Peach Games: Specialists Shine

These players are all well rounded and by no means does the word specialist mean they are not capable of excelling in other areas of the game. Quite the opposite in fact as they all brought a specific skill set or had specific areas of their game that they specialized in over the weekend that complimented the other areas of their game. As an evaluator these strengths or specialities are what separate them from other prospects that don't have one particular area that they shine in and make them more recruitable kids for college coaches.    Tamia is a player who I thought really played well the few times I saw her for Milton this high school season. With her switch to AEBL recently I was interested to see how she would fit in with that group of players and she did so very easily. Tomlinson looked good knocking down jumpers from the midrange. She is a strong, powerful kid who explodes off the ground and releases the ball at its highest point on her shot. She also used that strength to contribute on both ends of the court rebounding the basketball and being physical while on the ball on defense. Tomlinson is a winner who has a lot of talent and skill. Her midrange game is excellent and is becoming somewhat of a lost art in the game. If she can consistently get to her spots from 8-15 feet and knock down shots, then she will only increase her value to the college coaches recruiting her.     Tiny was excellent every game I watched Holy Innocents play this regular season, including in the state championship game. Offensively she does as good a job as anyone running the point guard position both distributing the ball to her talented teammates in positions where they can score while also being a serious threat to score herself. That she is, as Tiny uses her cat-like quickness to blow by defenders and get into the paint where she has a very nice finishing package of lay ups and floaters. Weaver is also an excellent shooter from behind the three point line and was consistently making shots all weekend. Defensively, she and her sister Makayla, are two of the very best on-ball defenders in the state and both get multiple steals on the ball and easy lay ups in transition as a result. Size does not matter when it come to Tiny. Her skills and athleticism should overshadow her height when it comes to playing on th next level. I have no reservations about saying that.     Sarah is a skilled player offensively who absolutely has the ability to get a bucket the ball when given he opportunity for her team. However she is rarely the first or second option and often works for the points that she does score. What made me a fan of Sarah was the huge heart she plays with and her unselfishness on the court. Jurry has no problem playing in the post as an undersized (at times) power forward. Her effort and work rate, to go along with excellent size and elite athleticism, make her very effective rebounding the ball on both ends and guarding players that are often taller than her. Sarah is often the first one to lose balls, gets opportunistic put backs on offensive rebounds, and draws fouls banging for boards with no fear of contact. Jurry competes and wants her team to win with little to no regard for her own personal success or stat line. She is the kind of player every coach wants on their team and she will find a spot on the next level because of the quality of player and kid she is.     Sanai is what folks like to call a "big guard" these days because of the combination of height and strength she has on the ball and the skill she displays with it. Corpening was option one for Team Hickory throughout the tournament, from the first game I watched on Friday night until the event was over on Sunday. She did a really nice job playing at her pace and tempo bringing the ball up on the break for her team and did not let opposing teams speed her up. She showed very good decision-making when help came to give up the basketball to her open teammates, but also put the ball in the basket when given one on one opportunities. Sanai has the ability to score from all three levels, with the majority of her points coming from 15 feet in and the free throw line at Peach Games.     Lanie was a player I had not really seen play before. I was familiar with [player_tooltip player_id='1575649' first='Sanai' last='Corpening'] from McDowell from playing in the Insider Exposure Cherokee Invitational in high school this season. Dameron was not someone I remembered, however it only took about a second and the ball to be tossed in the air for the jump for me to notice her spring off the floor at over six feet tall and win the tip easily. She would use that length and athleticism to patrol the paint all weekend long for Team Hickory, where she was excellent blocking shots on defense and rebounding the ball on both ends. Her efforts on the offensive boards led to multiple put backs or Lanie being fouled and going to the free throw line. Cameron showed that she can shoot the ball from the perimeter showing nice form and fundamentals knocking down a three in one game I watched. If I were a college coach in Juco or at a smaller school in the southeast, Dameron is a player I would definitely have my eye on. She has a lot of raw talent to go with her size and is far from being the finished product as a player!     After multiple tournaments of watching Lindsey and her team play, I can confidently say she is one of the best scoring forwards in her class in Georgia. She has an excellent jump shot and I have seen her consistently make shots from 12-15 feet over the course of 5-6 games. She is also very good driving the ball to the basket and using her strength and athleticism to finish at the rim through contact and over defenders. Henry has also demonstrated that she is very effective scoring the ball in the post. She has very good footwork and does nice job using head/shot fakes to get the defender in the air. She is a player I was not very familiar with heading into travel ball this season, but has had an excellent start to her Spring and Summer with [program_tooltip program_id='713173' first='Wood' last='Elite']. Her ability to get a bucket from multiple spots on the court, defend her position, and her size should make her a very desirable recruit to college coaches in the region.

These players are all well rounded and by no means does the word specialist mean they are not capable of excelling in other areas of the game. Quite the opposite in fact as they all brought a specific skill set or had specific areas of their game that they specialized in over the weekend that complimented the other areas of their game. As an evaluator these strengths or specialities are what separate them from other prospects that don't have one particular area that they shine in and make them more recruitable kids for college coaches.