Midwest Extravaganza: Saturday Standouts

After over 12 hours of basketball, the first day of the Midwest Extravaganza has come to a close. With every team having 2-3 games under their belt, here's a look at some of the best players from the first day of this year's event.    Ellie is the kind of player that bipartisan viewers would come to watch. She was electric in both of [program_tooltip program_id='1230720' first='Team' last='Herro']'s wins on Saturday.   Against [program_tooltip program_id='834910' first='Example' last='Sports'], she drained three 3-pointers early in the game to set the tone; finishing with 14 points total. Then in the night game, she buried another four 3-pointers in a 24-point outing and another win for her team.   Ellie runs the floor with ease and comfortability. She has supreme command of the court, with an innate knowledge of what offense to run, and which teammate to look for.   She's comfortable going downhill on a fast break, and converts some very impressive layups at the hoop. And she has the height and length to be an effective defensive player on the perimeter, or in the paint.     Gemma was a terror on Saturday, and she spent most of the day playing against girls that are older than her... and in a position that she normally doesn't occupy.   Gemma could still be playing 14U hoops, but has the talent to play up an age group. And she's not normally a post player, but with a smaller lineup on her Over the Edge team this weekend-Gemma has been pressed into service as a hybrid post-wing player.   Gemma is strong and can battle with the bigs in the post, and she also has the skills to pop out to the wing to nail a 3-pointer. She possesses great speed-getting down the floor in a hurry to save a loose ball, or chase down a block.   Gemma draws so much attention that she opens up shots for her teammates, or can collect a foul on one of her own shots. And when she does, she's a lethal free throw shooter. I saw her go 4/4 on free throws in her final game on Saturday; which is no certainty among players of her age.   Gemma is a weapon wherever she plays on offense, and she's an obstacle to get around on defense. She'll be a serious challenge when she begins high school at New Trier.     Alay'ja is another youngster who came up this weekend to compete against more experienced competition. She's just finishing 8th grade, and could actually be competing against 13U players-but showed today why she belongs in this field.   Alay'ja has extreme hustle on both offense and defense. She can get down the floor in a hurry when she has the ball in her hands, and she terrorizes the opposition when she's on defense. I twice saw her rip the ball away from the ballhandler in the first half of a win against [program_tooltip program_id='715556' first='Illinois' last='Dream']. And I lost track of how many steals she came up with.   She's also very good at staying in control when she has the ball. She never seems to get flustered, and maintains her composure, no matter the situation.     Taylor is an absolute star in the making. She's another player in the class of 2030, who's competing this weekend against older competition. But not only does she hold her own-she dominates against players who are a year older than her.   Taylor's game looks light years beyond where she's playing now. The way she controls the ball, toys with the defense, and buries 3-pointers; you could almost see her already being able to run the point for a college team. She's an excellent floor general, who not only has a supreme knowledge of the game; but she's great at picking up her teammates and encouraging them after a mistake.   Taylor is so quick-she seems to always be in motion; which helps her defensive skills. She has the capacity to come out of nowhere for a steal, or streak across the wing for a rebound. And when she has the ball in her hands, opponents tend to get out of her way, because she puts her head down and goes right into the heart of the defense when she wants to.   Taylor scored 15 points in a loss to [program_tooltip program_id='1230720' first='Team' last='Herro'], and then another 21 points in a win to close out the night. She's another player that attracts attention from fans who just want to see supreme basketball talent. And she'll be a highlight reel on the AAU circuit in the coming years.     Parker's team took a pair of losses on Saturday, but she stilled played well enough to get noticed. Parker is yet another member of the class of 2030, who was brought up to play against older competition this weekend. And she held her own against some great post players.   Parker owns the paint when she's on the floor. She's unstoppable when she gets the ball in her hands. She's a rebounding machine-she must have had at least 15 in her team's loss to [program_tooltip program_id='1736700' first='Midwest' last='Magic']. And she plays with such confidence in the lane (both on offense and defense) that it's hard for anyone to compete with her.   Parker has terrific hands; a skill she attributes to playing goalie in soccer while she was in middle school. And she appears completely unbothered by defenders who hack at her shots when she's on offense; resulting in a lot of free throw opportunities. She scored 17 points in her first game of the day, then another 10 in the night cap.     Ella is part of an [program_tooltip program_id='871458' first='Illinois' last='Spartans'] team that had two dominant wins on Saturday; outscoring their opponents by a combined 89 points.   Ella is a deadly 3-point shooter, making four shots from deep against [program_tooltip program_id='715556' first='Illinois' last='Dream']. She finished that game with 16 points. She can make shots from distance, but she's also capable of driving into the paint and connecting for an and-1 basket. She's a great shooter from all 3 levels.   She takes pride in an ability to get herself open, while also finding teammates when she needs to.     Ali was a critical part of three wins for her Team Compete club on Saturday, scoring 13 points against Take Over, and then another 20 points in her final game of the night.   She may not have the size of other players, but she makes up for it with toughness and physicality. She can line up an impressive 3-pointer, but also draw contact when she goes inside. She goes really hard to the basket, and can still hit shots over players who are primarily taller than her.   Morovits has some fabulous passing abilities as well. Her bounce passes to the paint, or her drive-and-kick dishes could conjure images of Caitlin Clark when she's feeding her post players.   Ali also stands out for her free throw shooting. In her final two games of the day, she went 8/9 on FTs-a skill that few players at this age have mastered so well.     Adeline was part of an impressive offensive attack for her 24:Up team on Saturday. In a well-balanced and deep roster, she scored a game-high 13 points in her team's win over HOH.   Adeline has great hands in the post, and is trustworthy to make smart decisions when she has the ball. She has exceptional footwork, and can work around the defense. And she draws so much attention, that she can always find an open teammate when she doesn't have the best shot.   Already standing 6'0", Adeline has a natural ability to disrupt shots when she's on defense. She has a wide wing span that results in a lot of tipped balls. And she says that she's always trying to clean up the defensive glass after a miss.    [player_tooltip player_id='1214637' first='Adeline' last='Nagle']

After over 12 hours of basketball, the first day of the Midwest Extravaganza has come to a close. With every team having 2-3 games under their belt, here's a look at some of the best players from the first day of this year's event.