time, Campanelli has received a ton of interest from the D1 levels throughout the Midwest and it makes sense as to why. She moves effortlessly when she has the ball in her hands but she doesn’t need the ball to be productive each play. She has demonstrated that she can produce no matter the situation and that’s going to be a major key to her success down the road. If she can continue to display this during the AAU season and over the next few years that she can fit into several different types of systems, she is going to be someone that every college recruiter wants to talk to. Those players are a rarity in my eyes and so that she can do this at a high level already, just speaks to what her game could become in the end. I’m excited to be able to step in this upcoming weekend and see her compete again. If she just worries about herself, she is going to be a standout once again.
Grace Lucero-Miner
Grace Lucero-Miner
I wouldn’t usually go into too much detail about prospects that are still in middle school unless I’m covering a specific event but what Grace Lucero-Miner brings to the table is SPECIAL. Lucero-Miner is a prospect out of the 2029 Class and she is one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen at the middle school level. Earlier this Spring, she came out to compete at a Top 48 Showcase in Iowa, that brought in prospects from all across the Midwest. In this event, Lucero-Miner competed with an injury and still lit it up from deep. She was doing so well at one point, I think I called her “Mini Jimmer”, in reference to Jimmer Ferdette and how well they can both shoot the basketball. My biggest question I will have for Lucero-Miner over her career will be if she is going to settle. She is so good at shooting the ball, it’s her go to and there is nothing wrong with that because once she let’s it go, it always looks like it is going in but sometimes the defense overplays her shot. To a point where she could pump fake and drive by for an easy finish at the rim if she were to choose to. If she can adapt to situations and show that she isn’t going to ONLY shoot three pointers, then she is going to straight up kill teams over her career. I think she is starting to realize all of this more and more as she grows up but we will have to see her put it into action firsthand this AAU season. Something I will personally be around to witness when it happens.