Roses Rundown: A First Look

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='808961' first='Jazzlyn' last='Florence'] (2027) from Van Wert High School in Ohio.   The Run 4 The Roses Championship took place last weekend, beginning on Sunday, July 12th, and finishing up on Tuesday, July 14th. As usual, a large number of Indiana teams/programs traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where they participated in two tournaments last weekend. The Run 4 The Roses Classic tournament ran from July 9-11. In this article, I take a look at a handful of ladies who I saw for the first time in-person or the first time in a long while.   .    Modlene has been a steady contributor for Daleville over the years, and I briefly saw her on a stream a couple of seasons ago. But this past weekend was my first opportunity to see her "live", and she is intriguing. She is very strong, she's a solid athlete in all directions, and she can come out on the floor to defend bigger guards and wings. Offensively, she's most comfortable in the mid-post, but she's an aggressive rebounder as well inside. I think she brings immediate value to small colleges as a versatile defender, plus she's going to play with energy and get some "scraps" baskets.     Even though Jazzlyn is from Ohio, I had to make note of her because she was instrumental in her team's game. During a battle of [program_tooltip program_id='716173' first='Always' last='100'] squads, Jazzlyn was solid throughout the game, but she had a stretch to end a quarter where she buried a contested 3-pointer from the left corner, then the next possession finished an and-1 for three more points shortly before the buzzer. She has an athletically strong frame, she moves well in most directions, and she has nice touch outside. At the same time, she can attack the basket North/South or initiate the offense and find open teammates.     I had not seen Haleigh before, but she was sure to stand out in the first half of the Sirens' game I was able to see. She plays with a nice patience and lets the game come to her, but she almost lulls defenders to sleep then buries shots over them. She had a stretch where she knocked down four triples in five attempts and helped them on a run. She has length, a fluid athleticism to her, and she can slide over and handle it a little and initiate the offense. I'm not sure where she falls with all of the talented guards Avon typically has, but her shooting can help some small colleges.     Myra is an intriguing younger front-liner who has really nice small college potential. She is extremely long, fluidly athletic, and even a little bouncy. When she has a height advantage, she does a nice job of finishing over defenders, but she will need to continue gaining strength for the next level to battle bigger, stronger posts. At the same time, she looked fairly comfortable at about 15-feet, whether that was shooting it or attacking from the mid-post. She is also a good rotational defender who can block/alter shots inside. I'll be anxious to see her growth over the next year.     First things first, Amiya was accidentally on our 2029 watch list, so she will move to our 2028 watch list in September during our next update. I really enjoyed what I saw out of her last weekend. She is a nice athlete with a solid frame, some length, and she moves well in all directions. She was as good sitting down and defending as she was on attack at the offensive end of the floor. She is a slashing style of attacker, but she does have touch outside and she does a solid job of shot selection around the perimeter, making her efficient outside. She could have a breakout season.     Za'Nariae made as much of an impression as anyone last weekend. She is a tough-nosed, powerful, physical, athlete. When we re-rank in September, she'll go through a positional change as well, because she is for all intents and purposes a point guard at the next level (her own high school lists her primary position as a small forward on MaxPreps). She has a little length at her height, but she does a nice job of playing compact when exploding through gaps and slicing through the defense. She is an improving shooter, but she is a talented defender. She is one to watch moving forward!     This was another first look for me, and Hayden is a rising Sophomore with a lot of potential. She has nice length, wiry strength, speed, quickness, and some bounce to her. She can get out and run the floor and isn't a post at all. She moves like a wing, but right now she's most comfortable in the mid-post offensively. If she can consistently stretch her game to the perimeter, she could be a nice wing prospect, because she has the athletic tools, and she looks like she could still grow another inch or two. She's definitely a youngster to keep an eye on the next few years.

The featured image is of Jazzlyn Florence Jazzlyn Florence 5'9" | CG/SG Van Wert | 2027 State OH (2027) from Van Wert High School in Ohio.