PGH Freshman Showcase Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yesterday, in Appleton, we had our third PGH Freshman Showcase. I enjoy seeing the new faces of high school basketball before the season, and plenty of players at the event will make their mark on the high school season this winter. I'll highlight every player from the event over the next ten days, but I'd like to start by highlighting a few players who impressed me most with their skills, hustle, and attitude during the Freshman Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1231959' first='Aniya' last='Jones']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I knew a few names of players before the event started, mainly from seeing a few 14U groups play this past weekend, or knowing siblings of the incoming freshman. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1231959' first='Aniya' last='Jones'] is not a name I was familiar with beforehand, but I became well aware of who she is after the weekend. Jones excelled in the 3v3 portion of the event, and she was a handful for defenders to contain anytime I saw her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229383' first='Natalie' last='Rudnick']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Seymour incoming freshman is a player who's impressed multiple people throughout the camp season from around the Midwest. Rudnick is a physical player who can play through contact around the basket and is expected to have success at the high school level. However, her ability to shoot the ball is what will jump out most when people see her play. She played well, and I didn't even feel like she had her best day, so there's plenty to be excited about for Coach Oskey at Seymour.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1227848' first='Alyanna' last='Moore']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moore was an impressive lead guard who made countless plays with the ball in her hands. Her ability to push the ball up the floor in transition to create for herself or her teammates helped her team look as well as they could, considering most of them probably didn't know each other coming into the event.<strong> </strong>I loved how competitive she was.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maria Pluemer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I thought that Pluemer may have been the most impressive defender at the event yesterday. I first watched her for a few possessions in the 3v3 portion, and she made impact plays defensively on both occasions. Her ability to be an impactful defender will help her to get on the floor at a traditional defensive power in Brookfield East, and her offensive game appears ready for high-profile high school basketball. Her sister is the all-time leading scorer in program history, and she's ready to leave her mark on the program over the next four years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->