Select Events (Ohio): Hand Down, Man Down

As someone whose shooting ability paid for their college I can appreciate the pressure that comes with being labeled as a shooter. Other teams don't call out "driver" or "post up player" during the games, they just say "shooter" when players who have the reputation for or have proven that they will torch teams from long distance if and when they are given the opportunity. These specialists are highly sought after not only by college coaches but by big name players who know they have someone who makes the defense play honest. Each of these players demonstrated repeatedly that they can shoot the basketball with the best players who participated in Select Events last week.    It would be hard not to start this article with Eva after the shooting performance she put on the last two games of competition finishing with 16 three point shots made, including the final game which saw her hit 10 threes in that game. Whether it was in catch and shoot situations or off the bounce, it did not matter as Scarbeary was unconscious while other players were ready to hit the road and go home after a long week. Since April she has picked up scholarship offers from Bethel University, Indiana Tech, Indiana Wesleyan, and the University of Indy. That list should grow after stellar performances in Ohio.     [player_tooltip player_id='1090920' first='Easton' last='McCollough'] drew big crowds of college coaches and fans of other teams who happened to be walking by and rightly so. As soon as I sat down for the game with the Michigan Mysitcs, one of their parents I knew said that "20 has been making a lot of threes for them". She was talking about Nelke. In the next few minutes on cue, Nelke buried two threes, one from the corner and the other from the wing about 5 feet from me. She was 2-3 feet behind the line when she let it go and it looked good the entire way. She moved very ewll without the ball, especiallly when teams trapped McCollough (like the Mystics) as soon as she crossed half court. Instead of running towards the chaos and bringing her defender with her, Ryan read and reacted then relocated and made herself available. When she got the basketball it did not take long for her to get her feet set, shoulders squared, and the ball released and rotating towards the basket. She will be a very good player for Northeastern State where she has committed to play on the next level.     In a game full of shooters against [program_tooltip program_id='715977' first='AAO' last='Flight'], Kareena made some huge threes down the stretch to keep her team in the game. She also scored the ball in other ways. On one baseline out of bounds play, Agrawal came from the weak side block off of a screen at the opposite elbow and gave a quick jab step right before driving to her left knocking down a jumper between the elbow and three point line. On another baseline out of bounds play she made a nice, quick cut to the basket from the weak side again and scored on a quick layup for Legends. The Loyola-Chicago commit also knocked down a corner three from one side of the court and another from the opposite wing in the second. She also had at least one deflection and added a steal in the second half that I saw.     Sahara was a player I was not familiar with having seen Duval Elite several times play over the last few months. After I got home from Ohio, I immediately asked Brandon Fisher who she was and found out she has only been in the United States for a short time and this was her first tournament with the team. H also mentioned that two division one schools, both Power Four, had asked about him about her recently. In the game against Jason Kidd Select, she knocked down a step back three from about five feet behind the line to start and came down right after, came off the same screen on the right wing and got into the paint before hitting a turnaround jump shot. Shortly after that she hit another three a little left of the top of the key even further back and then came down on the break, split two defenders, and finished smoothly with her left hand at the rim. That was ten points scored in very impressive fashion in the course of about 5 or so minutes of real time. I see know why those coaches were interested and I expect her to receive serious interest and possibly offers from her performance in that game alone. Both sidelines were packed with college coaches to the point it was standing room only.     As I mentioned in the introduction, great players want to have reliable and consistent shooters from the beyond the arc playing with them as it makes it much harder for defenders to leave these players to show help and actually double the star like [player_tooltip player_id='807279' first='Mia' last='McGregor']. Jozelynn knows her role and executes it very well for that team. A quick look and I saw she had scored 40 points in one high school game this season in which Begick knocked down eight three point shoots. I was not at all surprised to see that as I have seen her play about eight times at Select Events in 2026. Each game she makes multiple shoots from three point range and often well beyond. If she is left open and her feet are set, then the score keeper can almost add the points when the ball is released. She was very good in other facets of the game as well, especially hitting the offensive boards and getting opportunistic put backs. Defensively, she used her speed and quickness to trap ball handlers and jump in the passing lane stealing and deflecting the ball several times.     Hannah was another player for the Mystics who was an excellent running mate with [player_tooltip player_id='807279' first='Mia' last='McGregor'] when she was on the floor consistently knocking down three point shots from both corner and wing areas as well as the semi-circle around the top of the key. If Avery was open and she had room there was no hesitation in her shot, nor should there be when she shot the ball at such a high percentage. She is not just a shooter, however as Hannah is a great athlete and she used her speed and quickness to get out on the break as a threat to score, driving the ball to the basket and finishing at the rim, and applying maximum pressure to opposing ball handlers. She will continue her career and Loyola-Chicago where I expect her to have a very good career on the division two level.

As someone whose shooting ability paid for their college I can appreciate the pressure that comes with being labeled as a shooter. Other teams don't call out "driver" or "post up player" during the games, they just say "shooter" when players who have the reputation for or have proven that they will torch teams from long distance if and when they are given the opportunity. These specialists are highly sought after not only by college coaches but by big name players who know they have someone who makes the defense play honest. Each of these players demonstrated repeatedly that they can shoot the basketball with the best players who participated in Select Events last week.