Kansas City Clash: Unsung Heros (16U/17U)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Being an unsung hero for your team can mean everything. It can make or break your team in the aspects of winning and losing a contest, it can be the difference in whether your team has a successful season as a whole, and it can impact the fact of being recruited or not to compete at the college level at the end of the day. In the article below, we cover five prospects that showed out this weekend as unsung heros for their perspective teams. Each player is someone that took the court over the past few days and showed their worth in a number of different ways, all while keeping a positive attitude when things may have not gone their way.</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":["779216"],"_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":"KK Emmot was a fantastic guard prospect this past weekend who made the most out of her opportunities on both ends of the floor. Emmot is a Shooting Guard, that understands her own ability and her role on her team [program_tooltip program_id='712694' first='Missouri' last='Phenom'] 2027 EYBL team. Within a program and on a squad that has several D1 prospects, Emmot showed out as one of the best over the past few days while her team was competing. She was getting to her spots on the offensive end and knocking down three's at a high rate. She was putting the ball on the floor and running her team's offense whenever she was called upon to do so. All while locking in defensively to her opponent on the other side of the floor. You may not think it but KK has the ability to become one of the best players from this group down the line. She is smooth with the ball and she has a fundamental but impressive shooting stroke, which was on full display all weekend long. If she continues to expand her game and she is put in a possession to be successful on the floor, she is going to be someone that several collegiate recruiters will want to talk to down the line. She is a difference maker in almost every way imaginable and that is something you notice almost right away while watching her compete.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["572987"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='572987' first='Ky'Liin' last='Johnson-Cooper'] is a floor general. Someone that can handle at a high rate, run her team's offense, and go get you a bucket when you might need it the most. Johnson-Cooper plays on a team that is going to have a few players that compete at a high collegiate level at the end of the day and she could turn out to be one of the best. She does a fantastic job of leading by example every time down the floor, letting it be known that she is a vocal and emotional leader for her squad. I had the chance to see several talented PG's the past few days and Johnson-Cooper was one of the best. She played simple but smart basketball and because of that, her team was extremely successful in each one of their contests. At this rate, if she can continue to ball out like this, she is going to be a hot commodity in the recruiting world, if she isn't already. Her game speaks for itself and that is something you love to see.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["803056"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='803056' first='Simone' last='Walker'] is a handful out on the floor. Walker is a taller and more agile Forward, that has a physical presence near the basket on almost every possession down the floor. Walker stands right over 6'0, she does her work early on in possessions, and she is someone that her team can rely on to make a play on either side of the ball when it's crunch time at the end of a contest. She is someone that is very good in the departments of rebounding and playing with her back to the basket on the offensive end. If she is ever given time and space, she does a thorough job of making a powerful move up to the rim, going over either shoulder, usually finishing through contact more times than not. If she does happen to get fouled, she is a consistent free throw shooting, making her opponents pay for their mistake. Walker's ceiling is high. She is someone that could be a high end college player at the end of her basketball career at this rate. This weekend she did a little bit of everything near the paint while helping her team to victory and that was blatantly obvious.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["643471"],"_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":"There are not enough good things that I could say about [player_tooltip player_id='643471' first='Abbie' last='Myers'] and her work ethic on the basketball court. Myers is someone that I featured a little bit to kick off the weekend but her past few days at this event were impressive to say the least. Myers is a lengthy guard, with a nice skill-set. She has good size, she can playing multiple positions on the offensive end of the floor while producing, and she can defend opponents that are bigger or smaller than her on the defensives side of things. On multiple occasions this weekend, Myers was the best prospect on the floor and it wasn't necessarily close. She demonstrated that she can really do it all at her position over everyone that was trying to get in her way and that speaks volumes to who she is as a prospect. The [program_tooltip program_id='712993' first='Team' last='Trae Young'] 2025 Thompson squad has some ballers and Myers stood out as their best during this event. If she keeps up this momentum, there are a handful of colleges out there that would be lucky to get their hands on her down the road.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["766876"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Dalia Durant has a flame thrower on her from deep when she is shooting the basketball and that was on full display the last couple of days at this event for her Omaha Supreme 2025 team. Durant understands that her best ability is shooting the basketball. She brings solid athleticism, a smart head on her shoulders, and a positive style of gameplay to the floor but her best ability by far is shooting the rock. This weekend she was doing more of that and letting her abilities shine through. She was setting up from all three levels for some great catch-and-shooting action, she was hustling back on the defensive end and staying in front of her opponent in the open court, and she was making the simple play a majority of the time. If Durant were to play in a system in the future where she would be primarily letting the ball go from deep off of screens, she would thrive. There is simply no other way to put it. She needs to be set in an offense where she is getting the Kyle Korver treatment. Whenever she set's a screen, she receives five in that same possession. If she does that, stays confident in her ability, and doesn't force any action, she would thrive and that's something we saw this weekend in Kansas City first-hand.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6642329183982"} /-->