Northwood Team Camp: UP Power Play

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:    Gretel is a UP prospect I've enjoyed watching steal the show on multiple occasions. She might not be a household name downstate, but her performance to kick off Northwood Team Camp quickly let everybody know her game is the real deal. Gretel puts in the work off the court, and it showed. She attacked off the dribble with explosive quickness and went up strong to finish through contact. Gretel scored with a sweet inside hand finish and finished comfortably going top speed with both hands. She buried a silky smooth straightaway three, drove hard through contact to earn trips to the free throw line, and wreaked havoc on defense, stripping the ball away to start fast breaks. Gretel is ranked high for a reason. She's a point guard I'm expecting to separate herself over the next three days.     Avery had a very strong opening game for Brandon at Northwood Team Camp. She started with a confident wing three off the hop, then beat her defender down the baseline on a determined drive from the wing to score a tough reverse layup. Avery was persistent on the offensive glass. She grabbed a rebound, used a high rip move to get by, and scored with an inside-hand finish. Avery made a nice entry pass to a cutter, scored with a smooth transfer for a catch and finish in transition, and worked hard for multiple offensive rebounds. Her complete impact and aggressiveness were a separator on the court.     Paige is a forward prospect coming down from the UP with Negaunee who will turn some heads over the next few days. She's physical, strong-bodied, fundamentally sound in the post, a rim protector, a good passer, and has sound footwork. Paige anticipates drives and moves to open space, giving guards a perfect target for off-load passes on the move. She moved to open space and score with touch at the rim. Paige muscles into position for a strong offensive rebound and scored the putback. She pins defenders deep with her strong, wide steals, gets low, and catches entry passes with good hands. Paige holds her ground and will be a handful for opponents to try to match up against at Northwood Team Camp.     Ella turned in a complete performance for Brandon in their opener at Northwood Team Camp. She swiped the ball away in the back court for a left-handed layup, then went back to the well, swiping the ball away at half and driving straight to the basket for two more points. Ella showed her determination by sticking with a missed shot, sprinting into position for the rebound, and ripping it away from the defender. She grabbed another offensive board and dished out a great lob entry pass with touch to a backdoor cutter for an assist. Ella has length, athleticism, and versatility as a scorer and facilitator. She's unselfish and makes the hustle plays to help the team be successful.     Sadie had a solid first game for Negaunee at Northwood Team Camp. She demonstrated excellent vision as a facilitator and had tight ball-handling control. Sadie has a burst off the dribble and keeps her head up to make great dump-off passes when the help defenders commit. She goes up strong off two feet, works hard for rebounds, and finishes well at the basket.

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: