IBCA Team Showcase: Final Thoughts

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='992369' first='Rhyan' last='Wagner'] (2028) from Evansville's Francis Joseph Reitz High School.   Over the last few years, the NCAA has instituted a "Scholastic Live Period" over one June weekend, where college coaches are allowed to view potential recruits. Prospects may participate in events operated by their high school association or their state's coaches association. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has entrusted this to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA), and the IBCA has operated both the Top 100 individual showcase, and a team showcase held at Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern high schools. Last Friday marked the first day of the team showcase, and with 117 teams from around the state participating this year, there was plenty of action taking place all day Friday and Saturday of last weekend. Below are some final prospects who stood out throughout the team showcase this past weekend.`   .    One of the most enjoyable parts about doing this is seeing the growth of different players throughout the years. With Payton, I feel like she has really taken strides over the past 12 to 15 months. She is playing with a renewed confidence and energy, she's trying to assert herself and play with more physicality, and she is starting to speak out in a leadership role. She has always possessed nice length, some athleticism, and great hands. She keeps the ball high, finishes well around the basket, plus she is a very good mid-post scorer. I also feel like she is really enforcing herself on the boards.     The last few years have been good to the Red Devils, as they have seen talented individuals come and go. But one constant remains the same throughout that time period, and it's Korinne. She is entering her fourth season as a Varsity performer and their point guard. She is as tough as they come, she plays with a great motor, and she's one of the better on-ball defenders in the state, regardless of class. But the most enjoyable thing is that she doesn't need 15 shots a game to affect it; she gives the same effort no matter her role or the opponent in front of her. She will make some college program very happy.     It was really good to see Ja'Nyiah with Purdue Poly this past weekend, because she has a different role from grassroots ball to high school ball. While she is expected to bring energy and defend on both teams, she plays with a lot more versatility on her high school team. With her grassroots team, she is often on the wing, where she can bury open rhythm jumpers consistently. With Purdue Poly, however, she handles it a lot more, creates off the dribble for herself, finds teammates as well, but still takes and makes open perimeter jumpers. She is a really nice, versatile small college prospect who helps in different ways.     The DeKalb team as a whole isn't very tall, but don't count them out. Ellington is a talented guard who uses a nice combination of speed, quickness, and the ability to take and make shots from distance to her advantage. When defenders get too tight, she can go right by them, and if they give her too much space, she can fill it up from outside. She has solid ball skill and the physical talent to defend point guards. However, she has been surrounded by other good point guards on most of her teams, so she'll often settle in on the wing. It would be nice to see her play the point exclusively for a weekend.     Rhyan is one of those prospects who is just a really nice basketball player. She has point guard skill and can initiate an offense, but she is also a talented shooter and has some size and strength. Her positioning for the next level will likely come down to who her coach sees her defending. Right now, she is skilled offensively like a combo guard, but she's probably best defending bigger guards and small forwards. Regardless, she has put together a nice Spring so far, she utilizes her strength on the perimeter, and she's an effective rebounder for a guard. She is often a "glue" type of player for her team(s).

The featured image is of Rhyan Wagner Rhyan Wagner 5'10" | CG Evansville Reitz | 2028 State IN (2028) from Evansville's Francis Joseph Reitz High School.