Grass Lake Warriors Open Gym Shout-Outs

Fall may be a slower time for high school basketball, but there are still plenty of open gyms, four-player workouts, fall leagues, and individual showcases to keep me busy. Since 2019, Grass Lake has dominated the Cascades Conference, securing eight consecutive conference championships. I enjoyed attending the Cascades third-place game between Michigan Center and Hanover-Horton and the Cascades Conference Championship matchup between Grass Lake and Brooklyn Columbia Central at Spring Arbor University. The league will have a new look with the departure of Homer and East Jackson for the Big 8 Conference. The ten remaining Cascades Conference teams will play each other twice this year to determine a champion based on standings rather than a Championship Game winner. The Cascades will expand back to 12 teams in 2027 with the addition of Stockbridge and Hillsdale. Based on returning talent, I believe it will be a battle between Brooklyn Columbia Central, and Grass Lake for the title. The two teams will face off in a regular season finale on February 23rd. I believe that game could very likely have title implications. I had the opportunity to attend Grass Lake open gym on Wednesday, and these were some of the observations I made of players throughout the session:    Elise has had a very productive career at Grass Lake. Her poised presence in the backcourt, ability to slash and score with toughness around the basket, hit the outside shot, get to the line, impact games on defense, facilitate the rock, and create space with her shifty dribbles are why she's an exciting addition to the Rochester Christian 2027 recruiting class. She'll take on an even bigger role as a senior with the graduation of Viegelahn from the Warriors lineup. At open gym, Elise distributed crisp passes during the transition passing drill and finished comfortably in top gear with her right and left. She made clean transfers to score efficiently and threw strong passes on the move without traveling. In games, Elise distributed a great baseline assist and sprinted back twice to stop a fast break. She heaved a 3/4 pass up the court to an open teammate in stride for an assist and showed her range by sinking a smooth wing three.     Kennedy was the newcomer of the day at Grass Lake open gym. She's a forward who looks ready to play a prominent role for the Warriors on varsity after a solid JV season. Kennedy's athleticism, good hands, and ability to finish with pace stood out during the transition passing drill. Her speed, transfers, soft finishes with both hands, and athletic jumping ability on her layups made a great impression. She's a player who worked hard, competed with a high motor, and brought it from start to finish. Kennedy sprinted in to block a shot from the trail position and hustled to contest shots on the perimeter in games. She caught passes with strong hands and went up off two to finish in drills. Kennedy moved well laterally to block shots from help in 3v3 and separated herself during the weighted ball tosses. She knocked down a three up top during the lightning competition and will be a formidable 1-2 punch with White in the frontcourt this season.     Adalyn was a key contributor in the Grass Lake lineup as a sophomore, and I'm anticipating an even bigger junior year. She's a dynamic offensive scoring threat from the perimeter and off the dribble. That was evident at open gym on Wednesday. Adalyn made great adjustments during the transition passing drill to catch low passes, transfer the ball quickly without traveling, and finish the layups with her right and left. One of her highlights that caught my attention in the games was when Adalyn used a smooth, wide lateral pushout dribble to create a driving lane, split the gap with a dribble burst, accelerated past the defenders straight to the rim, then made a quick transfer to score the crafty layup. She made an unselfish extra pass for an assist during a fast break, and buried consecutive threes in the star three-point shooting drill. Adalyn knocked down shots efficiently from the corners and added back-to-back triples in the lightning competition to end the session. She's a 28' prospect in the top 50 who should have some offers, and I'm excited to see her again at The Expo on Saturday.     Brooklyn is a freshman who has the potential to be a very productive guard in the Grass Lake backcourt over the coming years. In 5v5 games, she stuck with a shot to score a putback, caught a pass with good hands and made a smooth transfer to score an inside hand finish, then showed her outside range by sinking a wing three. Brooklyn got hot from beyond the arc and hit three triples in a row during the star shooting drill, draining triples from up top, the corner, and the wing.     Jillian's athletic frame, solid length as a 3/4, persistent rebounding, and versatile skill set give her great potential to be an immediate role player at Grass Lake. She maintained a wide/athletic stance during the stationary ball-handling segment and did an excellent job of adjusting to off-target bounce passes during the transition passing drill, making smooth transfers to score with her right and left efficiently at the rim. Jillian secured many rebounds in the games, earning the label of "active rebounder". She handled the ball with both hands in the open court, converted a layup, and dished out an assist after securing the offensive board. Jillian can pop outside to hit the open three and will be a prospect to follow over the coming years.     Brooke demonstrated leadership by verbally communicating with teammates during drills and finished well with her right and left hand during the transition passing segment. In 5v5, Brooke made an unselfish extra pass down the baseline to create an open look for a teammate, used great box-out technique to secure a long defensive rebound, got her hands up to deflect a pass in transition, and blocked a shot away after a great recovery on the defensive end. She was solid at Grass Lake open gym and will be an important contributor for the Warriors this season.     Leah impressed me the most during the games at Grass Lake open gym. She flew around all over the court to make plays and just looked like she was competing in a higher gear. Leah drained two corner jumpers with a quick release off the catch, sprinted inside to secure an offensive rebound, then scored the putback. She converted a speedy fast break layup, changed hands confidently in the open court, and caught a pass in stride, then drove hard to the basket for a bucket. Leah converted layups at full speed in the transition passing drill and has sneaky athleticism. She's tough and competitive enough to take on difficult defensive assignments in the paint. Leah steps up to make game-changing plays in key moments, and she's going to be a key contributor for Grass Lake again this season.     Hadleigh was impactful for Grass Lake as a freshman, and she appears ready to take another step forward as a sophomore. Her length/physicality, footwork, touch around the basket, rebounding presence, defensive effort, and ability to stretch the floor are all advantages that create matchup nightmares for opponents. In the drills, Hadleigh looked to be in her element when making spin dribbles and transferring the ball to score with her right and left with a soft touch. She ran the court well in the transition passing a drill. Hadleigh finished layups efficiently and under control with her right and left. In games, Hadleigh held her ground, securing two straight offensive rebounds, shielding the ball with her body, then powering up off two feet to score the layup in traffic. She protected the basket and swatted a shot away on the defensive end. Two more plays that stood out during my observations: a flex cut with a smooth catch and finish off two, plus a smooth straightaway three at the end of the session during lightning. Hadleigh is coming off a fantastic AAU season, and she separated herself at Grass Lake open gym. Hadleigh competes with a relentless work ethic and will be one of the top forward prospects in the gym at The Expo on Saturday.

Fall may be a slower time for high school basketball, but there are still plenty of open gyms, four-player workouts, fall leagues, and individual showcases to keep me busy. Since 2019, Grass Lake has dominated the Cascades Conference, securing eight consecutive conference championships. I enjoyed attending the Cascades third-place game between Michigan Center and Hanover-Horton and the Cascades Conference Championship matchup between Grass Lake and Brooklyn Columbia Central at Spring Arbor University. The league will have a new look with the departure of Homer and East Jackson for the Big 8 Conference. The ten remaining Cascades Conference teams will play each other twice this year to determine a champion based on standings rather than a Championship Game winner. The Cascades will expand back to 12 teams in 2027 with the addition of Stockbridge and Hillsdale. Based on returning talent, I believe it will be a battle between Brooklyn Columbia Central, and Grass Lake for the title. The two teams will face off in a regular season finale on February 23rd. I believe that game could very likely have title implications. I had the opportunity to attend Grass Lake open gym on Wednesday, and these were some of the observations I made of players throughout the session: