LBI Opening Day: Defenders You Should be Scared of

Mindy McCarthy April 12, 2021 @ 06:34 PM

One of the most underrated aspects of basketball is defense. These players, though, showed a lot of tough defense against their opponents, and many times their defense turned into offense for them. Here are some of the defensive standouts that I saw at LBI Opening Day in Greenville, SC over the weekend. [player_tooltip player_id="235207" first="Tiir" last="Nyok"] | FBC Carolinas Elite 17U Adams | G | 2022 Nyok (pictured above) is so fluid when she moves on the basketball court whether she is handling the ball or moving to an open area of the court. She follows shots to grab rebounds, and she constantly moves to make sure she can always be an asset for her team. She knows how to drive in the paint fighting through contact. Her defense turns into offense frequently as she jumps into passing lanes and quickly takes it the other direction. She can also strip the ball from opposing guards as they try to move past her. It is common to see her score double digits off of these steals. <img class="size-medium wp-image-271741 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/04/Riley-Corcoran-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" />Riley Corcoran | FBC Carolinas Elite 17U Adams | G | 2022 Corcoran is a tenacious defender grabbing steals that turn into points quickly for her. She shows no fear jumping into passing lanes battling for possession of the ball. She handles the ball well, and she constantly keeps her head on a swivel finding her open teammates. She makes amazing passes, especially in transition, somehow threading the needle running full speed. She certainly shows that she is an asset on both ends of the court. Zarriah White | FBC Carolinas Elite Hall White | F | 2022 White hustles after every loose ball making sure her team has a chance to grab it. She does a great job anticipating passes on defense as she jumps into passing lanes, and she knows how to take the ball the other direction for some fast break points. She fights for rebounds on both ends of the court finding ways to extend plays or end them for her opponents. [player_tooltip player_id="253886" first="Angel" last="Walker"] | FBC Carolinas Elite David | G | 2024<img class="size-medium wp-image-251242 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/01/Angel-Walker-scaled-crop-1920x1261-1612111499-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Walker can stop on a dime throwing off her opponents in transition to show off her jump shot. She has a handful of ball moves she makes to get her opponents off of her to make a pass or show off a shot. Her hands seem to always be causing problems for her opponents whether she is grabbing a pass for a steal or she is causing deflections disrupting her opponents’ offenses. Her vision of the court is apparent with how she can make things difficult for others when she is on defense.