Other Standouts From Romeoville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today, we'll close the book on the events in Romeoville, highlighting some other standouts I saw in all age levels I watched games from. After that, we'll start looking ahead to the rest of the AAU season before this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='878030' first='Keiveana' last='Petersons']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I hadn't heard of Petersons before last weekend and did some tiny background research on her earlier this week. I found she's a talented volleyball kid. However, I thought she was excellent on the basketball court this past weekend. She made herself available around the basket with her cuts and rolls off screens and finished around the rim. She's still raw, but she has the potential to play at the college level if she wants to pursue basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='540647' first='Francesca' last='Mclain']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each time I see McLain, I feel like she's better than the last time I saw her play. The work she's put in shows how well her game has progressed. I've seen her facilitate, make tough shots, defend high-level wings, and she's gotten stronger over the past few years. She hit some massive threes in her Midwest Elite team's first game last Friday and was pivotal in determining the outcome of that game. She's not a kid who shows a ton of emotion on the court, but she's always been a do-it-all kid who you can throw into any situation and find success. That's how skilled McLain is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879727' first='Yanni' last='Smith']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I believe I'd heard of Smith in the past and knew that she was talented, but she makes everything look easy. No matter what was in front of her, Smith looked like she knew what to do the second she touched the ball, which was pure confidence and poise. She did anything she wanted when she was on the floor and looked like one of the best kids over the entire weekend. I'm sure we'll hear more about the Whitney Young guard as the 2027 ages and continues to improve. She was a joy to watch for the first time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='840771' first='Samantha' last='Jansey']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Batavia guard is another kid I hadn't heard of from Illinois, but it took one three late in the first half of a game I was watching to ask an M14 coach I was sitting next to who she was, and they just chuckled. She hit a few more threes in the game I watched, but the footwork and speed she gets her shot up would suggest that she's rushing shots up, but they're pure each time it leaves her hand. I could watch this kid shoot for hours and still be mesmerized by how well she can shoot it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->