PGH Legacy Region Kick-Off Standouts
In this article:
There was plenty of action from OAW these past few days, and plenty I didn’t get to see in person that I’ll have to go back and watch on BallerTV, but let’s talk about some kids who caught my eye…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThere was plenty of action from OAW these past few days, and plenty I didn’t get to see in person that I’ll have to go back and watch on BallerTV, but let’s talk about some kids who caught my eye over the weekend.
Nyajuacni Riak Nyajuacni Riak Madison Lafollette | 2028 WI
I feel like the chatter around the weekend was about Riak’s talent. She’s a 2028 playing up two age levels for Purple Aces , and even with some extremley highly thought-of kids, I believe Riak has the highest ceiling of anyone in Waukesha this past weekend. She’s got the size and length for a wing you can’t teach, and she hasn’t even gotten to high school yet. There are some things she can do on a basketball court that most people couldn’t even dream of, and from what I’ve heard, she’s done training for a while but hasn’t done many 5-on-5 things in a team setting. Some of that shows itself on the floor, but when I say that if she wants to, she could be among the best basketball players this state has ever produced, and that’s a lofty statement, but it’s something she could become.
Samantha Becker Samantha Becker 5'8" Cedar Rapids Washington | 2026 State IA
Team Iowa is known for being fundamentally sound and makes their opposition beat them because they won’t make mistakes and take themselves out of a game, and Becker is a perfect example of that. As her team’s lead guard, she doesn’t turn the ball over much, makes free throws, and makes open shots. Nothing about her is physically imposing, but she makes winning plays every time she’s on the floor, which doesn’t mean she’s creating off the dribble and making contested pull-ups. Becker’s making the right basketball play 90% of the time.
Taressa Hennes Taressa Hennes 6'0" | SF Hartford Union | 2027 State WI
Hennes has improved tenfold over the past 12 months. She’s always been athletic and shown flashes of being an elite defensive wing, and Hennes showed that this past weekend. However, I thought she was extraordinary on the offensive end. I thought Hennes had a reliable little turnaround jumper around five to ten feet in front of the basket and rose over her defender each time the Hartford Oriole wanted to get to that shot. Nobody could consistently contest her shot, and she made plenty of those. Over the next three years, if she can get to that shot and make it routinely, she’ll be tough for defenses to handle.
Lana Mannetter Lana Mannetter 6'0" | CG Westosha Central | 2028 WI
I did not know who Mannetter was as a player heading into this weekend. However, it took about two possessions to pick up on the fact that she’s got a chance to be an elite player in Wisconsin’s 2028 class. She’s a legitimate 6-0, can shoot it from the perimeter, and can knife her way to the rim whenever she wants. Sometimes, Manetter looked like she got pushed around by some older kids, but she’d always answer with an excellent play on either end of the floor. She’s far from the finished product and should be, considering she hasn’t had her first day in high school yet, but the top of the 2028 class looked healthy at OAW this past weekend.