8th Grade Hidden Gem Prospect Shines at Big Cat

Milford High School hosted the Big Cat Fall League on Sunday, and I stopped by to catch the first group of games. Here are six prospects from the younger age group who caught my attention:    Harper had a solid all-around performance for the Great Lakes Warriorz at Big Cat Fall League. She worked hard on the defensive end, rebounded, and gave the team a spark on the offensive end. Harper showed confidence as a shooter and knocked down a smooth corner jumper. She attacked downhill off the dribble, got to the rim, and finished with excellent touch off the glass.     Ella is a scrappy guard whose timely scoring helped lift the Great Lakes Warriorz to a hard-fought win at the Big Cat Fall League. She hit a tough, unconventional Rondo runner from way out at the top of the key and delivered the shot of the day with the game tied. With the clock ticking down, Ella caught a kickout pass in the corner with her feet set, then buried the game-winning three to give Great Lakes Warriors the win. She has ice in her veins.     Olivia's facilitating, shiftiness, and playmaking at point guard for [program_tooltip program_id='932068' first='Michigan' last='Prospects'] during the Big Cat Fall League separated her on the court. She blew by with a dribble burst to score a fast-break layup and created scoring opportunities for herself and teammates off dribble penetration. Olivia took a defensive rebound coast to coast for a speedy bucket off two feet, attacked downhill off a DHO to cause a foul, and split the gap after freezing a defender with a quick pocket dribble. She shot the ball with confidence from three, drained a triple up top off the hop, and knocked down a long jumper. Olivia made a great one more pass after securing the offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to open shooters after drawing the help to her dribble. She has a bag full of crossover combination moves and is tough to keep bottled up.     Hailey showed flashes of the ability at Big Cat with [program_tooltip program_id='932068' first='Michigan' last='Prospects'], which gives me confidence she'll be a very productive freshman at Linden. She catches passes balanced and ready to shoot or attack downhill. Hailey used an effective shot fake to get her defender off balance, and drove by with her left. She pushes the ball up the court in transition comfortably with her right and left, slashes through gaps, and has a good finishing touch around the basket in traffic. Hailey has outside range and hit an open three from the wing. She made a smart basket cut, caught the pass, went up strong to earn a trip to the free-throw line, and knocked down both shots from the charity stripe late in the game.     While watching a high school matchup at Big Cat Fall League, I peeked over at a side court and caught an unknown forward prospect with size, athleticism, mobility, and promising skill that immediately made my eyes light up. Lydia was that exciting new prospect in the gym, and she had her coming-out party on Sunday. Lydia knocked down a straightaway three in game one, contested shots well on the perimeter, contributed mightily as a rebounder, and sprinted the floor well in transition. Game two was even better. Lydia's hot spot was at the free-throw line. She found the soft spot in the zone, presented a big target with her hands ready, pivoted, and buried multiple jumpers from near the foul line. Lydia motored up the court to give teammates a fast break option and finished a catch-and-finish bucket off two feet. She used good wall-up technique to contest shots in the paint without fouling, picked off a pass from the help side, and moved her feet to stop drives. Lydia kept her eyes up to find open teammates, secured rebounds, and created steals, then pushed the ball up the floor with pace. She accelerated up the floor on a fast break after swiping the ball away and earned a trip to the line. Lydia provided the wildest moment of the day when she had her back to the basket under the rim and wasn't able to pivot or get a clear scoring angle. Facing away from the basket, she decided to granny-style flip the ball over her head, which magically banked off the backboard and through the net for two points. Lydia hit a clutch free throw to put the team ahead late, and she's going to be an elite forward prospect in her class.     Jocelyn looked poised running the offense and demonstrated excellent ball-handling control. She used crossovers and changed hands comfortably to escape pressure and create space to drive, dish, or shoot. Jocelyn has good mechanics on her shot and is confident from three-point range. She pivoted well and threw strong cross-court skip passes to beat the defense. Jocelyn created a deflection and steal by using textbook outside-hand technique while defending a BLOB. She took a steal the other way with pace, pushed the ball out with both hands, and got to the rim. Jocelyn was active on the boards and made the timely assist on the game-winning shot. She stood out with Great Lakes Warriorz at the Big Cat Fall League.

Milford High School hosted the Big Cat Fall League on Sunday, and I stopped by to catch the first group of games. Here are six prospects from the younger age group who caught my attention:

Harper Crosby

HEIGHT 5'6"

POS SG

CLASS 2031

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Harper Crosby

State: Michigan

Club: Great Lakes Warriorz

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Ella Gabrielius

HEIGHT 5'3"

POS PG

CLASS 2031

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Ella Gabrielius

State: Michigan

Club: Great Lakes Warriorz

Ella is a scrappy guard whose timely scoring helped lift the Great Lakes Warriorz to a hard-fought win at the Big Cat Fall League. She hit a tough, unconventional Rondo runner from way out at the top of the key and delivered the shot of the day with the game tied. With the clock ticking down, Ella caught a kickout pass in the corner with her feet set, then buried the game-winning three to give Great Lakes Warriors the win. She has ice in her veins.

Olivia McGregory

HEIGHT 5'3"

POS PG

CLASS 2031

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Olivia McGregory

State: Michigan

Club: Michigan Prospects

Olivia's facilitating, shiftiness, and playmaking at point guard for Michigan Prospects during the Big Cat Fall League separated her on the court. She blew by with a dribble burst to score a fast-break layup and created scoring opportunities for herself and teammates off dribble penetration. Olivia took a defensive rebound coast to coast for a speedy bucket off two feet, attacked downhill off a DHO to cause a foul, and split the gap after freezing a defender with a quick pocket dribble. She shot the ball with confidence from three, drained a triple up top off the hop, and knocked down a long jumper. Olivia made a great one more pass after securing the offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to open shooters after drawing the help to her dribble. She has a bag full of crossover combination moves and is tough to keep bottled up.

Hailey Renye

MI #WL

SG/CG #WL

HEIGHT 5'6"

POS SG/CG

CLASS 2030

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Hailey Renye

State: Michigan

School: Linden

Club: Michigan Prospects

Hailey showed flashes of the ability at Big Cat with Michigan Prospects , which gives me confidence she'll be a very productive freshman at Linden. She catches passes balanced and ready to shoot or attack downhill. Hailey used an effective shot fake to get her defender off balance, and drove by with her left. She pushes the ball up the court in transition comfortably with her right and left, slashes through gaps, and has a good finishing touch around the basket in traffic. Hailey has outside range and hit an open three from the wing. She made a smart basket cut, caught the pass, went up strong to earn a trip to the free-throw line, and knocked down both shots from the charity stripe late in the game.