PGH Freshman Showcase Review: Teams 4 & 5 #pghfreshmantx

Closing it out with even more talented players I will be following throughout their careers and one more time #TalentIsEverywhere if you know what you're looking at   TEAM 4    King is a "long and athletic" guard who uses her athleticism on both ends of the court. Her defensive pressure in the set stood out in the "3 on 3" games and it expanded to the full court when the "5 on 5" got going. Speaking of "got going", she created her shot and dropped the jumper and also gave me the "catch and shoot" from deep and she scored off the dribble     Warner falls into that #sizedontmatter group because it didn't matter after watching her blow by defenders to score. She's also a "long and athletic" guard, her "on the ball" pressure was nice, yet so was her body control on her finishes after contact. She did a good job seeing the floor as well as creating her shot to drop it from outside, "catch and shoot" 3 included     Gilmore falls into that "never takes a play off" and seeing her go hard on both ends is always a treat. She started with the "3 on 3" and never let up when everything went live and her powerful finishes after contact, and body control played a part and were very nice. She knocked the jumper, "catch and shoot" 3 included, she applied heat defensively and forced turnovers yet her court vision across the board JUST DID IT for me     Speer gave me a glimpse of what's coming and let me start with her comprehension of the game. I always watch for mannerisms and observing her reading the floor told me a lot, so did her deceptive first step to attack the basket and score. She's athletic, did a good job defensively, hit the boards and her court vision was also a plus     Byrd has some scary upside because she's not only "long and athletic", which is the base, but just shy of "the magic number", which is 6'0. She can play multiple positions and watching her handle the ball under pressure in both the "3 on 3" and "5 on 5" and make plays, not only for herself but for her teammates, which was huge. Her court vision across the board was solid, she took the defender off the dribble and elevated to score, elevation continued with her jumper as she dropped the mid to long-range and she also hit the boards on both ends and played solid defense     [player_tooltip player_id='881675' first='Dean' last=''] was another #sizedontmatter guard who immediately showed me she was up for the challenge by applying "on the ball" pressure during the "3 on 3". She's an athletic guard who kept the pressure going when the "5 on 5" started, she picked some pockets and also made the offensive player pick up their dribble, and when you factor in her controlling the tempo, making good decisions and showing solid court vision, all are pluses     Lockhart was another athletic #sizedontmatter guard who immediately grabbed my attention during the "3 on 3" games. She showed she could defend in the set, as well as score off the dribble yet her decision-making also stood out on her passing. All of that remained the same as the heat defensively extended from baseline to baseline during "5 on 5". She scored or dished off the dribble and her court vision in transition was also nice     Martin is heady, on both ends and it showed as she understood the simple things like when to switch during the "3 on 3" as well as reading the floor. She added scoring off the dribble in the "5 on 5" as her slight HEZ coupled with her first step helped to get the fender off balance for her to score. Her court vision across the board was solid, and she also did a good job defending on the ball, but here's a huge one, she understands positioning, and that helped her outrebound taller players    TEAM 5    Knight showed she could score in the "3 on 3" games and watching her set the defender up to attack was nice, did the same in the "5 on 5" yet she also handled the ball under pressure and made good decisions on her passes, court vision in the set as well as transition were solid. She defended both in the half and full-court, plus she created spacing to drop the jumper     Evans mixed it up offensively off the top and she showed she was ready to step up to the plate. Her HEZ keeps getting better and will create problems, yet her body control on her finishes had me smiling. She dropped the jumper from midrange and gave me the "catch and shoot" from deep as well as the "stop and pop" in transition. Her defense was solid and she played the passing lane     Marshall was another athletic guard who did a good job of using her athleticism on both ends. That showed immediately during the "3 on 3" as she applied heat defensively yet her "on the ball" pressure continued "baseline to baseline" in the "5 on 5". She also showed a long first step to finish, body control was nice yet peep this, she understands how to create contact while attacking, huge plus     Hampton gave me a glimpse of what was coming as she made my "Inside The Paint Standouts" from the 3 on 3,<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/09/3-on-3-inside-the-paint-standouts-pghfreshmantx/"> see evaluation here</a> . I mentioned her being "long and athletic" but she's also "strong and athletic" and her hitting the boards and handling it afterward was nice. She also saw the floor in the open court, as well as the set and I mentioned her playing multiple positions because she gave me the "catch and shoot" from outside     Lawson falls into that #szedontmatter group and when you can apply the type of baseline to baseline pressure and create havoc that led to turnovers, it really doesn't matter on that alone. She picked some pockets but she also got steals playing the passing lane and her court vision was solid. She also scored off the dribble, body control was nice as well     Johnson sold me a couple of seasons ago with her club team as Coach Maggie seems to find hidden gems from smaller towns over and over. Johnson made the All-Showcase team,<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/09/2028-freshman-all-showcase-team/"> see evaluation here</a>, and let me add this, here ceiling has no roof     LaCour was yet another #sizedontmatter guard who continues to show "on the court" progression and that showed in the "3 on 3" <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/09/3-on-3-catch-and-shooters-pghfreshmantx/">see evaluation here</a>. She sets the defender up smoothly to attack the basket and score, her body control helps her finish after the lick yet her range keeps getting deeper as she drops it from mid to long. I also noticed her "catch and shoot" with a hand in her face but let me not leave out her "stop and pop" in transition. Court vision across the board, check, on-the-ball defense, double check.     Turney is helping me close it out by being, what else, a #sizedontmatter guard. Okay, she gave me a lot during the "3 on 3"<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2024/09/3-on-3-catch-and-shooters-pghfreshmantx/"> see evaluation here</a> but when you have the "it ain't over until I say it is" mindset, watch out. Her baseline-to-baseline defense was strong, she also defended in the set but she also showed she could facilitate in the "5 on5" and her court vision was a big plus. She handled the ball under pressure, and gave me one of the best crossovers going full speed at the event

Closing it out with even more talented players I will be following throughout their careers and one more time #TalentIsEverywhere if you know what you're looking at