Madonna Elite Camp Standouts

Stephanie Fisher is the new head coach at Madonna University. After years as an assistant at Aquinas College, she's familiar with the WHAC and is looking to build her new program into something special. I asked Coach Fisher for a brief snapshot of what her vision is for the Madonna Women's Basketball program. Coach Fisher replied, "My program is based on relationships and having a team that is above any individual. I want to be connected. I look for tough-minded, hard-working, and competitive student-athletes that understand that the small things matter to have success, while having fun at the same time. Offseason work matters, academics matter, and being a good teammate is so important." One aspect of elite camp that I appreciated was how Coach Fisher took the time to do walkthroughs and provide verbal cues for the drills and offensive actions to help the athletes understand the goal. A few of the drills and half-court actions challenged the prospects mentally, providing insight into which players could learn and execute new concepts on the fly. These are the prospects who filled up my notebook and separated themselves during the camp:   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">UPCOMING PGH EVENTS (Use "Evan26PGH25Off" code for discount)</h2>   The Freshman Showcase (2030s), August 22nd   <a href="https://events.prepgirlshoops.com/e/2390/register/michigan-freshman-showcase">Registration Link</a>   The Expo (2027-2029s), September 26th   <a href="https://events.prepgirlshoops.com/e/2420/register/the-expo-michigan">Registration Link</a>    Londyn has the quick-twitch shiftiness to maneuver past perimeter defenders and penetrate with her dribble, leading to open looks for herself and teammates around the basket. She's also a legit three-point threat. Her fast lateral footwork and pressure made opposing ball-handlers uncomfortable. She did an excellent job of beating the ball to the spot and stopping drives without hand-checking or fouling. Londyn knocked down threes efficiently during the shooting drills, and that translated directly into 2v2 and 5v5 games. She caught a pass on the wing, pivoted to get her feet balanced, then fired a three that ripped the net. Londyn hit another triple from the corner on the following possession for her second straight, drilled another triple later from the wing, slashed to the hoop for a speedy layup, and ripped by from the perimeter on a drive-by, then dropped in a soft floater over the help. One of Londyn's highlights was a shifty crossover move where she forced the rim protector to commit to her drive, transferred the ball to her left, then tossed a quick one-handed dump-off pass over the top for an assist. Londyn's an effective floor general, and she demonstrated leadership by high-fiving teammates in line. She had a great day at Madonna Elite Camp.     Elyanna climbed the charts after multiple Top Performer showings on the PGH Circuit for [program_tooltip program_id='715424' first='The' last='Naturals'], and she stood out again during Madonna Elite Camp. Her speed in the open court and ability to catch passes in stride, then finish without slowing down or travelling going into her layups was a separator in the full-court transition passing drill. She knocked down several threes from the wings in shooting drills and was one of the most consistent perimeter threats during the lift/slip half-court segment. Elyanna used long strides to create space from her defender on a hard drive to the basket and stretched to score the tough, contested bucket at the rim. She stared down the rim to freeze defenders closing out, then went by with an explosive dribble burst. Elyanna dished out back-to-back fast break assists, caught a rocket pass in stride for a transition layup, and scored a drive-by layup after juking her defender with a sudden inside-out dribble move. She's a multidimensional point guard who can make an impact in the backcourt for a college program.     It took about five minutes of watching Kaitlyn play to realize she's going to be a legit front-court prospect for teams in this conference to target. As a center, she checks the boxes you're looking for. 6-foot-plus height, athletic build/filled out frame, mobile for her size, natural rim runner, good hands when catching and finishing off basket cuts, and she even knocked down a triple after lifting to the top of the key. Kaitlyn made a nice catch-and-finish off two feet, transferring to her left hand to score in top gear. She keeps the ball high, which protects it in traffic and maximizes her height advantage. Kaitlyn blocked drives with her hands high, crashed the glass to score a putback, and made a quick transfer to score a reverse layup off two feet from a difficult angle. She was a breakout player at Madonna Elite Camp and will be a big stock riser in the next rankings update.     Payton turned in a solid all-around effort at Madonna Elite Camp. Her confident handles and balanced finishes with both hands around the basket were among the best in the group. Payton knocked down a smooth free-throw jumper off a crossover, scored layups with a soft touch off the glass, made smooth transfers between hands, completed a behind-the-back crossover combination with ease, then transferred the ball to her right, maintaining her pace for the layup. Her skill translated directly to the games. Payton sealed a defender, used a drop step to create a scoring angle, then scored with a left-handed scoop finish off the window for the and-one. There wasn't a timid bone in her body as she muscled into rebounding position in the paint, secured the board, and went up strong for the two-foot putback. Payton showed off her fancy footwork, pivoting and stepping through to score with her left in traffic. She attacked down the baseline for a reverse finish, buried a mid-corner jumper, and drilled a straightaway three after collecting her balance with a reverse pivot. A stellar sophomore campaign at Fowlerville is right around the corner, and Payton is trending towards becoming a very good college prospect.     Savanna is about to be a very exciting addition to a college program. She checks all the boxes needed to be a productive stretch forward in the WHAC and similar conferences. Her strong, muscular build, length, mobility, versatility, and polished fundamental skill set in the paint will make her an impact player at the next level. Savanna carries herself with a calm confidence. One of my favorite qualities that I observed in her character at Madonna Elite Camp is that Savanna acts like she's been there and done that before. After hitting threes, she moves on to the next play and appears to just be going about her business. Savanna consistently separated herself from start to finish. She maintained good speed on basket cuts and made seamless transfers to finish with her right and left hand at the rim: very natural at making the right reads in ball-screen actions. Savanna has good balance and plays well off two feet. She was one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the gym, hitting many threes off lifts and pops during the ball-screen action and shooting drills. Savanna continued to shoot it well during games, sinking a smooth straightaway three off the dribble and another triple from the slot off the bounce.     Who's that girl in the gold shoes? That was a question I found myself asking early on at Madonna Elite Camp. Lauren has athleticism, length, versatility, and the high motor that appeals to coaches at the next level. Lauren looks like a natural two-guard-wing who can mix it up in the post. She didn't yield an inch, working hard to deny entry passes into the post using excellent fronting technique. She continued to deny passes aggressively all the way out on the perimeter. Lauren showed great sportsmanship by helping up an opponent after a hard play. She was a persistent rebounder and finished effectively with her right and left off two feet around the basket, catching passes with strong hands. Lauren took one dribble from the short corner, made a smooth transfer, then finished with a soft touch off the glass. She sprinted back to stop transition points on the defensive end, showed another gear when she crossed over a defender off the dribble on a hard-nosed drive to the basket, and threw a rocket one-handed pass from half-court to a sprinting teammate for an assist. Lauren didn't allow any free cuts through the paint and used her long arms to close passing windows to cutters. She crashed the boards to score multiple putbacks, knocked down a mid-range jumper from the wing, and made fluid transfers after catching passes in the paint to convert high-percentage shots around the basket.

Stephanie Fisher is the new head coach at Madonna University. After years as an assistant at Aquinas College, she's familiar with the WHAC and is looking to build her new program into something special. I asked Coach Fisher for a brief snapshot of what her vision is for the Madonna Women's Basketball program. Coach Fisher replied, "My program is based on relationships and having a team that is above any individual. I want to be connected. I look for tough-minded, hard-working, and competitive student-athletes that understand that the small things matter to have success, while having fun at the same time. Offseason work matters, academics matter, and being a good teammate is so important." One aspect of elite camp that I appreciated was how Coach Fisher took the time to do walkthroughs and provide verbal cues for the drills and offensive actions to help the athletes understand the goal. A few of the drills and half-court actions challenged the prospects mentally, providing insight into which players could learn and execute new concepts on the fly. These are the prospects who filled up my notebook and separated themselves during the camp: