Rising Stars Showcase: Ladies Championship Standout Players

Sacramento, CA - Saturday, August 15th, I made the trip up to Sacramento High for the annual Rising Stars Showcase hosted by Coaches Corner. The event featured two girls semifinal games, a three point contest, and a championship game, with the boys following the same format, to make for a fun and entertaining day of hoops. This article looks at 10 prospects from the teams that won in the semifinals, faced off in the championship, and that made the most of the opportunity in the two games they played. In this article you will find the following information: the player's name, height, player position, current school they are attending, and the stats I kept from the event. We begin this article with a look at the multiple sport athlete, [player_tooltip player_id='1268004' first='Kennedy' last='Hull'].   Team [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']    Kennedy displayed her athleticism, length, and agility in the Rising Stars Showcase, and is an intriguing multi-sport athlete that impacts both ends of the court at a high-level. Hull had a great showing in the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']'s semifinal win over the Sparks, as she would go for an impressive stat-line of 11 points and 8 rebounds, with a clutch second half to keep her team in the lead to advance to the title game. Kennedy would pull down 8 rebounds in the title game and was huge in providing second chance scoring opportunities for the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']. Hull has good timing and bounce to control the boards, alter shots in the paint, as well as on the perimeter, has nice touch on shots around the basket, has enough handle to push the ball up the court, and seals off her defender nicely to get open on the dive out of the pick and roll action.      Kate absolutely dominated the boards at the Rising Stars Showcase, showing her interior dominance to limit opponents to single shot possessions, gets points off the put-back, and 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in the semifinals, followed by 11 rebounds in the championship game, with some key boards down the stretch to give her team extra looks. Hull crashes the boards with relentless effort, gets the ball out and gets up the court to get open for easy baskets in the open court, along with touch on finishes around the basket.      Lee had an outstanding showing in the championship game for Team [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last=''] in its overtime win over Team Liberty, as she would hit the game winning three to earn Player of the Game honors for the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']. Lee finished with 15 points, connecting on 3 threes, with 10 of her 15 coming in the second half, and was pivotal in helping her team regain the lead and win in OT. Lee has solid handles, shifty moves to create off the bounce, gets to the basket with a quick burst off the dribble, has fluid movement off the ball to get to her shot spots, and is effective with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the catch or the dribble. Lee crashes the boards, looks to push the ball in the open court, and has the court awareness to make quality passes to open teammates.      Manning is a shifty and skilled combo guard that can light it up from beyond the arc, which she displayed in the championship game, connecting on 5 threes and putting up a game-high 16 points to help her team get out to an early lead. Manning has solid handles, keeps the ball on a string, has the moves to keep her defender off balance, using the hesitation and various crossover combos to shake her defender, gets into the paint routinely, and opens up the floor with her ability to score in volume from beyond the arc, which she can use the pump-fake to get by and score around the cup. Manning moves well off the ball, gets to her shot spots, and can put up points quickly with the 3-ball, connecting on 6 over the two games with 10 points and 3 steals in the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']'s win in the semifinals over the Sparks.      Rafiq is a crafty and skilled lead guard that makes plays for her teammates, as well as the moves to create her own shots off the bounce, and was the key factor for the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last=''] in its semifinal win over the Sparks, as she would go for 14 points, connecting on a pair of threes, and 8 rebounds, earning Player of the Game honors in the semifinal win, along with the game winning three to get her squad into the title game. She followed that up with 5 points and 6 rebounds in the title game, playing more of the facilitator role. Rafiq has tight handles, keeps the dribble alive to probe the defense, has a good burst of the bounce, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, is a crafty scorer at the basket, and moves well off the ball to get open looks for the 3-ball off the catch. Rafiq has great court vision, precise passing, and finds the open teammate.       Wiley brought consistency in both of the [program_tooltip program_id='713896' first='Fever' last='']'s games, with 9 points and 5 points respectively, with key rebounds and defensive plays made to help her team win the championship game. Wiley has active hands, quick footspeed, and timing to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to turn defense to offense, has the handles to push the ball up the court, enough moves to create her own shots, and the court vision to find open teammates off the drive and kick pass.     Team Liberty    Harrison was one of the top freshmen at the event for the ladies side of the showcase, putting up double-digit points in both of her team's games, with totals of 12 points and 11 points respectively, and connecting on a three in each game to show she can space the floor. Harrison has solid handles, crafty moves to get by her defender, uses the crossover combos, hesitation, and spin move to get space from her defender, and can score the ball from 3-levels, with accuracy on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line. Harrison looks to attack the paint on the regular, moves fluidly off the ball to get open looks, and is effective with the 3-ball off the catch. Plays with a lot of confidence and can score in volume when she is hunting her shot.       McEntee played an impressive game at the lead guard spot in the title game for Team Liberty, as she would finish with 11 points and 7 rebounds, 9 of those points coming in the first half to help her team stay within striking distance for the second half comeback push. McEntee keeps the ball on a string, has the moves to get past her initial defender and attack downhill, gets into the paint to force the defense to collapse, has the court vision to find open teammates off then drive and kick pass, or the cross court pass to open shooters, is a crafty scorer around the basket.      Odom put on a clinic on the boards at the Rising Stars Showcase on the girls side of the event, as she would own the glass with games of 6 points and 14 rebounds, followed by 12 points and 11 rebounds in a loss in the title game, for a total of 25 rebounds over the two games she played. Odom gets great positioning, has relentless energy to corral the rebound, gets points off put-backs, limits opponents to single shot possessions, and outlets the ball to get up the court for the catch and finish in transition. Odom has solid moves to create space in the paint, great touch on shots around the basket, can space the floor with the jumper from the mid-post, makes good reads from the center position, and can score through contact at the cup. Plays with great effort and toughness to match her skill set.      Smith was the events overall leading scorer on the ladies side of the showcase, as she would go for a single game high of 24 points in the Liberty's semifinal win, and notched a dear double-double in the title game, with 11 points and 9 rebounds, and was likely the top overall player and earned Player of the Game honors in the semifinal dub. Smith has solid handles, creative moves to get space from her defender, using the crossover, hesitation, up-and-under, one-leg fade middy, can space the floor with the 3-ball off bounce or the catch, and keeps moving off the ball to find openings around the basket, as well as on the perimeter. Smith is active on the glass, looks to push the pace of play in the open court, has the wingspan and disruptive hands to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or block/alter shots in the paint, as well as on the wing, and has great body control when she absorbs contact in the air.

Sacramento, CA - Saturday, August 15th, I made the trip up to Sacramento High for the annual Rising Stars Showcase hosted by Coaches Corner. The event featured two girls semifinal games, a three point contest, and a championship game, with the boys following the same format, to make for a fun and entertaining day of hoops. This article looks at 10 prospects from the teams that won in the semifinals, faced off in the championship, and that made the most of the opportunity in the two games they played. In this article you will find the following information: the player's name, height, player position, current school they are attending, and the stats I kept from the event. We begin this article with a look at the multiple sport athlete, Kennedy Hull Kennedy Hull 6'3" | SF/PF Woodcreek | 2029 CA .