Peach Games: Shooters Shoot

Some of the very best shooters in the states of Georgia and Florida put their skills from behind the three point line on display during 16U and 17U competition at NextPlay 360 in Marietta. As someone whose shooting ability paid for my college education, I can say the backdrop being short and the colors on the wall being black made it great environment for shooters. If you watched the state championship games in Macon and games in other big arenas the lack of a backdrop has a tendency to make shooters look a lot worse than what they are, so turn about it fair play. These players were consistent and cold blooded from three point land for their teams in multiple games at the event.    Bennett is the reigning state three point contest winner. That contest was held at the above mentioned Macon Coliseum and had zero effect on Madison as shot the ball extremely well in all of the rounds and eventually won against very good competition. As someone who has shot off of a rack in a contest before, I can tell you that it is MUCH more difficult than it looks. I knew she could shoot the ball as she made over 100 threes this high school season, but had not seen her do so in game in person. She knocked down threes on the move and off the dribble, in catch and shoot situations, and in transition on the fast break. She is not just a shooter however as she proved in one game getting to the basket and scoring over much bigger defenders. She is a player in this class that I am definitely keeping an eye on the rest of the spring and summer as she far surpassed my expectations of her going into the weekend. Madison showed toughness after she got right back up and continued playing after taking a hard fall to the floor at full speed.     McKenzie is a player I have seen get very hot, very quickly from the perimeter in high school for Marietta. One game this year I honestly was not familiar with who she was going in, but definitely was coming out of the game as she hit at least five three pointers and maybe 1-2 more. She has excellent size and length at nearly six foot and a very long wingspan playing on the wing. Defensively she was able to put a lot of pressure on opposing ball handlers with her size and quickness and also did a nice job jumping into the passing lanes and intercepting passes and turning them into easy points in transition on offense. Everett shot the ball extremely well again from behind the three point line in multiple games proving she is one of the better shooters in the 2028 class in Georgia. I expect her to continue to play well the rest of the summer and come back with a bigger role for the Lady Blue Devils in the Winter.     Mia did what she always does well knockdown shots from the perimeter consistently with a quick release and excellent form. At nearly 6' tall she has a very high release point on the ball making it hard on smaller defenders to effect her jump shots. At Peach Games I saw her drive the ball to the basket more than I had in the three or so previous times I have watched her play. It looked like she had a point to prove that she was not just a shooter and she did by scoring multiple times in the paint with a few at the rim, both in the half court and in transition offense on the break. She handled the ball well and made several impressive passes against very strong competition all event long.     Haley is another player I had seen a few times before and knew going on into Peach Games that she can really shoot the ball from deep. She did that once again, but also did the same things in addition to shooting that had me thinking very highly of her previously- play with an extremely high motor, leave it all on the court, and compete hard with a big smile on her face. It's refreshing to see a kid seemingly not care at all about playing high level eau basketball. In the games I watched Haley was total menace defensively in the Redline press sprinting from player to player trapping in the backcourt causing steals and deflections for her team. She is sneaky quick and you can see it when she pushed the ball out with the dribble initiating the fast break as well as sprinting the lanes in transition looking for and getting easy opportunistic layups from sheer hustle. She is a very skilled player and I expect her role to increase dramatically for coach Gene Durden and the Lady Wolves of Buford in her sophomore season.     Mak made a lot of shots from three over the weekend and several of the ones I saw were not even close to the line she was so far back. Her constant motion to get open and then set up when she knew the ball was coming was equally impressive as the elevation she gets on her shots and the consistency she has in her form. In high school ball she has the basketball in her hands the majority of the game for Gilmer, at Peach Games she played off the ball the majority of the time I watched her team play and looked comfortable and confident doing so. She is not allowed the time or space to get many catch and shoot shots from behind the line with almost every defense geared to stop her. With a very talented [program_tooltip program_id='713173' first='Wood' last='Elite'] team surrounding her teams are not able to put her at the top of the scouting report so she had a lot more freedom to operate. She was very efficient when she shot the ball and did not take one ill advised or bad shot that I saw in multiple games. Mak is a very good 2029 prospect that I definitely have my eye on.     Jarrett had the benefit of having some teammates like [player_tooltip player_id='1161947' first='Azhia' last='Kendall'] who had no problem driving and drawing the defense and when she did and they helped off of Grace she found her on several occasions and Jarrett delivered knocking down multiple shots from three point range in multiple games for [program_tooltip program_id='713456' first='Porter' last='Sports']. She did a nice job sliding to corner when the ball was being driven to the basket on some trips making herself and option there and did the reverse on several other occasions circling back around the ball looking for a catch and shoot situation off the defensive help or looking for the basketball off of a curl. When she got the ball she got her shot off quickly and made several with a hand in her face. Jarrett was not a player I was familiar with coming into Peach Games, but is one I think highly of coming out of the event.

Some of the very best shooters in the states of Georgia and Florida put their skills from behind the three point line on display during 16U and 17U competition at NextPlay 360 in Marietta. As someone whose shooting ability paid for my college education, I can say the backdrop being short and the colors on the wall being black made it great environment for shooters. If you watched the state championship games in Macon and games in other big arenas the lack of a backdrop has a tendency to make shooters look a lot worse than what they are, so turn about it fair play. These players were consistent and cold blooded from three point land for their teams in multiple games at the event.