Summer Film Study: Dissecting AAU Tape

This weekend we were back in the lab looking at more film from upcoming prospects from across the state. In that time we dissected five prospects game-style and highlighted them below.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    The future potential of Mariam Noah is noteworthy and something that needs to be spoken about a little bit more. Noah, the 6'2 SF, has been very good at demonstrating her length and natural ability to a T this AAU season on the road with her Lady Pure Prep team. Prior to the season, most of her action was happening next to the hoop because of her height but she has done a great job of putting an emphasis on her hand-eye coordination over the last six months and that's helped expand her game to the three point line. Now we see her doing a lot of screening and rolling action when she comes down the floor, usually making easy work of anyone smaller that might stand in her way. College coaches - this is one to keep an eye on. She is raw right now in this game but she is getting better at a steady rate and she might shine one day at the collegiate level within the right system.     Lydia Michel of Ankeny Centennial and the Iowa Battlers AAU is a SG/SF out on the floor depending on who is playing along side her. She is at her best playing more of a 2 or 3 position, freely moving down the court and around the outside whenever plausible. She understands the game itself - along with the X's and O's, she understands her spacing compared to others around her, and she makes sure to always beat her individual matchup down the floor on both offense and defense so that she can do her work early on in a possession compared to trying to make things happen when the shot clock is dwindling down. Michel has some overall promise to her play-style. She seems dedicated and she plays with some physicality that most don't want to run into so if she can keep all of that up and she continues to work on her weaknesses in her off-time, who knows what she might become down the line!     I don't think Rylee Hunter is going to be someone that is called up to the Varsity level just yet, even with the new rule change moving into this Winter but I do think she is going to be a name we hear a bunch about over her career at Cedar Falls as their SG/PG. Right now Hunter is getting most of her reps while shooting the ball off the catch from deep and she is thriving in that task. This AAU season she is hitting several shots each contest and she is starting to demonstrate that if she is over-player, she can put the rock on the court and get to a more favorable spot for herself or an open teammate. We have only seen glimpses of Hunter over the last six months but every time we did she her, she looked better than the last time and that's promising coming from a prospect at this current age level.     Whenever you make the switch from AAU programs it can be a challenge getting acclimated into your new system but Samantha Dorrity has done a great job with that the last six months with her new Team Iowa program out of Cedar Rapids. Dorrity, the 6'0 SF, has been a vital piece the last few seasons to the success of her CR - Xavier team. She has played the middle of their system while controlling everything that is happening around her. Following her last high school season, she picked up right where she left off by being an offensive threat on the road while also being a top notch defender in-between the blocks. CR - Xavier is going to bring in a few more killers to their Varsity roster this Winter to pair with some of the talent they already have. If Dorrity plays her game and the others coming in, step up. They are going to be a group with a lot of size, that is very tough to beat throughout the Winter. They have all the pieces to be one of the best teams in the 4A Class on paper. Now it just has to translate to the court in real time and the rest will be history.     Marlee Hill is going to be a player that comes out of NOWHERE to those who don't keep up with basketball across the entire state of Iowa. She will compete for Burlington High School when she gets to that level but for now we have seen her competing on the road with Lady Martin Bros Select. Hill mainly sticks near the bucket, getting multiple shot attempts off of misses and multiple rebounds each game. She might be young but she knows to keep the ball high on the catch, she has a soft touch on it, her footwork is noteworthy, and she is relentless in anything she is attempting on the hardwood. Like I said, we might not hear about Hill as recently as this Winter at the Varsity level necessarily but her game has promise and she is only going to get better with time/experience.

This weekend we were back in the lab looking at more film from upcoming prospects from across the state. In that time we dissected five prospects game-style and highlighted them below.