Northwood Team Camp: Day One Standouts

Northwood Team Camp is an event on my coverage schedule every summer. As a varsity coach and now a Prep Girls Hoops scout, this is my fifth straight year attending camp. Great hospitality and a variety of high school teams from across Michigan keep me coming back. The stars shine, and diamonds in the rough reveal themselves every year. Here are a few of the standouts from day one of camp:    Charlie gave Cadillac a determined effort at Northwood Team Camp and contributed in every category on the court. She knocked down a corner three and got past the first line of defense using a crossover, then buried a pull-up jumper from the free throw line. Charlie attacked downhill, switched hands in the lane, earned a trip to the free throw line, then knocked it down. She secured many rebounds on the defensive end and immediately looked to start the fast break. Charlie fired long lead pass up the court, cut to the basket, got the ball back, and scored the layup with her off hand. She pushed the ball up the sideline with pace after securing the rebound and dished out an assist to a cutter. Charlie used excellent denial technique in the low post to deflect passes and blocked shots with authority. She forced a miss on one side of the basket, then rotated quickly to block the next shot on the other side of the rim. Charlie moves well, handles the ball, and has inside/outside versatility.     Grace is a fantastic facilitator and defender at the point guard spot who can make a difference at the next-level. She had a very good opening day for Frankenmuth at Northwood Team Camp. Grace penetrated off the dribble to give shooters wide open looks on the perimeter and dished out assists to cutters with good touch on her lob entries. Her perimeter pressure, active hands, and anticipated resulted in multiple steals, which led to transition points. Grace dove on the floor to chase after 50/50 balls, communicated actively with teammates, and handled the ball with poise. Grace protected the ball with her body on a hard drive to the basket and finished strong at the rim. She has tight handles, knows exactly where the ball needs to go, and is a very effective court general.     Reagan separated herself, turning in an impressive first day for Powers Catholic at Northwood Team Camp. She's a multidimensional point guard who can score off dribble penetration, facilitate, and put points on the board in a hurry from beyond the arc. Reagan used a rip move to beat the first defender up top, eluded the second defender with a quick crossover, then put just enough English on the ball to score the layup in traffic. She finished strong through contact for an and-one bucket, made a good adjustment on a pass in the air, then switched the ball to her shooting hand to score the layup. Reagan closed out a quarter with a deep wing three and dished out two dump-off assists after forcing the help defender to commit to her drive near the basket.     Nyla was a notable newcomer today at Northwood Team Camp and she's going to be one of those diamonds in the rough this year. Nyla has length, versatility, and athleticism that immediately catches your attention. She hauled in a pass with good hands in stride during a cut to the basket, then kissed a smooth reverse layup soft off the glass for two points. Nyla immediately pushed the ball up the court after securing defensive rebounds and wasn't afraid to shoot the three. She drained a triple from the wing, stuck with a miss to grab an offensive rebound, then scored with a comfortable left-handed layup in traffic. Nyla moves her feet well and used her length to disrupt shots. She's a prospect to keep on your radar at Frankenmuth.     Katelyn is one of the top wing-forwards competing at Northwood Team Camp and she definitely played like it against a formidable opening day opponent. Her length, athleticism, versatility, effort, and two-way impact were on full display for New Lothrop. Katelyn maintained good positioning in the low post to deflect passes away and swatted multiple shots away in front of the basket. She anticipates the drivers coming, rotates, and times up the shots to send them away without fouling. Katelyn drove hard from the perimeter between three defenders on her way to a left-handed finish at the rim. She attacked hard downhill with a burst to score layups and earned trips to the free throw line. Katelyn fired a long lead pass over the top of the defense for an assist in transition and looked to start the fast break.     Giselle looked unfazed by the heat. She was aggressive and delivered a complete performance that stood out on day one of Northwood Team Camp for Powers Catholic. Giselle peppered the net from beyond the arc, sinking a smooth corner three and adding another no doubter up top off a stagger screen. She closed out hard to block two perimeter jumpers on the defensive end and intercepted a long transition pass. Giselle secured many rebounds on the defensive end and sprinted in to create second chance scoring opportunities.

Northwood Team Camp is an event on my coverage schedule every summer. As a varsity coach and now a Prep Girls Hoops scout, this is my fifth straight year attending camp. Great hospitality and a variety of high school teams from across Michigan keep me coming back. The stars shine, and diamonds in the rough reveal themselves every year. Here are a few of the standouts from day one of camp: