Proving Ground: 2027 Notables
In this article:
The featured image is of Taylor Weyer Taylor Weyer 5'10" | SF Gibson Southern | 2027 IN (2027) of Gibson Southern High School and the Southern Indiana Mavericks 15U. Just a few days ago, Select Events brought the Proving Ground…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Taylor Weyer Taylor Weyer 5'10" | SF Gibson Southern | 2027 IN (2027) of Gibson Southern High School and the Southern Indiana Mavericks 15U.
Just a few days ago, Select Events brought the Proving Ground showcase to Westfield and Lebanon, Indiana, and it drew several of the state’s and region’s top grassroots programs. There were a number of outstanding games at all levels, and there were some big-time individual performances. Below, I wanted to take the time to highlight five ladies from the 2027 class who I felt were notable. They may or may not have been the most talented prospects or had the top performances from the weekend, but I felt like each deserved a mention because of things I saw out of their play at the event. Prospects are arranged alphabetically by last name.
.
Getting to know this class over the better part of the last year, Rylee has clearly stood out as one of the better prospects. However, at the Proving Ground event, she played with a great deal of urgency and looked like a seasoned high school veteran playing “up” in the 16U age group. She was active, communicated with teammates, and led by example. She has nice strength for her age, she’s skilled with the basketball, and she can play inside or out…wherever needed, really. Offensively, she is skilled like a small forward, but defensively, she is best against power forwards and posts.
Highlights
Kaylie is best described as “just a ballplayer”. She is a strong-for-her-age Freshman guard, but most of the things she does skillfully and cognitively are that of an upperclassman. She handles it, passes it, and has a nice general court awareness to her game. I don’t know that she will ever be a track star, but she is a solid on-the-floor athlete who uses her body well to protect the ball, she is learning how to take angles defensively, plus she’s willing to get inside and rebound, she’ll dive on the floor for loose balls, and she’ll do a lot of the things that help you win. She is highly productive for a 2027.
Alyssa is a fun-to-watch, scrappy little guard who plays with a lot of energy. She has very good speed & quickness, great length at her height, and she moves almost effortlessly at times like a water-bug. She stood out to me defensively, as she frustrated opposing ball-handlers trying to get it across halfcourt. Offensively, she looked to shoot/score a little more than facilitate, but she does have some point guard skill, and I think over time that’s how she will be recruited. She definitely did a lot of the “little things” to help her team win, and she has a nice ceiling because she likely isn’t done growing.
Aleah Szymanski
Aleah Szymanski
I didn’t get a long look at Aleah, so I will definitely need to be more finite with my evaluation of her moving forward. However, she is an extremely long, wiry, fluid forward prospect who was playing “up” two age divisions in 17U. She runs the floor well, changes directions fairly easily, and she likely isn’t done growing. Once she finishes, the strength will come, and she will be that much better as a player and a prospect. Until then, she can use her height, length, and athleticism to play a face-up ‘4’ role in the mid-post, and she can even step outside a little to help defensively.
Taylor is an extremely long, athletic, effortful wing who stands out because of her energy each possession. She was flying around the floor when I was able to see her, making plays at both ends. It always seemed like she was the first one to the ball, or she was bounding somewhere in a hurry. She does possess multilevel skill offensively and can knock down an open jumper, glide to the basket off the dribble, or play consistently in the mid-post if necessary. She also shows some versatility defensively, as she can take on some bigger guards, wings, and undersized forwards.