Junior Post Players Ready for a BIG Grassroots Summer Season

As juniors, the excitement of the summer before your senior year is hard to contain in just 3 months of play. Here are some junior post players that are ready to take over the paint and summer exposure season. Put these names on your watchlist for the summer grassroots season and beyond.    It is Pickett's time for an explosive summer. This junior has only been playing since the 8th grade, her improvement has truly been exponential. Marley is big AND mobile. She uses her body well and moves her feet to keep her position on the block and make her a strong target. With very few bad habits when it comes to her moves in the paint, it is going to be exciting to watch her combine her natural power with skillful footwork this summer. With an excellent soft touch, she can be a multi-level threat on offense when hitting shots from the high post. Defensively, Marley is all that you would expect and more. She easily pushes offense players off the block and out of the paint to take position. Matched with being a rebounding machine and getting nearly 3 blocks per game, Pickett is set to have an exciting summer.     This PF puts the "Power" in forward. She plays great with her back to the basket. She has excellent hands because she uses her body so well to keep her position on the block. At easily 6'1", she makes her fundamental moves with the ball high, above most others on the court for easy finishes. Starks, can takeover the forward position. She has the ability to catch at the high post, or short corner, get to the hoop for strong buckets, or hit those 2pt jumpers. On defense, Knakai owns the paint. Her huge wingspan makes her the perfect shot blocker for smaller guards that have made their way to the paint. Look for Starks to takeoff this summer into a memorable senior season.     Burns is very exciting to watch, she is not your normal post player. At 6'0", she has the fundamental skills to get points on the block. Her footwork is great and she uses her power well to earn buckets and freethrows from her play in the paint. Deja is incredibly quick and has really good handles for a post player. She can easily pull her defenders away from the basket to get around them for layups or 2pt jumpers. That quickness is another advantage for Burns as she outruns players to both ends for easy layups and to be a defensive stop for her team. On D, she is again a force all over the floor. She uses her strength to get stops in the paint, but also she can be put on the wing to use her height to get traps and steals from dribblers and shooters. A productive exposure summer is ripe for the picking for Burns.     Baseman is a lefty with both power and quickness. A shorter forward, she uses her strength very well to keep her competitive in the paint against taller players. On the defensive end she can easily displace a taller post player from the block, her quickness giving her the advantage just outside the paint. She is a beast in the passing lanes, getting steals and layups for her team every game. Her strength, also makes her a great rebounder, even over taller players. Offenvisvely, Ana recognizes her advantage is in pulling the taller players away from the paint. She is very strong with one to two powerful dribbles to the basket. She has a very soft touch and is a reliable shooter for her team from 2pt and even 3pt range. Baseman can play multiple positions this summer prepping her for her senior season at Northfield.     Playing at a smaller school does not stop this PF from being dominant on the court. Averaging a double-double for the Wolves, Hickey is definitely a force in the paint. Listed at only 5'9" you would never know it. She skys above taller post players for rebounds on both ends, with nearly 7 offensive boards per game for put back points for her team. Her quickness puts her in the passing lanes, getting steals and easy layups. Da'Naiya uses her quickness to her advantage on offense as well. She runs the floor very well, with really good hands to get easy points and make taller post player tired. She can score with her back to the basket and from the mid-range. Notching just over 22 points per game, she can score from all over the floor. The momentum from her impressive high school season will propel this junior to an equally impressive summer.

As juniors, the excitement of the summer before your senior year is hard to contain in just 3 months of play. Here are some junior post players that are ready to take over the paint and summer exposure season. Put these names on your watchlist for the summer grassroots season and beyond.