The Encore: Notable Prospects

Teams flooded the gym from across the Midwest, and college coaches from the region showed out to recruit many talented prospects. I had a blast seeing the prospects from multiple states, and Australia put their best skills on display during the tournament. Here are several prospects who delivered notable performances for their teams:    Sophia's athleticism, brute strength, physicality, and relentless style captured my attention during her games with Over the Edge 16U at The Encore. She rotated from the help side to swat shots away viciously in the paint and closed out quickly with a high hand to block shots on the perimeter. Sophia handled the ball comfortably with both hands and powered up off two feet in traffic to score many layups. One of her highlights happened as she raced up the court 94 feet, attacked downhill through bodies, and muscled through arms to score a layup. Defenders had to bear hug Sophia to keep her from getting to the basket. She secured many offensive rebounds, scored putbacks, earned frequent trips to the line, and knocked them down. Sophia fired a one-handed pass like a quarterback from halfcourt to an open teammate rim-front for an assist. She side-stepped defenders in the lane with long, powerful strides, shot the ball confidently from three, and got the basket at will off the dribble.     Ceejay was another dominant guard in the backcourt for AUSA 16U Morgan. She's explosive in the open court. Ceejay caught a pass near the baseline and took off like a rocket up the court. She used long pushouts in a straight line to reach the paint in a hurry, side-stepped the final defender, scored with an and-one scoop finish through contact, then tacked on the free throw. Ceejay was accurate from beyond the arc, swishing a deep wing three, mid-corner triple, and another three from the corner. She went by with an explosive burst, put the defender through a whirlwind with quick, low crossovers, and beat the final defender for a nifty scoop finish. Ceejay blasted through the lane with a flex cut, caught the pass clean, and used a reverse pivot to score the bucket. Her size, dynamic abilities, and athleticism translate to the next level.     Nobody watching Over the Edge 16U play over the weekend at The Encore would suspect that Natalie is an incoming freshman; I certainly didn't. Natalie plays with confidence and a polished skill set beyond her years. She scored a full-speed finish with a soft touch, crashed the boards to score a strong putback, and buried free throws with textbook mechanics, flicking her wrist on the follow-through. She drilled a deep wing three, and it looked like every three was headed for the bottom of the net. Natalie penetrated the defense, collapsed the help, and kicked the ball out to open shooters for threes. She cut backdoor to score catch-and-finish layups, maintained her balance on the move, and shot well in the mid-range after creating space with shifty crossover dribbles. Natalie looks like she's about to make an immediate impact at the high school level.     Amelia was a productive forward in the frontcourt for AUSA 16U Morgan at The Encore. Her towering height, ability to finish inside, and perimeter shooting gave opposing forwards fits. She drained threes from the corner and the wing, swatted shots away in the paint, and moved to open space to give guards an open target around the basket. Amelia scored a strong and-one bucket in the paint off a basket cut and made a nice transfer to score another layup after sliding to the block. She has good instincts, size, and skills that are tough to match up against.     Savayah was the Freshman Showcase MVP last year, and it was exciting to see her on the court again with [program_tooltip program_id='1307580' first='Indy' last='One'] 16U EYBL at The Encore. She attacked a gap and went through a defender to score a physical layup. Savayah added a soft floater after absorbing contact from a defender in the lane. She was effective as the court general and made good basket cuts for catch-and-finishes off the ball. Savayah distributed passes to cutters in stride and hit open teammates on the perimeter for assists. Savayah was active on the offensive glass, scored multiple putbacks, and drilled an open three up top.     Zoey turned in a solid showing for [program_tooltip program_id='1307580' first='Indy' last='One'] 16U EYBL at The Encore. She was dialed in from beyond the arc and knocked down multiple threes from the slot and the corners. Zoey penetrated the defense with her shifty dribbles, kicked the ball out for assists, and made a great jump-pass over a defender to get a teammate a wide-open look next to the basket. She was aggressive on the defensive end and very effective as a facilitator. Zoey cut backdoor, snagged the pass in stride, and made a smooth transfer to make a reverse finish look easy. She's a luxury to have in the backcourt.

Teams flooded the gym from across the Midwest, and college coaches from the region showed out to recruit many talented prospects. I had a blast seeing the prospects from multiple states, and Australia put their best skills on display during the tournament. Here are several prospects who delivered notable performances for their teams: