Fall Rankings Review: 2023 SF Rundown

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="59777" first="Ava" last="Sowder"] (2023) of Eastern High School (Pekin). As the Fall rankings updates continue, recently we turned to the 2023 class, updating them for the first time since June. While we didn’t expand the 2023 list this time around, we will look to do so during our December update. In this article I take time to break down the small forward position in 2023, giving you a look at a number of wing scorers and creators from different perspectives.   Top of the Class The amount of growth [player_tooltip player_id="59762" first="McKenna" last="Layden"] showed in her game from her Freshman (6.0p, 4.3r, 3.0a, 1.7s, 0.4b) to her Sophomore (22.9p, 8.5r, 6.1a, 3.5s, 1.3b) season was incredible, doubling nearly every statistical category. Yes, there were some talented 2020 graduates, but this is still quite impressive, and it makes me interested in seeing what she can do for an encore. She has tremendous length, fluid athleticism, and a nice all-around feel for the game. She is an accurate perimeter shooter, a selfless point forward type, plus she plays much stronger and more physical than her frame might suggest. McKenna has already given a verbal commitment to Purdue University, where she’ll join her sister, [player_tooltip player_id="10560" first="Madison" last="Layden"], in two years. Hamilton Southeastern wing [player_tooltip player_id="96087" first="Riley" last="Makalusky"] has also shown a great deal of improvement over the last 12-18 months, but a lot of that has to do with her finishing growing and starting to add noticeable strength. It has easily affected her game and her confidence, as she is now attacking much more aggressively off the bounce, taking on contact more successfully, and even finishing through "arm tackles" for and-ones. Riley grew up with the "shooter" reputation, and while she is still dangerous outside, it’s her handle and creativity that have come a long way, as she’s really looking to break down defenses more and more. Following the graduation loss of 2021 Miss Basketball [player_tooltip player_id="62526" first="Jayla" last="Smith"], Lawrence North’s [player_tooltip player_id="155437" first="Monica" last="Williams"] will likely slide into the captain’s seat for the Wildcats these next two seasons. She is yet another prospect whose game has come a long way since Junior High. Williams is long, wiry-strong, fast, and bouncy. She plays a point forward role for Lawrence North, and she can turn a corner and get through traffic to score it at the rim. The biggest change I’ve seen in her game over the last 8-12 months is her confidence and consistency in her perimeter shooting. The more dangerous she becomes around the perimeter, the more difficult she will be to defend off the bounce. And that brings us to another MIC wing in North Central’s [player_tooltip player_id="96077" first="Ava" last="Couch"]. Couch has been a Varsity contributor for two years already, but she should see an uptick in minutes and much more responsibility in helping to lead the Panthers during her Junior and Senior years. Couch is a tough-nosed, fairly strong, North/South athlete who plays with a tremendous motor. She’ll run through walls, dive on the floor, take charges, and do whatever it takes to help her team win. Add to that a nice understanding of the game, an improving handle, and a dangerous perimeter jumper, and you can see why a number of mid-major Division-I schools have been reaching out about her over the last year.   On the Rise Looking to see an expanded role as a Junior at Lawrence North is wing [player_tooltip player_id="127212" first="Laniya" last="Early"]. She saw quality time as a Sophomore, but she has really worked on her game, grown a little, and gotten stronger this offseason. She is an explosive athlete who can change gears and get downhill quickly. She has an athletic frame, length, and some bounce to her as well. I really like her ability to push the ball in transition and create for herself or others, plus I think she can be an elite, 84-foot defender. She can make the occasional perimeter jumper, but if that part of her game can grow over the next 6-8 months, she could be dangerous and start to see some Division-I interest come April. Up North, Huntington North Junior [player_tooltip player_id="203658" first="Taylor" last="Double"] just does her thing and continues to produce. She is another really nice, well-rounded athlete. She has length, wiry strength, and she plays with a motor. She can shoot it outside or attack the basket and score equally well, making defenders pick which part of her game they want to take away. She’s the type of prospect who, if the right coaches see her, could draw varied interest from Division-I, Division-II, Division-III, or NAIA schools. I am anxious to see what kind of 2021-2022 season she can have. The last of the Traylor/Walker sisters, [player_tooltip player_id="59785" first="Adelyn" last="Walker"] played about as well as I’ve seen her over the Summer. She looked much more comfortable in the open floor, but I think she also had the ball in her hands in positions to be able to create more than I can recall from past viewings. She has a strong, athletic frame, some length, and she has become a point forward type who can get downhill and find open teammates. I think she’s a little more aggressive scoring the ball at the basket than her siblings, and she’s probably the best rebounder of the bunch. She and sister [player_tooltip player_id="97305" first="Ashlyn" last="Traylor"] (2022) recently enrolled at Franklin Community High School after attending Martinsville as a family in the past. Another Franklin Grizzly Cub who has really increased her recruiting stock over the last eight months is [player_tooltip player_id="300067" first="Kyndell" last="Jochim"]. Kyndell continues to grow, she has tremendous length, and despite still being rather slender, she tries to play the right way and be physical when needed. What draws you in to Kyndell, though, is her ability to really shoot the basketball, and to shoot it with deep range well-beyond the 3-point line. With all the weapons Franklin now possesses, you still have to get into her hard and chase her around the perimeter, or she’s someone who can change a game in a hurry with her ability to knock down shots consistently.   Don’t Sleep on Them Every class has a handful of girls you can identify quickly as really standing out, whether it be size, strength, skill, or ability. At the same time, there is another group of prospects who tend to fly under the radar for a number of different reasons, so I wanted to mention four such young ladies. Corydon Central wing [player_tooltip player_id="178232" first="Ava" last="Weber"] has put together a pair of nice seasons so far, essentially putting the team on her back at times and producing in all aspects of the game. Weber is another point forward type who handles the ball almost exclusively for the Panthers. She is a nice North/South athlete, she plays with a great motor, and she has a competitive spirit and feistiness to her. She can handle the ball to initiate the offense or create, but she can also score the ball by attacking the basket, pulling up in the mid-range game, or knocking down the occasional outside jumper. She will go under-recruited because of her location and lack of grassroots participation to this point, so some college willing to work at it is going to get a really good ballplayer at the end of the day. When I first saw [player_tooltip player_id="59786" first="Sydney" last="Warran"] a couple of years ago, I thought she showed great potential as a point forward prospect with nice height. Now, the Cascade product is starting to get stronger, more confident, and she is showcasing that ability to run or create offense, plus she’s scoring and finishing much more consistently. She’ll still need to continue focusing on building strength, plus at 6-0 she could still play a little lower to the ground, but there aren’t many girls at her size who handle the ball and see the floor the way she does. She could be an elite small college recruit if she continues on this path developmentally. Eastern High School (Pekin) has had quite the run in girls’ basketball over the last several years, and they should again be a tough out come state tournament time. Wing [player_tooltip player_id="59777" first="Ava" last="Sowder"] will have a lot to say about that this season, and she is another ball-handling wing who can run offense or attack the basket to score. She has great length, fluid athleticism in all directions, but she could stand to continue adding a little strength to absorb contact better. She can knock down an open jumper, she is a willing and capable defender, and she plays with a nice understanding of the game and an outstanding motor. All you’ve heard out of North Judson the last four years is the name [player_tooltip player_id="35021" first="Lilliann" last="Frasure"] (2021). But I felt like her younger sister, [player_tooltip player_id="300071" first="Sophia" last="Frasure"], really turned a corner during the 2020-2021 season and suddenly figured "it" out. Sophia isn’t nearly as tall as her older sister, but she has solid strength and that same competitive motor. Where she seemed to find her niche on last year’s squad was as a dangerous perimeter shooter who would take shots from the 27-foot range at times. She knocked down 58 long bombs in 26 games, and I’d anticipate that number going up even more this season. However, following the graduating of her sister, she’ll need to handle the ball a lot more, plus she’ll probably have to get inside and rebound/score/defend a little more often as well. Regardless, Sophia has done a nice job over the last calendar year of becoming a good small college prospect.