Five Sleeper Performances at the Florida Expo

There were a lot of great performances at the Expo. Some players stood out in every category, but when you break down the notes and game tape, you realize that there were "Big-Time performances by a lot of players at the Expo. In this article, we look at the performance of these players who were the biggest sleepers at the Expo.    [player_tooltip player_id='1035248' first='Ava' last='Rivera'] was as good as advertised. She averaged a double-double last season (12 points, 17 rebounds), and she is a legitimate and walking double-double. Rivera was a standout at the Expo, doing a little of everything and displaying a lot of skills in her repertoire, including a high basketball IQ. One play that comes to mind from the Expo was a pass she made to one of her teammates. Rivera attacked the rim relentlessly and drew a double team. She then sees her teammate is being overplayed by one of the top defenders in the building. Rivera throws a back-shoulder pass like a quarterback, and her teammate Grant catches the pass and scores on the left side of the paint. Rivera averaged 17 rebounds per game and she was a beast on the boards at the Expo.     [player_tooltip player_id='933334' first='Shelby' last='Gaines'] gained a lot of respect at the Florida Expo. Gaines's quickness, speed, and lateral movement were really impressive and allowed her to be a problem on the floor. She was all up in the space of ball handlers, and she made her presence felt against some really good ball handlers at the Expo. Offensively, Gaines is a very good slasher who has the ability to draw the defense and kick to the open teammate. Gaines was impressive with her ability to stop on a dime and pull up in the midrange area.       allowed her to play down on the blocks as well. [player_tooltip player_id='1038209' first='Ana' last='Leka'] was impressive all day long and was probably one of the "biggest sleepers in the building. Leka showed she could play in the paint, and she dissected most of the defenses she faced. In the 3 x 3 segment of the Expo, she stood out. Leka showed some crafty footwork, and her fade-away-left-handed jumper was sweet. Leka had some nice handles as well. She used an in-and-out dribble and a between-the-leg crossover to put the defense on its heels. Her ability to pull up after creating that separation and knocking down the three was "nice". Leka's versatility was apparent in her play on the blocks. She has good height and has developed a nice back-to-the-basket move. Her fade-away jumper allows her to create space against taller players and it was very effective.     [player_tooltip player_id='346885' first='Mikayla' last='Paschal'] came to the Expo, and as usual, she left a mark on the event. Paschal is relentless on the offensive end and makes the opponent play or get embarrassed. Paschal provided the Expo with some ideal matchups, and Paschal more than held her own. Paschal is comfortable playing with the ball in her hand and can get 4s and 5s who have to cover her on the perimeter. Paschal was matched up against some of the top 4s at the camp and showed that she can rebound and defend in the paint as well as on the perimeter. Paschal battled all weekend, and though she had some nice offensive moments at the expo, it was her ability to play a physical style and battle on the inside against some physical players that earned praise this weekend.     [player_tooltip player_id='430268' first='Camryn' last='Smith'] walked into the gym and was launching threes immediately. Smith has a very nice shooting stroke and does a good job of getting to her spots and positioning herself for her shoot. Smith has a smooth release and shoots the ball with great confidence. She is the kind of player who a team has to account for because of her shooting ability and the ability to string up 5 or 6 in a row. She moved the ball well and showed a lot of basketball IQ with her understanding of spacing and setting up her shot.

There were a lot of great performances at the Expo. Some players stood out in every category, but when you break down the notes and game tape, you realize that there were "Big-Time performances by a lot of players at the Expo. In this article, we look at the performance of these players who were the biggest sleepers at the Expo.