Under-the-Radar Standouts This Spring

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tomorrow, I'll release the rankings update for the 2027 class. Before then, I'd like to highlight some under-the-radar players that have intrigued me this summer. I want to use today to talk about kids earning more shine this AAU season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879668' first='Adaleah' last='Nest']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SPASH had come down to play in the KM Thanksgiving Classic in the past but didn't this year. Due to that, I hadn't seen Nest in over a year, except on streams. In New Berlin two months ago, Nest looked excellent. She had a poise to her game that I didn't remember her having. She got her team comfortable and found an offensive rhythm that worked for them, and she made shots. The more I've seen her, the more I've liked her, and she's been a part of one of the more surprising AAU teams in the state at the 17U level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='884592' first='Ahnya' last='Terry']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anytime you look at undersized frontcourt players, you have to dive into the weeds to describe them as a next-level kind of player, which Terry has the potential to be. Standing at about 5'8 or 5'9, to be effective, you have to have a motor that runs higher than every other frontcourt player on the floor, which Terry does. The other thing is her finishing ability around the basket with both hands. Terry can finish creatively around the rim to negate the size advantage that she may never have around the basket. I also like her ability to be physical and rebound around the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='884001' first='Cassidy' last='Hemauer']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players like Hemauer give their teammates an outlet to get out of pressure or spread the defense out. The Muskego wing is a Swiss army knife. She's a physical kid who can get downhill and play through contact, space the floor well beyond the three-point line, put the ball on the floor, and make something happen when the ball gets rotated to her. Hemauer is a solid athlete who can defend a few positions and stay in front of some guards. She's a kid who's started to pop a little this Spring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448301' first='Amaria' last='Kejo']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love watching post players with solid touch around the basket, and Kejo is one of them. She's a physical kid who can play through traffic and has excellent balance, which helps her play through contact. The junior was a part of a stubborn defensive unit for Fond du Lac this season and helped them compete against some of the top teams in the state when most didn't expect them to, including myself. Kejo's ability to physically compete around the basket helped the Cardinals control that area of the floor defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->