Battle of New York: Six Emerging Prospects

The "Battle of New York" tournament at Impact Athletic Center in Clifton Park is unique because it features high school teams playing alongside their regular-season teammates, rather than an AAU collection of players. Most teams also had their regular-season coaches. In the early afternoon of the first day, I watched games between Corinth and Cooperstown, and Mechanicville and Amsterdam. These matchups consisted of several players I had seen during the high school season, who made great strides over the summer and have become emerging prospects. Here is a review of a few of them.    [player_tooltip player_id='1276548' first='Bella' last='Craig'] exploded onto the scene in the Section 2 Class B semifinals during the winter season and continues to get better. Craig is a ferocious defender. Her lateral footwork makes it difficult for offensive players to dribble past her. Craig was already solid getting to the rim off the bounce and scoring in transition, but has become an even better perimeter shooter. She has extended the consistency of her game behind the arc and developed new ways to create space between herself and defenders. Craig recently developed a nice sidestep ball fake move, and is excellent at changing speed off the dribble. Her mid-range game is also much improved.     Following in her sister's footsteps, [player_tooltip player_id='1702434' first='Alexis' last='Craig'] continues to emerge as a future star. Craig is only a smidgen taller than her sister, but plays much bigger than her size in the paint, where she is an efficient scorer. She moves well without the ball and once she catches in the lane, is tough to stop. Craig is outstanding off the dribble, uses a nice ball fake, and gets to the cup with ease. Her perimeter shooting gets better every time I watch her play and is becoming a weapon. Craig's length makes her a superior on-the-ball defender, and she can help protect the basket for her team as well. She is a very good rebounder who scores points off outbacks.     I had seen [player_tooltip player_id='1867230' first='Mia' last='Natale'] play on film, but this was my first time watching her in person, and she didn't disappoint. Natale had her entire arsenal on display. Natale can put the ball in the hoop a variety of ways. Natale is already an outstanding shooter from behind the arc, with deep range. She is a very good ballhandler who understands how to create space between herself and defenders. Natale has excellent court vision, finding open teammates. She can put the ball on the floor to drive by the defense and score at the rim. Natale also utilizes an effective spin dribble to create shots. At this tournament, her tremendous leadership skills were also on display.     Cooperstown was trailing Corinth for much of the game, but in the second half Johnson began to impose her will. Johnson, an 8th-grade phenom with an offer already on the table from the University of New Hampshire, showed what the hype is about in the second half. Johnson can score at all three levels. She can connect on jump shots from beyond the arc, the mid-range, or on drives to the basket. Her ball-handling skills are superior, and she knows how to find teammates with her passing ability. Johnson runs the floor well to finish in transition. She is a very good defender, mainly due to her keen anticipation skills.     [player_tooltip player_id='1186432' first='Sage' last='Shanahan'] has always been an elite rebounder, but this summer her offensive game really began to develop. At the "Battle of New York," Shanahan was a much more productive player on the offensive end of the floor. Her strongest move was when she posted up in the middle of the lane and used a ball fake to either the left or right to shake defenders before her drop-step to the bucket. Shanahan was equally efficient with this move on either side of the rim. She was an integral part of her team's offense, using her passing game to execute perfect passes from the high post to teammates on scissors cuts. Shanahan is a strong post defender and adds to her point total on the offensive glass.     [player_tooltip player_id='1893790' first='Elle' last='Richardson'] played a key role in last season's Class B sectional title run for Mechanicville, and should have an even bigger impact during the 26-27 campaign. Richardson is a tremendous defender with great instincts. She has fast hands and gets in the passing lanes to create steals. Richardson is a very good perimeter shooter. She is strong off the dribble-drive and a solid finisher in transition. Richardson has good court vision and knows how to draw defenders to her and distribute the rock to teammates for easy baskets.

The "Battle of New York" tournament at Impact Athletic Center in Clifton Park is unique because it features high school teams playing alongside their regular-season teammates, rather than an AAU collection of players. Most teams also had their regular-season coaches. In the early afternoon of the first day, I watched games between Corinth and Cooperstown, and Mechanicville and Amsterdam. These matchups consisted of several players I had seen during the high school season, who made great strides over the summer and have become emerging prospects. Here is a review of a few of them.