PGH MI College Tour III: 14U Impact Players

After watching the film from a couple of PGH MI College Tour III 14U games, here are a few of the prospects who stood out as impact players for their teams.    Harper has length, quickness, and control with the ball that stand out on film. She uses wide pushout dribbles and switches directions quickly to keep defenders off balance. Harper showed her downhill speed on split drive through the lane and changed hands at the rim to score the bucket. She was active on the boards and moves her feet well on the defensive end. Definitely a player to keep an eye on with Mystics 14U South.     Elyse is an outstanding facilitator, scrappy defender, shifty ball-handler, and all-around point guard who stood out at the PGH MI College Tour III. She came soaring in to secure offensive rebounds and scored put-backs. Elyse changed hands comfortably, kept her dribble alive, stepped back patiently on the perimeter to reset the offense, and had no problem creating space against pressure. She was very effective at penetrating the middle of the defense and kicking the ball out to open shooters. Elyse passed well using either hand, finished in traffic, pressured the ball to create steals on defense, scored off basket cuts, and turned on the jets for a coast-to-coast transition layup with a smooth left finish. Elyse is a prospect to follow with Michigan Storm 14U.     Elliana flies around the court at full throttle. Her shifty ball-handling and aggressive drives stood out on film for Mystics 14U South. She attacked down the middle with a burst and used a nice step-through pivot to score a contested layup with her left hand. Elliana took a dribble hand off on the perimeter, turned the corner with speed, and earned a trip to the line. She changes lanes quickly off the dribble and gets to the hoop.     Leigha has no problems playing up, and she doesn't look like a 7th grader on the court. She kept great defensive positioning inside, moving her feet to avoid fouling, and caused a travel call. Leigha caught passes with good hands around the rim and finished effectively off two feet. She crashed the glass hard to score put-backs and dished out a great bounce pass assist with her left to a cutter. Leigha is a promising prospect in the Dream Loudly EYCL program.     I think the tape was rolling for roughly a minute before I looked at the roster to see who 12 was for 1 Nation Elite 14U. 6-foot-plus height, athletic, handles the ball like a guard in the open court, physical, and when she's driving to the rim with a full head of steam, the final defenders weren't trying to get in the way of that steaming locomotive. Raylynn is long, an aggressive rebounder, uses both hands in transition, takes it right through the defense on drives to cause fouls, and blocks shots with emphasis in the paint. She switched hands to score a drive-by layup with her left and made a great dump-off pass for an assist after drawing a help-side defender. Raylynn has vision, facilitates, gets to the rim, rebounds, defends, has length, a solid frame, she looks like an elite prospect.     Kamani gave 1 Nation Elite 14U a spark with her perimeter game at the PGH MI College Tour III. She used a quick jab step to shake her defender, then pulled up to sink a smooth straightaway triple. Kamani drained another triple from the corner and used her quick hands to poke the ball away for steals. She's active on both ends of the court and will be a playmaker to keep an eye on.     I had the chance to see Sky for the first time on film, and wow, she really stands out. She doesn't play or look like a 7th grader. Athletic, tough, scrappy, and dynamic driver who can shoot it from the perimeter. Sky has great speed in the open court and lateral quickness as she's applying ball pressure. Sky showed skill in the lane to score floaters over the outstretched arms of defenders and snapped her wrist confidently at the free-throw line. One of her highlights was taking a DHO from the corner to the hole, crossing over, spinning, and leaning around a lengthy forward to convert a tough reach-around layup off the glass with her left hand through contact...sweet. Sky had an impressive game for Dream Loudly EYCL 14U Blackwell and is on my radar now.     Lindy has the ball on a string, and she was an impactful two-way player for Dream Loudly EYCL 14U Blackwell during the game I watched. She caught a pass in the mid-corner, almost out of the picture, where most would be advised not to shoot. Lindy collected her footing, saw that the defender was anticipating a drive, and pulled up confidently to swish the open trey from well beyond the college line. Her harassing ball-pressure and quick feet started in the back court and continued up the floor. She turned ball-handlers and forced them to pass under duress, working at maximum effort.     Bria really impressed me during her game for 1 Nation Elite 14U at the PGH MI College Tour III. It didn't take long for her to make a good impression. Bria intercepted a pass, drove to the basket with a full head of steam, absorbed hard contact, then converted the off-platform and one off the glass. She escaped pressure with a shifty double crossover dribble, then went right by for a layup. Bria used effective pocket dribbles and was confident with the ball in her hands against pressure. She blocked a shot emphatically in the paint and immediately looked to push the tempo after grabbing defensive rebounds. Bria changed hands well at the second level of the defense and will be a prospect to follow over the coming years.     Chloe gave 1 Nation Elite 14U physicality and timely scoring on the offensive end. She created the space she needed to drive with a crossover in the corner and attacked hard downhill to finish with a layup. She knocked down jumpers, caught passes inside with good hands, muscled her way to the doorstep, and scored in the paint. Chloe set strong screens for guards to alleviate pressure, and she was a key player in the game.

After watching the film from a couple of PGH MI College Tour III 14U games, here are a few of the prospects who stood out as impact players for their teams.