Playing Up and Performing at the PGH MI College Tour

The PGH MI College Tour at Northwood University featured a variety of talent from many teams. Here are five prospects who played up and had a phenomenal weekend for their teams.    Josie moved into the top ten after a fantastic sophomore season at Heritage. She played up with Mystics 17U P24 and performed at a high level against very talented teams during the PGH MI College Tour. Josie was aggressive, an impact defender, an effective facilitator/passer, scored through contact on drives to the rim, and knocked down threes with confidence. She shuffled quickly to cut off a dribble and force a travel violation. Josie buried a straightaway three, a triple from the slot, and another in the corner. She jumped into the passing lanes to grab multiple steals, scored contested layups, and added a smooth inside-hand finish. Josie used a quick rip move to get by her girl, then pulled up in the paint to hit a jumper over a contesting defender. She has the instincts, fundamentals, and length to play high-level college basketball as a 1 or 2 guard.     O.J. played up with Mystics P24 17U and didn't skip a beat. She was aggressive and led the team at teams with her determined rebounding on the offensive glass, high-flying volleyball spike blocks at the rim, facilitating, perimeter shooting, and dribble penetration. The game didn't look too fast, and O.J. was able to use her speed to create on the offensive end. She scored inside using a great step-through pivot move, knocked down a pure wing three, and drove hard to the rim with an explosive burst for a layup, beating the rotating help side defender. O.J. had great awareness and spacing on the defensive end, picking off passes from the help side. She confirmed her spot at #1 against some elite out-of-state opponents.     Natalie is a versatile wing-forward prospect who has a bright future ahead of her. I got a sneak peek at her talent during my Headliners Invitational Showcase, and she was a top performer playing up with Mystics 14U Select in the 15U division. Natalie caught passes in the paint with soft hands, knocked down jumpers with balance, and scored contested layups at the rim off two feet with a soft touch. She disrupted shots on the defensive end effectively without fouling and started the fast breaks. Natalie scores at all three levels, shares the ball, works hard on defense, rebounds, and has length to be excited about. She had a great weekend at the PGH MI College Tour.     Ella looks like a prospect who has what it takes to be a top-tier prospect in this class. After seeing her play for the first time during the PGH MI College Tour, she immediately grabbed my attention. Her athleticism, length as a guard, elusive ball-handling, sharp quickness, balance, confidence, and shooting mechanics from three-point range left a lasting impression. She's an aggressive offensive rebounder, creates space off the dribble, and handles the ball effectively using both hands. Ella penetrated off the dribble, collapsed the defense, then dished out assists to teammates. She scored a strong and-one through contact, then completed the three-point play at the line. She crashed the glass to secure offensive rebounds and scored putbacks. Ella works hard to apply pressure on the defensive end, and I'm excited to see her more this spring.     Trinity played up with Kia Nurse EYBL 17U at the PGH MI College Tour, and she made her presence felt. She finished strong off two feet, scored through contact for an and-one, then completed the three-point play at the line. Trinity stayed on the hip of a driver and timed her jump perfectly to reject the layup attempt. She used her length and quick feet to close driving lanes, adding a ferocious block in the paint. Trinity penetrated off the dribble, pushed the ball with pace using both hands in transition, made great dump-offs and skip passes for assists, swiped the ball away on defense, worked hard inside to secure offensive rebounds, scored layups in top speed, and earned multiple trips to the line. An athletic 6-footer who handles the ball like a guard and has the physicality to play inside, she's an elite prospect.

The PGH MI College Tour at Northwood University featured a variety of talent from many teams. Here are five prospects who played up and had a phenomenal weekend for their teams.