Wofford Team Camp: Stars Shine Bright

Coming back in June to scholastic basketball can be a big change for players who are used to playing with other high profile kids and kids that have multiple scholarship offers like themselves. Most kids playing in high school will not continue their careers any further than that. These star players stood out even more playing off the circuits and with their high school teams putting in very impressive performances. Some put up big scoring numbers and were very efficient while displaying the skills, size, and athleticism that has earned them their respective rankings and college offers.    It was apparent very quickly and with no doubt that I was watching a special player when Byrnes played Sequoyah on Day One. I was there to see [player_tooltip player_id='674574' first='Carly' last='Bass'] (another elite player) and her very talented team and it just so happened that they were playing Evans and Byrnes. The two players were outstanding and for Ashley to more than hold her own against one of the top 10 '27s in Georgia at her position was more than impressive. Her length and athleticism is ideal for the combo guard and she utilized it to the maximum along with her high level skills to score from all over the court. Evans multiple fadeaway jumpers from the baseline over defenders and showed fluidity finishing around the rim. She reminds me of Tracy McGrady and I don't think I have ever made a comparison like that on Prep Girls Hoops. She attacked the offensive glass and scored on put backs, including a very nice tip in without her feet hitting the floor. Evans looked very good shooting the ball from deep and the free throw line as well. When I saw her offer sheet, I was not at all surprised to see several Power Four schools had already stepped up and made her a big priority. Ashlyn is a very special player who I would not be surprised see get an offer from the home state Gamecocks in the next few years. She is that good.     It was fantastic game with Sequoyah against Byrnes and Carly was more than up to the task, going bucket for bucket with Ashlynn Evans for the time she spent on the court. It's June and Sequoyah played a lot of kids. That's what the month is for, but selfishly I would have liked to have seen Carly play a little more. When she was on the court she knocked down multiple three point shots off the catch and bounce. Each one came from 3-4 feet behind the line and I may be conservative on that estimate. She is a big, strong player who looks like she plays Division one basketball right now in appearance and when you watch her play. When she had the basketball in a creative role she found her teammates with good kick ahead passes on the break that lead to points multiple times. Carly was super competitive and played with a high motor all with big smile on her face like there was nowhere else she would be. She was a great teammate and leader of this talented team that has ambitions and the real possibility of being one of the very last teams playing in Georgia next season. She has earned multiple Division One offers with most coming from what people call "mid-majors". I think that there are coaches at schools higher in division one that have to be seriously thinking about extending an offer themselves. I believe she has the size and skills to play major division one basketball without question.     The level of skill that Fuller showed on the offensive end and excellent footwork to go with it at her size was more than impressive. Fuller finished with both hands smoothly around the rim while also pivoting and using her agility to avoid defenders. At her size there was no threat for her shot to be blocked which I thought gave her the confidence to try and execute some tough post moves in traffic and on the break. She controlled the boards on both ends and was a deterrent the entire game for Northwest Guilford driving to the basket in the half court. Fuller had good touch and form when she was fouled and went to the free throw line. I had seen some of the Power Four offers be extended to Emma recently from schools like Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, now I understand why. With two years remaining in high school to further develop she should be ready to contribute fairly early at whatever college she chooses to attend.     You could not miss Soph from the time her team took the court in warm ups until the final buzzer went off, Montana was leading her team with vocal encouragement. I know how good she is as a player, but seeing her step up and not only encourage but direct traffic in a positive way for her younger teammates was impressive and quite frankly something I don't see enough of. Montana did a great job facilitating the offense, making the right reads and pass on almost every trip down the floor when she wasn't scoring. One play in particular she got her defender off the ground with a nice head fake after hitting multiple shots from three, drove to the basket and made [player_tooltip player_id='1120353' first='Emma' last='Fuller'] come out to help before dropping a dime for a lay up to [player_tooltip player_id='885455' first='Olivia' last=''] Watkins. Montana shot the ball outstanding from three as per usual off the bounce and catch. These two teams and their players are very familiar with one another, but with Soph's quick release and ability to create space she was still able to take and make multiple contested threes throughout the game.     I had not seen Salmon play in person before, but after doing so and seeing her number two ranking for centers/power forwards on Prep Girls Hoops I am not surprised. Salmon looks like a college player physically now with good height and length to go along with broad shoulders and strength operating in the paint. Keisha scored from both blocks, facing up to the basket and with her back to it. She did a great job using the backboard on her finishes from six feet in, something I do not see enough of anymore. When she received the ball in the post, Salmon did not hesitate wasting little time and getting straight to work. She did not pound the ball unnecessarily, but rather took one or two dribbles, if any, before elevating off the ground and putting the ball in the basket. Salmon was good rebounding the basketball on both ends and defended her position well. Her ability to score the basketball at her size with such efficiency make her a good prospect to play on the next level in college.     Through no fault of her own, Elle probably did not see the amount of playing time or minutes she deserved in her freshman season with Hebron. The team won a state championship and had three players sign to play college basketball at Tennessee, Furman, and West Georgia, two at her position. She has now transferred back to Jefferson and I have to say she looked much more at ease and comfortable playing with some of the kids she grew up with. Elle has been working and it's evident. She seems to keep growing (I could be wrong) but is now not only adding strength and muscle to her frame, she kept her conditioning. Johnson moved very well with the added muscle and with ease. She swatted shots out of bounds several times in both games I saw which I have become accustomed to when watching her play. If it were in college, one may have ended up on SportCenter. It was on the offensive end I saw the work. There were several possessions Elle posted up big using her length to extend for the pass and then used very nice footwork before getting her shots up and over the defenders. Drop steps, pivots, spin moves and even one inside pivot Johnson showed at various points on day one. She looked confident and smooth doing it. She, like, Salmon, also did a really nice job using the glass on her shots in the post. I expect her to continue playing well the rest of the Summer and her to be a major (Power Four) division one prospect in the next few years.

Coming back in June to scholastic basketball can be a big change for players who are used to playing with other high profile kids and kids that have multiple scholarship offers like themselves. Most kids playing in high school will not continue their careers any further than that. These star players stood out even more playing off the circuits and with their high school teams putting in very impressive performances. Some put up big scoring numbers and were very efficient while displaying the skills, size, and athleticism that has earned them their respective rankings and college offers.