"The Finale": Saturday Summary, Part 2

The last NCAA "live" period of 2024 is upon us, and for the 2025 class, it's the last grassroots tournament most of these ladies will play in their careers. Indiana prospects have traveled to Rockhill, South Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky, for tournaments, while I've followed a large group to Hamilton, Ohio, for "The Finale". Here there is a regular tournament, the Under Armour Finals, and the UA Rise Finals. Saturday, I spent some time watching a mixture of prospects, but several younger players really stood out. Below is a look at several more prospects who I felt played well during the second day of games.   .    With Melina hailing from California, this was my first time seeing her. But she did leave an impression. She is a fairly long, somewhat bouncy, and all-around skillful forward who made plays at both ends of the floor. Offensively, she was athletic attacking the baselines and driving it from the elbows. She showed touch around 15-feet, plus she was an active rebounder. Defensively, she looked like she could sit down and defend wings, forwards, and even undersized posts, plus she blocked/affected several shots as a 5-11 forward.     Norwell is a "system" program, and they tend to just reload from year to year. With a number of key graduates in 2024, Addison looks to step into a much bigger role in 2024-2025, and Saturday she looked like she can contribute in a few different ways. She has really nice length at her height, speed, some bounce, and she plays with a nice motor. She handled it some, more to create than run offense, but she was solid with the ball. She also showed some touch from outside and the ability to get rhythm quickly. Additionally, she was an active defender.     Greensburg will be absolutely loaded with talent for a Class 3A school this season, and Aly is just another one of their standout guards. She has nice length, developing strength, and she has been much more consistent absorbing contact and finishing at the basket this Spring & Summer. She always plays extremely hard, plus she is fast, bouncy, and tough-nosed. She can knock down a jumper, get to the rim, and she seems to really enjoy getting after it defensively. I think she could be a multiyear, all-conference caliber, elite small college performer.     Riley made an immediate impact for Franklin Central as a rookie, and I'd anticipate her to continue being vital for their success moving forward. She is a true floor general, she handles pressure, gets the ball where it needs to go, plus she has toughness and some leadership skills. She is a capable scorer as well, and she can bury shot after shot from the perimeter when she gets rhythm. But her speed and quickness at the point, her ability to make quick decisions, and her presence as a pesky on-ball defender make her one of the better point guard prospects in 2027.     Alexis was extremely entertaining to watch Saturday afternoon. She was playing "up" two age groups, and despite that, along with her size, she was very impactful. She plays with the mind of a Senior, she has great change of pace, she takes care of the basketball, and she didn't panic under pressure. She is quick/fast, feisty, and strong for her size. She moved the ball well, seemed to see one pass ahead, plus she has some touch from around the perimeter. She is a really nice, pure point guard prospect who can help a team win games.     Watching Paige on Saturday, she looked stronger, more confident, as well as more immediate in her decision-making. She is a physical, almost powerful back-to-the-basket front-liner. She moves and is able to play out on the floor like a power forward, but she also likes to post up and abuse smaller defenders around the block. She is a versatile defender at her size, an active rebounder, plus she rotates to "help" well on defense. Extending her range from the mid-post to the perimeter could really open up many more possibilities for her offensively.     I have had Aubree's name for a little while, but Saturday was my first time to see her at some length. Though I wasn't able to see their entire game, I did see most of the second half, and she had a nice stretch where she smoothly buried a couple of jumpers from 3-point range, and she scored one at the basket. She handled it a little in transition, trying to push tempo, but right now I would consider her more of a shooting guard. She has some strength to her frame, and she is a solid all-around athlete in most directions.

The last NCAA "live" period of 2024 is upon us, and for the 2025 class, it's the last grassroots tournament most of these ladies will play in their careers. Indiana prospects have traveled to Rockhill, South Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky, for tournaments, while I've followed a large group to Hamilton, Ohio, for "The Finale". Here there is a regular tournament, the Under Armour Finals, and the UA Rise Finals. Saturday, I spent some time watching a mixture of prospects, but several younger players really stood out. Below is a look at several more prospects who I felt played well during the second day of games.