PGH Midwest Extravaganza: JB’s Saturday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend I had the task of evaluating our PGH Midwest Extravaganza. This weekend was jam packed with action from the 12U level all the way to the 17U level, competing on multiple courts in the Chicagoland area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the day I have been taking live-notes on prospects and really diving into what makes each of those players tick. In this article we go-over some of those notes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#31 - [player_tooltip player_id='743617' first='Maddie' last='Kelly'] - 2027 - [program_tooltip program_id='715556' first='Illinois' last='Dream'] 16U Pink</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>"Kelly makes a lot of great moves going toward the hoop off the dribble. She doesn't seem to settle for bad shot attempts often but she is willing to force herself all the way to the bucket - almost too a fault. Offensively, she can switch things up in the blink of an eye and adapt into finding an open teammate or she can bring it back out and run some time off the clock. If you watched this game for more than 5 minutes, you know Kelly was a constant on both sides of the ball almost every other play. She was always in the action and that was noticeable." </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 - [player_tooltip player_id='514936' first='Malika' last='Jenkins'] - 2027 - [program_tooltip program_id='834910' first='Example' last='Sports'] UA 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>"Example Sport UA 2027 made a big comeback on Saturday morning. With about a minute left, it was still anyone's game when [player_tooltip player_id='514936' first='Malika' last='Jenkins'] crossed over her defender, causing them to fall down, eventually finishing the possession with a step-back three pointer by Jenkins to go up 5. Prior to this, Jenkins played a respectable game. Nothing too crazy but she helped her crew get the job down and that's all that matters."</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#14 - [player_tooltip player_id='1104562' first='Ziko' last='Okolo'] - 2027 - Mac Irvin Fire 16U</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>"There is a ton of upside and future potential to [player_tooltip player_id='1104562' first='Ziko' last='Okolo'] of Mac Irvin Fire 16U. Okolo has size, a soft touch, coordination, and muscle to pair along with that size. She is already a force in the rebounding department at this time and that skill is only going to get better with experience. She did a lot of promising things, kept good pace for her size, and in the grand scheme of things - she demonstrated that she might be a problem on the hardwood in the future as long as she continues to work."</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1 - [player_tooltip player_id='1227046' first='Ashley' last='Powell'] - 2026 - [program_tooltip program_id='714222' first='BIG3' last=''] 17U</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>"Sometimes you can see someone across the gym warming up and you can tell that they have some skill to their game. In [player_tooltip player_id='1227046' first='Ashley' last='Powell']'s case, she showed early on in the day that she was a knock down shooter off the catch. Powell didn't start for her squad in the contest that I had the chance to observe but she came in and made the most of her opportunities. She caught and hit jumpers on demand, she made easy but impactful plays off the ball with her movement, and she played with a positive attitude even when things didn't go her team's way. Powell has a beautiful shooting stroke when she has time and that alone might be able to take her to the next level someday."</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 - [player_tooltip player_id='901833' first='Avani' last='Williams'] - 2028 - [program_tooltip program_id='712446' first='Chicago' last='Hoops Express'] 2028</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>"[player_tooltip player_id='901833' first='Avani' last='Williams'] is the player you love to play with and coach but the player that you HATE to play or coach against. For being a 2028, Williams has great size, lengthy arms, a quick first step going either direction, and she plays with a chip on her shoulder. She welcomes contact and loves to get physical, no matter what the situation might entail. When you have that from your PG/CG, it's promising. Especially considering that she excels in the little things like handling the rock, facilitating others, and being someone that her team a rely in during crucial moments."</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->