Cherokee Invitational: Positive Paint Presence

There were some of the very best post players in the country at the 2025 Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational. Several players from Georgia made their presence known in the paint. All five players were willing to mix it up and do the dirty work inside, but show skill and touch around the basket as well.    Nemo had an outstanding performance in the game I saw versus Military Magnet from South Carolina in what turned out to be a three-overtime thriller, finishing with 16 points 17 rebounds and 5 steals. She dominated the boards on both ends of the court but really hurt their opponent on offense. Nemo converted putbacks on three offensive rebounds including one after a missed free throw. She used solid post moves to score in the paint including a very nice drop step and power dribble before elevating over her defender and scoring. Foster also looked very comfortable on the perimeter as well, especially on defense where she caused multiple turnovers. Foster is a player that a lot more people should and will know more about soon.     Nyah is listed as a guard, and she definitely has the skills to play that position and did so well at times. Her biggest contributions came in the painted area for Luella. Morrison used her size and impressive strength very well to drive the ball for short jumpers and all the way to the rim. She did a good job finishing as well including a play where she powered through contact scored and converted the and one. Nyah also used her big, powerful frame in helping her team to defend and rebound the ball. Morrison is just scratching the surface on how good of a player that I think she can become.     Thompson is another big guard for Luella who did a lot of damage inside, on offense especially, against Military Magnet. She was relentless attacking the basket using a variety of moves off the dribble, in one case a nice spin move, and did a job using the glass to score. She repeatedly got into the heart of the defense from the wing. One play she drove left before gathering herself and scoring with her left hand in traffic. Thompson did a nice job drawing fouls and shot the ball well from the free throw line. She also handled the ball very well against the full court press.     Kennedi is a player with a lot of untapped potential. She has excellent size for a freshman and a very solid foundation of good offensive fundamentals. Her role on this team is to set screens for Newton's fantastic guards and to be ready to score when the opportunity presents itself through the offense or getting offensive rebounds and put backs.. Carter has good skill and is smooth with her left hand. She has the ability to become dominant on the boards as she gets older and more experienced on the varsity level. Carter moves very well for a kid her size.     Dawson was a kid I had not seen before but caught my eye instantly with her play on the court. Dawson, despite being 5'10, walks around and moves like a guard. In the game i watched she did the vast majority of her damage in the paint. Dawson has a strong postgame, with a deep bag of moves. She did an excellent job sealing off the defender to receive the ball when posting up. When Dawson received the ball, she went right to work knocking down two fadeaway jumpers and another nice step-back jump shot. Dawson was also effective multiple times driving left and finishing at the basket. Dawson was active on the offensive boards grabbing two in helping Campbell to the win.

There were some of the very best post players in the country at the 2025 Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational. Several players from Georgia made their presence known in the paint. All five players were willing to mix it up and do the dirty work inside, but show skill and touch around the basket as well.