Class of 2023 Stock Risers Pt.2: The 30+ Club

Seven players in the class of 2023 have seen their stock rise by at least 30 places. This remarkable growth deserved recognition all on its own. In honor of their developments and improvements as players, I represent the inaugurating class of the 30+ Club: 7. [player_tooltip player_id="264946" first="Kylie" last="Wittnebel"] | Beaver Dam | Forward | Up 30 spots from 65 to 35 Biggest Improvement: Post Positioning KW is a two-way interior presence that’s become a staple figure for Beaver Dam. Her technique and footwork as a big are instrumental to the Beaver’s offensive sets. She’s an excellent screen-setter, roller, and has a ton of touch around the basket. As a defender, Wittnebel patrols the paints and communicates well. She finds her position, moves well laterally, and impacts shots around the basket. Wittnebel’s command of the post demands attention. Her physicality and footwork in asserting herself between the blocks provide a key wrinkle for Beaver Dam. Her fluidity in sealing off the post and catching the ball in opportune scoring opportunities puts a ton of pressure on opposing interior defenses. The excellent spacing that Beaver Dam’s offense provides only accentuates this strength. Wittnebel performs extremely well in the five role for the Beavers and lifts the BD’s floor as a D2 contender. 6. [player_tooltip player_id="156100" first="Emma" last="Jossie"] | SPASH | Wing | Up 31 spots from 82-51 Biggest Improvement: Ability to create for herself Jossie’s versatile skillset has been a welcome addition for SPASH this season. At the heart of her game is her movement offensively. She floats between the seems of the opposition and puts the defense in compromising situations. Off the catch, Jossie’s quick decision-making and ability to attack the basket off the dribble has opened her shot profile and allowed her to play a more free-flowing, unpredictable brand of basketball. This isn’t to say that Jossie plays out of control. Her movements are calculated and precise, like tracking the arc of the shot for offensive rebounds and easy buckets. Where I’ve seen the most improvement from Jossie is in her confidence in creating for herself. Her ability to attack off-balance defenders off the dribble has taken her scoring ability to another level. And while that’s been the starkest improvement in her game, her ability to pass in tight windows has also taken a step forward, using her smarts in the post to find cutters and break down opposing defenses. 5. [player_tooltip player_id="342100" first="Sadie" last="Jarmolowicz"] | Freedom | Guard/Wing | Up 32 spots from 51 to 19 Biggest Improvement: Shooting SJ’s ability to comfortably play in both guard spots on both ends is the first level of showcasing her versatility as a player. She can handle the rock and initiate offense for Freedom, but also has a penchant for scoring and creating off the ball. Jarmolowicz uses cuts and a smooth catch-and-shoot jumper to put pressure on defenses when she isn’t the primary ball-handler. And while appearing slight, Jarmolowicz can be a very physical presence on the perimeter, defending at the point of attack and recovering to rebound the ball as well--which she uses as an opportunity to quickly get out in transition or calmly initiate Freedom’s half-court set. Her biggest improvement has clearly been her shooting, where she’s seen an 18% uptick in efficiency from beyond the arc and a 10% improvement at the charity stripe. And this improvement has completely opened up the rest of her game. Her live dribble attack all of a sudden becomes much more dangerous when the threat of Jarmolowicz killing you from the outside is present. Her cuts and off-ball movement carry much more gravity with the knowledge that any kind of positional slip-up on the defensive ends means a three-ball in your face. But Jarmolowicz has quickly understood that she can manipulate the attention she draws into getting easy looks on the interior by adding subtle change-of-pace dribble moves to her game as well. She’s become one of the most entertaining and efficient players in Divison 3 as a result of her improvements. 4. [player_tooltip player_id="206731" first="Lily" last="Truchon"] | South Shore | Forward | Up 33 spots from 42 to 9 Biggest Improvement: Consistency Truchon has become one of if not the most versatile forward in the class of 2023. She’s a demon in transition, has the handle and strength to get wherever she wants to in the halfcourt, has the length and springy quickness to coral offensive rebounds, the lateral quickness and defensive awareness to anchor a defense from the perimeter and the paint, and has great vision from the post. She’s also shooting the three-ball at a 35% clip on 83 attempts this season. At 5’11, her do-it-all factor, there isn’t a factor of the game that Truch doesn’t have a profound impact on for South Shore. Truchon’s length, athleticism, and feel for the game have always resulted in impressive box score output, but the improved consistency of her three-point shot makes her an even more complete basketball player. While her mechanics are a little wonky, she’s shown the ability to make shots from short, mid, and long-range. Even with another year to go, Truch has looked like a player at the absolute peak of her powers throughout the 2021-2022 season. 3. [player_tooltip player_id="156099" first="Camryn" last="Nies"] | Platteville | Shooting Guard | Up 39 spots from 81 to 42 Biggest Improvement: Shooting Consistency Nies is a lethal shooting threat who’s also demonstrated comfort handling the rock and creating for herself. AT 5’10" her quick release and high launch point is nearly unguardable if she has even the smallest pocket of space to operate. She’s also demonstrated her savviness shooting off the dribble, utilizing the threat of her outside shot to increase the effectiveness of her pump fake and take a wide open one-dribble pull-up jumper instead of a contested three. Her shot selection lifts the offensive potential of the whole team, knowing when she has a great shot available, but passing out of anything less. Nies finds a great balance between looking for her shot and working within the flow of the offense. The pure shooting guard has taken a big leap forward in the consistency of her shot mechanics. The rhythm with which Nies finds and takes her shots is considerably smoother than a season before. She never looks like she’s forcing a jump shot out of her hands and consistently finds the cleanest way to get her jumper off, creating a ton of space using minimal flash to create an easier setup. Currently hovering around the hallowed 40% mark from downtown, Nies shooting touch is what can take her to the next level. 2. [player_tooltip player_id="206724" first="Karissa" last="Smith"] | Appleton North | Guard | Up 45 spots from 84 to 39 Biggest Improvement: Handle/Creation off the dribble Smith is one of the best shooters in the class, point blank period. Her shot mechanics are as consistent as clockwork and opens up her shot profile way beyond simple catch-and-shoot threes. While she’s at her best finding pockets of space in transition, and killing the defense from 25 feet out before they set, her movement shooting off of flair screens is an instrumental weapon in Appleton North’s offense. Her footwork in tandem with the quickness of her release makes Smith impossible to guard with a disorganized defense. The junior guard feasts on a defense’s lack of discipline and awareness. In early December I wrote that the next step in Smith’s development as a shooter would be to tighten up her shooting off the dribble. I am shocked by how far along this aspect of her game has come in under two months. The comfort and speed with which Smith incorporates simple-yet-effective dribble moves takes her shooting potential to another level. It adds another wrinkle for the defense to consider and is one of the reasons she skyrocketed up the rankings. 1. [player_tooltip player_id="206730" first="Alana" last="Zarneke"] | Kaukauna | Big Wing | Up 58 spots from 71 to 13 Biggest Improvement: Opportunity (but, really, Everything) It took me about fifteen minutes of staring at a spreadsheet to get my head around Zarneke’s meteoric rise. Fifty-eight spots?!?!? That kind of rise hasn’t been seen on the charts since the Beetles. The 6’0" forward has as versatile a game as you’ll find in the class of 2023 and dominates in the best conference in Wisconsin girl’s prep hoops. She moves and shoots like a two-guard, and at 6’0", Zarneke is an automatic mismatch with destructive potential. Her smooth,one-motion release and consistency from the outside let Kaukauna play with a ton of space, which Zarneke attacks off the dribble. But her most lethal attribute is her sharpness coming off of screens. She creates so much space for herself running off cross screens and pin downs that she oftentimes doesn’t need to worry about creating in isolation. Her movement alone creates advantage situations and, given the firepower loaded on Kaukauna’s roster, the Ghosts are great at capitalizing. It’s hard to limit Zarneke’s growth to just one category. Statistically, she’s posting higher numbers across the board and her shooting efficiency has skyrocketed at well. Part of this is simply getting the opportunity to showcase her skill set at a greater volume. The more consequential part of her higher statistical output, I believe, is her confidence in her ability. She’s a 6’0" guard who has a three-level shooting touch and a handle to get wherever she wants to on the court. That kind of skill set doesn’t develop overnight. Her dedication to growing has clearly paid dividends and makes her one of the most dangerous, high-upside players in the class of 2023. A much, much, much deserved boost for a player who’s absolutely blossomed in her junior year.