We take a second look at Team Rio’s 16U squad
We’ve had the opportunity to talk about Team Rio’s program many times over and they’re one of the best without a question in the AAU scene in New Jersey. That’s amplified after looking at the rosters of these teams as…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe’ve had the opportunity to talk about Team Rio’s program many times over and they’re one of the best without a question in the AAU scene in New Jersey.
That’s amplified after looking at the rosters of these teams as like we’ve stated before, they’re beyond loaded with talent.
After having looked at the 17U team several times, we move to the 16U squad that is one of the best in the Garden State.
Let’s go to the tape with Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey to see just what players have stood out to us and what has made them stand out.
Of the three players we’ll be discussing in this article, two of them are rising sophomores and had impressive freshman campaigns this spring.
The first of those two is 5-10 guard/forward Morgan Matthews from The Pennington School, who had the highest scoring average on her high school team last season.
She was an exciting watch as a freshman and based on what we’ve seen so far this summer, her sophomore season is going to dwarf the production she had as a freshman.
Her maturity level surpasses that of her fellow underclassmen and she carries with her a level of confidence and poise that’s unmatched.
Matthews is someone who gets into the lane often and is a physical player when it comes to driving into the lane. She’s an aggressive, physical player who welcomes contact in the lane and capitalizes off of opponents’ mistakes quite often. She’s the player to watch from The Pennington School coming into this fall.
Our second standout freshman now incoming sophomore is Zahra Alexander, a 5-8 guard from Columbia who burst onto the scene in a big way last spring and she’s quickly making a name for herself in the Super Essex Conference.
She was arguably the best player on an undefeated Columbia roster and where she excelled in the spring, she’s built upon that in a big way this summer. Alexander is a playmaker and a surefire scorer, pushing the tempo and level of play when she runs the point.
Alexander is a fantastic free throw shooter and isn’t someone who needs to rely on the three-pointer because she’s great at generating scoring in the paint.
To top everything off, she immediately showed that she is a lock-down defender and this summer, she’s been working hard at improving her defense to become a better shot-blocker when needed and someone who you can rely on to create a turnover in a clutch situation.
The last person we’ll be talking about in this article brings some South Jersey flair to the team, rising junior Kaitlyn King, a 5-10 guard/forward from Lenape who is an under-the-radar talent in the Olympic Conference, but easily one of the best purebred scorers around.
King has shown off a balanced shot selection so far in her high school career and that’s carried through to the AAU circuit.
She’s a fantastic three-point shooter, a great scorer in the lane and has a mid-range game, truly the full package that one looks for in a guard and someone who can switch off in the forward position.
We’re also continuing to see development on the defensive end as well which is a welcomed sign and adds a greater dimension to her overall game.
Keep following Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey as the summer progresses. We have plenty more players and teams to discuss, so stay tuned.