Kansas City Clash: Saturday Morning Standouts (16U/17U)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw a handful of talented prospects compete and do their thing on Saturday morning at the PGH Kansas City Clash. In the article below I highlight five individuals that did a great job of standing out in their first contests of this event. Each player put together rememberable games, no matter if their team ended up winning or losing when the final buzzer sounded. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["904761"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Jehsa Opoku-Athena started off this weekend with an impressive first contest of the day for her [program_tooltip program_id='712694' first='Missouri' last='Phenom'] KC 2025 squad. Jehsa is a tall and athletic big, that understands her role. She has noteworthy size and a nasty drop step when she has time with her back to the basket offensively. She also understands spacing. More time than not she is moving away from the play to open space near the rim but she also knows when to cut to the hoop for an easy bucket when her defender falls asleep. In this contest she did a little bit of everything near the rim but most importantly - she was this teams heart and soul down low. A few weeks ago when I saw this group compete, she was not in attendance and that made a big difference. If she can continue to expand her game while showing she can do everything on both sides of the basket at an equal and efficient rate, she is going to be a prospect who producers on any type of floor she steps on in the future.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["758842"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Prior to this event I highlighted Lucy Fierro as a prospect to watch out for and she put on a show Saturday morning with her Omaha Supreme 2025 team. Fierro is playing up a grade level but by watching her, you'd never be able to tell. She is a shifty guard with the ball on a string when she handles and she understands that her job is to create for others on the offensive end with the pass. She may be undersized but she has great skill moves, a crafty play style, and she can knock down shots on rotation off the catch. Not to mention that she is a monster on defense. The type of player that loves to pick up her matchup in the full court just to throw them off their game as the contest dwindles down. This won't be the last we will hear about Fierro. She is someone that is dedicated to this game and that can take you far in this sport at the end of the day.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["643471"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Abbie Myer is a someone to know from the [program_tooltip program_id='712993' first='Team' last='Trae Young'] 2026 Thompson squad. This is an individual that absolutely dominated her matchups throughout the day and especially in her team's first contest on Saturday. Myer has size, she moves well with her length, and she is an offensive weapon. To kick things off in game one, she won the jump ball to start the contest, a moment later she drove it all the way to the rack for a bucket, than the very next play she came down the floor and gave a nasty assist to an open teammate that was sitting underneath the basket. From there she basically went on to dominate the whole game at a high level, helping her team pull out a victory in the end. This 2026 Thompson group has some ballers. They have 3/4 prospects that we are going to hear about over the next few days because of their production and fundamental play-styles. If they compete as a team and continue to work hard, the sky is the limit for this group in more ways than one.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["877082"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Someone that lite it up from all three levels offensively on Saturday, while being a stout defender against a very talented opponent was [player_tooltip player_id='877082' first='Olivia' last='Haase'] of [program_tooltip program_id='713014' first='MO' last='Legacy'] 2026. Haase started off the contest by banging two 3 pointers from deep behind the three point line and then she proceeded to score at the basket off the dribble for the rest of the contest. One of the biggest factors I take into consideration when scouting a player is figuring out if they settle. Haase could have easily just kept shooting threes but instead, when the defense overplayed her, she made them pay. In the end, her team may have fallen but that's not the point. She demonstrated that she works hard, makes others around her better, and she is skilled in her own right while doing so. That's something you love to see as a coach or from an outside perspective at the end of the day.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Emma Loehnig","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"12124","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"Kansas Elite 2025 - Zar ","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Emma Loehnig did a little bit of everything in her team's early morning contest on Saturday. I would describe Loehnig's game as intriguing. She isn't the tallest but she has great strength and demeanor next to the basket. She is someone that loves physical play and she works hard when she has a 1v1 matchup with her back to the basket at any given moment. On both sides of the floor she rebounds better than most I've seen this AAU season, always seeming to find a board when her team needs it the most. Her group started things off with a big win early on in this event and a big part of that was due to her hustle and determination. I'm not sure how she fairs on the high school court but I would be shocked if she didn't produce solid numbers each game, every time she takes the floor. She seems to play with a chip on her shoulder and that usually translates to success in one way or another.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-663fe23177e45"} /-->