Showtime Showcase: Saturday Morning/Afternoon’s Notes
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Brooke Nichelson KY #6 CG #3 HEIGHT 5'10" POS CG CLASS 2025 View Profile Brooke Nichelson State: Kentucky School: North Laurel I’ve bought my ticket…I’m officially on the Brooke Nichelson Brooke Nichelson 5’10” | CG North Laurel | 2025 State…
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Continue ReadingI’ve bought my ticket…I’m officially on the Brooke Nichelson Brooke Nichelson 5’10” | CG North Laurel | 2025 State KY bandwagon. I’ve seen her highlights on Twitter: a 5’11 positionless player that can do a bit of everything, but is at her best when she’s attacking the rim and pulls out her finishing bag. Whether it’s in transiton or the half court, if she gets a head of steam towards the rim….the defense is in TROUBLE.
Just watch: https://twitter.com/bnichelson21/status/1739795442886492246rnAgain…the kid is 5’11, and you see her as the ball handler in the pick and roll, attacking closeouts, knocking down 3s. She’s legit.
ETA Thunder 25 (Smith) played their first game of the season, beating TN SOL Black 51-30. I texted with Coach Smith, and he said they were very “rusty.” If this is what the rust looks like….the AAU world should be nervous about what this group might look like when polished.
She finished with an easy 10 points and 3 rebounds.
The 5’10 guard did what she does best: get buckets, get rebounds, and defend at a high level. She’s a much better shooter than she showed in this game vs TN SOL Black, but still ended with 10 points and 1 made three. The impressive thing to me about Bystry is that she brings it EVERY game on the defensive end, and on the boards.
Defense and rebounding is mainly effort and mindset. If you WANT to be good, and more importantly—WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO BE GOOD–then you’re halfway there on that end of the floor. While you can’t “will” the ball into the basket on offense, you can “will” your way into being a good defender/rebounder. It’s heart.
Karina Bystry plays with heart. She pulled 7 boards in this game and gave great effort on the defensive end. She plays like a winner….and should have more offers than she does.
I really enjoyed Kyndra West Kyndra West 5’6″ | PG Hardin Valley Academy | 2025 State TN ‘s game vs B Maze Elite Orange. In ETA’s 66-39 win, West had 8 assists! After following her game for a couple years now, it’s just obvious: she’s got old-school PG in her DNA. She’s always thinking about how to impact a game through distributing the ball to her teammates. While she only scored 4….I’m convinced that she’s just in that old-school Steve Nash model. She derives joy in delivering assists. As her senior year approaches though…Hardin Valley is going to need her to be a scorer as well.
She’s a collegiate PG. But what level PG she becomes will be dependent on her ability to balance her wish to distribute with her team’s need for her to score. She’s a better scorer than she’s shown, and Coach Vez and said it himself. In 2024 that’s a nice problem to have–a PG that is a great passer and good scorer, that is probably a bit too unselfish.
Highlights
Mackenna Nix is another kid I’ve been hoping to see in person. On Twitter….she’s a dominant GA player. She’s a 5’11 positionless player that can do a bit of everything. She’s dangerous getting downhill in any situation. When she’s in transition I’ve watcher her take it straight to an opponents chest using her strength, Euro past defenders using her agility, or Barkley into a post up using her skill. She’s developed a 3 point shot, and defends a rebounds at a high level.
On Saturday vs BMaze Elite Orange, I thought she had a great game showing her diversity in skill set: 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. With her athleticism and strength, her upside is HUGE!!
The Kentucky freshman continue to get better and better. If she’s not a D1 kid, I’m not sure what is. She put up 12 points, 4 rebounds, and a block vs BMaze. Versus TN SOL Black she had 9 points 5 rebound and 2 blocks. She impacts the game on both ends….and she’s a ’27!
If you can impact the game the way she can, playing up two grade levels……there is something special in you!! I’ve seen this kid a few times now….and she is SPECIAL.
Kendall Murphy is turning herself into a bucket. Watch her workout videos on twitter and you’ll catch the videos: 22-30 from three, and 29/30 from the FT line for example. She has the size and skill set of a D1 guard.
Against BMaze Elite Orange she was just “on”….finishing with an easy 11 points. She learning how to be a consistent high end scorer (which is so tough to do), but if (and when) she does, it makes Bearden unstoppable next year. When she scored over 15 a game last year, Bearden was basically unbeatable. She’s their “x factor” in my opinion.
Highlights
The Stone Memorial PG is still riding the wave from her dominant post season performance right into AAU. In a dominant win on Saturday afternoon, she had 14 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. I had her as a potential breakout performer for this past season, but….my timing was a bit off. She’s breaking out NOW. Go watch her!
Highlights
Jenna Johnson Jenna Johnson 5'11" | C Oak Ridge | 2025 State TN
Jenna Johnson Jenna Johnson 5'11" | C Oak Ridge | 2025 State TN
Jenna Johnson Jenna Johnson 5’11” | C Oak Ridge | 2025 State TN ‘s game is hard to explain to someone that doesn’t know. I remember seeing her in middle school and thinking to myself: she’s different….but I can’t exactly explain how. Now I now.
Her athleticism and motor make her a game changer on both ends…and in a fast paced game where her opponents let her get up and down….she becomes a deadly scorer as well. She had 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in Trottter ’25s Saturday afternoon win. She probably could have had 20 if she really tried, as the game was fast, full of turnovers, and exactly the ecosystem in which she thrives.