LBI Hoosier Summer Invitational Review: 2021

Last weekend Lady Ballers Insider hosted another event in Northern Indiana. This time it was the Hoosier Summer Invitational at Warsaw High School’s campus, including using their beautiful new 4-court fieldhouse. The event was loaded with most of the best teams/programs from the state of Michigan, as well as a handful of teams from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Below is a look at 11 Michigan prospects from the Class of 2021 who I thought stood out in last Saturday’s action when I was able to see them.   [player_tooltip player_id="4142" first="Jillian" last="Brown"], 2021, 5-10 CG, East Grand Rapids H.S. For all the attention Jillian has gotten over the years because of her skill and talent, I think the most impressive part to her game is her temperament, as I don’t recall ever seeing her get rattled. She is always so poised and disciplined, savvy, and aware. She is a really nice athlete in all directions, a wiry strong kid with broad shoulders, and she has range to beyond the 3-pont line. She can handle the ball and run offense, but she’s just such a natural shooter/scorer. I also like her versatility defensively, as she can take on a variety of perimeter players. She has already committed to Northwestern University. [player_tooltip player_id="27985" first="Abrie" last="Cabana"], 2021, 5-10 SG, Grass Lake H.S. I saw Abrie a year ago at the end of July, but her play last Saturday really stood out to me. She played much stronger, tougher, and most assertively. She has a long, wiry strong frame, and she’s a really nice, fluid athlete, with some quickness to her. Abrie plays with a nice toughness, a good motor, and she’s very active at both ends of the floor. Offensively, she is a talented perimeter shooter with range beyond the 3-point line, but she can put it on the floor and attack, plus she’s a willing and capable passer who can occasionally run offense. Abrie has already committed to Grand Valley State University. [player_tooltip player_id="138322" first="Genevieve" last="Decker"], 2021, 5-10 W, Anchor Bay H.S. It’s real easy to notice Genevieve on the floor, because not many girls stand out as much as she does with her energy and effort at both ends of the court. She is an extremely long, wiry strong, and athletic wing who plays with some fluidity and some bounce. She is an aggressive driver who can get to the basket and finish above, around, and through defenders. She can also slide over and initiate the offense like a point forward at times. I also like her presence at the defensive end of the floor, whether it’s on the ball or affecting passing lanes off the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="138309" first="Lillee" last="Gustafson"], 2021, 6-0 PF, Hartland H.S. Lillee stood out to me last Saturday because of her motor, and I felt like she had as much of a nose for the ball as anyone I saw. She did a nice job of blocking out to rebound, but she also pursued caroms outside of her area. She has a somewhat strong, athletic frame, she’s a solid athlete in most directions, and she played tough and physical, even against bigger opponents. She struck me as a really nice mid-post to low-block type of power forward who is highly productive inside of 15-feet. I didn’t see her shoot it much outside, so if she can or eventually develops that ability, it could really cause problems for opponents. [player_tooltip player_id="4132" first="Damiya" last="Hagemann"], 2021, 5-7 PG, Edison Public School Academy Damiya is our #1 prospect in Michigan in 2021, and she is one of the best available prospects in the country right now. She is quick/fast, bouncy, and she plays with a lot of energy. She looks a little taller, longer, and leaner than she did a year ago, plus she’s playing with a greater sense of urgency each possession. She is a playmaker off the bounce, she always finds open teammates, plus she can score it at all three levels herself, and with range beyond the arc. I also feel like she’s defending with much greater intensity. Look for her to choose from any of several high-major Division-I offers. [player_tooltip player_id="138303" first="Kaybriana" last="Hallman"], 2021, 6-3 PF/C, East Kentwood H.S. Kaybriana really intrigued me last Saturday. I think what stood out the most was, at her size, with her fluidity, she can become a real matchup problem at the next level. She is still somewhat slender and will need to add strength to her frame, but she’s extremely long and moves almost effortlessly for a player of her height. I was impressed with her physicality, because thinner kids don’t usually seek contact, but she plays the right way and tries to make first contact. She also has solid skill facing the basket. I think she can be a nice face-up ’5’ or a perimeter ’4’ with great height at the next level. [player_tooltip player_id="138369" first="Jaylee" last="Long"], 2021, 5-6 CG, Newaygo H.S. Jaylee is a nice little guard who does a lot of good things for her team. She has solid ball skill, a good basketball IQ, and an instinctive feel for the game. She does a nice job of finding open teammates in positions to score, but she is also a nice perimeter shooter herself. She has a strong, athletic frame, and she moves fairly well in most directions. If anything, she could stand to get a little quicker defensively, but she is smart and seems to take good angles to the ball. I think she’s probably more of a point guard than a ’2’ by nature, but her ability to shoot it is intriguing off the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="138298" first="Ally" last="VanTimmeren"], 2021, 6-2 PF, Jenison H.S. After playing with the Midwest Elite EYBL team out of Chicago for most of the Summer, Ally joined the 1 Nation 3SSB team last weekend in Warsaw. She continues to put together a strong grassroots season, and I just like her style of play much more this year. She is really using her size and strength to her advantage, constantly attacking the basket from the mid-post and abusing smaller defenders on the block. She does have 3-point range, and she’ll play some outside at the next level, but I felt like last year she settled for too many jumpers. Ally will be a really nice fit at Boston College next year. [player_tooltip player_id="138312" first="Saniaa" last="Walker"], 2021, 5-8 CG, Kearsley H.S. I thought Saniaa was pretty solid for her Michigan Storm UAA team when I was able to see them. She is a wiry strong kid with good length, an athletic frame, and she moves well in just about every direction. She just has the look of a ballplayer, plus she does a variety of things fairly well. While she might not be elite at one specific thing, she does handle it reasonably well and can run offense, she’s capable of knocking down open rhythm jumpers when she’s set, and she can find open teammates in positions to score. She was solid at the defensive end, plus I felt like she rebounded her position very well. Paige Walton, 2021, 6-4 PF/C, Centerville H.S. I was kind of intrigued by Paige’s play and her potential. At her size, she is fairly skilled and has some ability. She is very long, she has a reasonably strong base, but she will need to build her upper body strength before she gets to the next level. I thought she showed some fluidity and the mobility to play around the perimeter at both ends of the floor. She wasn’t the best on-ball defender, but she sat down in a stance and could contain on switches for a few seconds. Offensively, she posted some, but she also shot it on occasion from the perimeter. I am guessing she’s probably under-recruited at this point. [player_tooltip player_id="28017" first="Shannon" last="Wheeler"], 2021, 6-1 CF, Renaissance H.S. A year ago I was pretty excited about Shannon’s potential, though she was still somewhat slender and needed a little skill work. After watching her last weekend, she has really developed her game over the last year. She looks a little taller, much stronger, and she does a variety of things both inside and out for her team. She has a wiry strong frame, tremendous length, she’s a nice athlete with some bounce, and she plays with a motor. I like her calm demeanor, but she is a tough kid who will get inside and play physical, rebound, and defend. Shannon committed to the University of Dayton back in late-May.