Courtside Films: Live Action Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Courtside Films hosted their Fall Showcase in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last weekend. During this event, a number of players stood out with her skill and prowess. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some of the live action notes that I saw take place throughout the day! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='766446' first='Ainsley' last='Roberts'] -2027 - PG - Underwood (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roberts is set for a big Winter ahead statistically at Underwood High School over the next six months. Roberts is a scoring threat, a dribbling threat, and someone that can also produce off of the ball as a slasher. We saw a little bit of all of this over the past week at this event in CR. Roberts was pushing the tempo of the game whenever she could. If she couldn't, she would run into space and get down the floor for a look in transition from the Wings/Corners or while cutting to the hoop. Roberts should be her team's main producer on both sides of the ball once again this Winter season. If she stays aggressive and out of foul trouble, she will be killing it once again before you know it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1353343' first='Maya' last='Abbot'] - 2031 - SG - Marion (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First time I'm seeing the lefty SG that is [player_tooltip player_id='1353343' first='Maya' last='Abbot']. Abbot has a flame thrower from deep and it doesn't take her much time to let it fly. She has one of the fastest releases I've seen in a long time and it doesn't seem fundamental but it goes in a good amount of the time so there is really nothing you can complain about with it. Abbot can also put the rock on the floor and finish at the rim with impressive body control if need be but she would mainly like to see it go in from behind the arch if she had a choice. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1353344' first='Rhea' last='Samson'] - 2030 - SF/CG - Davenport Central (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rhae Samson is currently a SF/CG that understands what she does best right now. Samson has size, physicality, and the ability to put the rock on the floor to get to her spots vs smaller defenders. She is someone that really thrives near the hoop because she is a mismatch. If you are too small, she will go over or through you. If you are too big, she will dribble by you to get to her spots near the bucket. We still have some time before Samson gets to the high school level but when that happens, she might be a producer right off the bat in a few different ways, depending where she is competing at.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='883553' first='Quinn' last='Pershing'] - 2028 - SG - Mount Vernon (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is no doubt that [player_tooltip player_id='883553' first='Quinn' last='Pershing'] is really good fundamentally and in the skilled aspects of the game. Now it's all about getting her moves up to actual game speed. When Pershing has time and space, she is very VERY hard to contain because she can do so much but all of that stuff is going to need to speed up and become a little more natural over time if she really wants to make an impact at the 4A level within Iowa. Once that happens, she is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams to deal with. All of this was on full display at this Courtside event. Pershing pulled out some sweet counter moves, some crafty play off of two feet, and a whole lot of buckets off of her jumper - now it's just about refining it all into something smooth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223807' first='Audrey' last='Danler'] - 2030 - PG - Davenport Assumption (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Danler is a leader as a PG with a smooth trigger from deep off of the dribble or catch. She is skilled enough to attack as her team's main threat or she can be a pass-first operator. She favors going towards her right to shoot and her left to drive so overtime that will have to equal out a little bit more if she wants defenses to have to play her straight up compared to forcing her one way or another. Overall through, this is someone that is very skilled for her age level and she should definitely be a Varsity player right off the bat out of her area by the time she gets to the high school ranks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='884639' first='Makenna' last='Rooney'] - 2028 - PG - Millard West (IA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='884639' first='Makenna' last='Rooney'] should have her time to shine this Winter at Millard West with more opportunity than year's past. Rooney was a leader by example last weekend in Cedar Rapids. She showed that she can bring the ball down the floor, run her team's offense under pressure, and either score herself or get the others around her open. She also showed off that she can knock down open jumpers on rotation all over the perimeter when it's given back to her. Millard West graduates their big dawgs from year's past, so there is sure to be some big moments for other players to take advantage of over the next few months. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->