PGH Freshman Showcase: Team 2 evaluations, part 2

Over 100 freshmen attended this year's Freshman Showcase at Maple Grove Jr. High, truly making it an exciting event. Join me as I provide detailed player-by-player evaluations. Here's the 2nd part of the assessments for Team 2.    Thomas (pictured above) is easily among the top prospects in the 2029 class. With great size and a polished inside-out game, she poses a constant threat on the floor. She can score in a variety of ways and thrives under the spotlight, never shying away from big moments. While it's no secret she prefers going to her strong left hand, defenders still struggle to stop her – she gets there consistently and finishes at a high rate. Unfortunately Farah chipped a tooth early in the day and had to leave for emergency repairs so we didn't get to see her for as long as we would have liked.     The 5'11” wing out of Becker uses her powerful frame to control the paint, muscling past opponents to secure rebounds and ignite the fast break. When she's not cleaning the glass, she's sprinting out in transition, stretching the floor and creating scoring chances for both her teammates and herself. Players like Hausmann relieve pressure by embracing the dirty work, doing the little things that don't always show up on the stat sheet but make a big impact. We're excited to see this prospect step up this winter and showcase the results of her hard work.     Dryburgh stayed active throughout the showcase, using her length to rim run and exploit mismatches by posting up smaller defenders – finding consistent success with her efforts. Her relentlessness on the glass created valuable second-chance opportunities for her team, as she hunted down missed shots with determination. Defensively, she set the tone by picking up full court, forcing her assignments to work every possession and never allowing them to take a play off.     The 6-footer out of Wayzata showcased impressive defensive instincts and vocal leadership, consistently calling out screens and aggressively blitzing the pick-and-roll to force deflections. She held her own when switched onto guards, showing versatility on the perimeter. Offensively, Roberson stayed active in the paint but also stepped out with confidence, knocking down shots from beyond the arc – a clear sign of the work she's been putting in. With her size, activity, and expanding skill set, there's plenty of upside to her game.     The guard out of Maranatha Christian impressed with her ability to pick her spots and made plays that don't always show up on the stat sheet. She consistently made the extra pass, rotated and hedged effectively on defense, and crashed the offensive glass –one effort leading to a trip to the free throw line. With added assertiveness and confidence in her own scoring ability, she has the tools to elevate her impact even further.     Washington made her presence felt defensively, relentlessly pressuring ball handlers up and down the court and forcing them to account for her every possession. On the offensive end, she excelled at getting the ball to teammates in scoring positions and capitalized on her own opportunities by knocking down open jumpers. Her two-way impact made her a difference-maker throughout the showcase.

Over 100 freshmen attended this year's Freshman Showcase at Maple Grove Jr. High, truly making it an exciting event. Join me as I provide detailed player-by-player evaluations. Here's the 2nd part of the assessments for Team 2.