Brawl at the Palms: Problems in the Post

Several post players and players that may not be in name, but spend a lot of time there have shined bright at the Wellington Sports Academy. Some of these players basketball folks know well, but it was a nice surprise to see new players operate with a high level of effectiveness and efficiency with their play in the paint. Both groups were equally impressive and represented the sunshine state well.    Forbes came out with purpose to start game two swatting a layup out of bounds about five feet from where I was sitting. She followed that up with several scores in the paint and on the block, showing excellent footwork for anyone but especially someone her size. At 6'7 Jayla has the ability to dominate games because of her ability to completely control the boards, finish consistently from the paint, and completely shutdown the threat of penetration with her presence. Forbes shoots the ball very well extending out to the midrange and shot the ball well when she went to the free throw line today. When Forbes has it locked in and rolling, there are not more impactful players in the class of 2027.     Alexis was without question of the most athletic post player I saw in the 17U division. She is a three sport star with basketball being number one along with volleyball and track and field, where Justice is currently ranked 17th by ESPN in the country for Long Jump and Triple Jump. Her ability to elevate was clear as Alexis snatched down rebounds from above the crowd in every game I saw her play. Justice was an active rebounder who sought out the ball rather than waiting for it to come to her. She is not just 6'2, but long with an ideal wingspan. She is an excellent finisher around the rim and made several shots from the mid range. I had not seen Alexis play before, but was very impressed with her overall game. She is long and athletic, but played the game with a lot of intelligence and unselfishness.     Parrish scored when she wanted to in the paint for the most part in Wellington. She does an excellent job posting and sealing the defender behind her and making herself a target by sticking her arms out and up when receiving the ball. Parrish has a great set of hands and pair of feet. She caught everything thrown to her even when the pass looked uncatchable and somehow secured rebounds that looked completely out of her reach. She is a very cerebral player who waited for the double to come before kicking it back out to [player_tooltip player_id='470397' first='Sariyah' last='Sabb'], who was on fire from the perimeter. If the help didn't fully come and just showed, then Parrish waiting for help to return to their assignment and then went to work putting her big offensive bag on display. If I were a division two in school I would be recruiting Janice very hard. She was one of the best performers of any position all weekend long.     Bross had a huge game for CFE against a very good HER Elite 17U EYBL team. Bross showed off very impressive athleticism to go with her excellent size and length by blocking multiple shots throughout the game. Bross also did an excellent job contributing to the near upset on the boards where she was not afraid of contact or to get physical in a crowded lane of future high level college players. Bross showed her skill by stepping out to the perimeter and knocking down a very nice three on the wing in that game and shot the ball very well from the line. She was also effective slashing to the basket. Ellie is a big time stock riser for me coming out of this event.     Dube is not a post per-se but she did a lot of damage in the painted area in the two games that I saw the Suns play. Dube finished the game with points, all scored inside the three point line where she displayed a lot of skill, strength, and athleticism. Eight of Dube's points came from the field, many of those through contact and others over defenders, and she shot the ball extremely well going six for six from the free throw line. At five foot ten she was a difficult match up for smaller players in the post and when post defenders came out to guard her away from the basket, Dube blew by them and got to the rim multiple times.

Several post players and players that may not be in name, but spend a lot of time there have shined bright at the Wellington Sports Academy. Some of these players basketball folks know well, but it was a nice surprise to see new players operate with a high level of effectiveness and efficiency with their play in the paint. Both groups were equally impressive and represented the sunshine state well.