15U Forwards - Knoxville Knockout

The selection of very talented forwards that were able to show out at the Knoxville Knockout this past weekend was not a very deep pool. But do not be mistaken that these players were all very talented and would have been stand-outs at any event. Cameryn Riderikoff - 5'9"/SF - Franklin County - Richmond Heat I was surprised to learn Ridderikoff is not ranked in my state after seeing her play this weekend and putting her on the 1st Team All-Tournament. That will have to change during the next update for this Lefty. She had the most complete game of any forward at the event with the ability to shoot the ball, find the open teammate, handle the ball on the perimeter and penetrate into the lane to create or score. She also displayed a toughness I had not seen in her before being knocked to the ground on layups, finishing and rising to knock down the free throw. Playing with multiple talented bigs in high school has definitely been beneficial in developing her ability to feed the post and reposition for the inside-outside attack. With that great size on-hand Ridderikoff might be able to spend time running the show like a Guard more next season. It is a bit of a stretch but not impossible to see her listed as a Shooting Guard, rather than a Stretch 3 be the end of her HS career. Brooke Haywood - 5'8"/SF - Chaminade Juliene - Dayton Vipers Elite A parent with the Vipers team informed me Haywood made 12/12 free throws in a game on Saturday. I didn't remember it that way, but that is why I take notes, and sure enough, the notes reflect that stat. She has explosive speed and as a finisher, she was unequaled at this event. It did not seem to matter if she was bumped, off-balance in any direction, moving fast, or standing still. If she shot the ball eight feet and in the ball was going in almost every time. One criticism is that she would get too far under the board to effectively rebound at times. Just be aware of that. Step up and step in for better positioning. She is otherwise a great rebounder. Sariyah Chester - 5'9"/SF - Pelham - One Step Away #3 A stretch player that can knock down the open three or get into the lane for the short jumper. Needs to develop better court awareness on the perimeter to avoid stepping on the line and losing that third point due to her toes being a little too close. Chester led her team in scoring against a very tough opponent in day one playing without a teammate that I ranked as one of the top Forwards but have decided to include in Guard coverage this week. Madison Sheppard - 5'8"/PF - Veterans - One Step Away Hard-woking defender working to get in front or between the potential pass to the offensive post. Chester hustles in full-court defense and is disruptive and crashes the boards well, especially on the weakside. Her motor is always running and she does not appear to get tired in the stretches she played. Daliyah Benefield - 5'7"/SF - Dacula - Team DBA Benefield can streaky shooter from the perimeter. When she makes one you have to keep feeding it to her. To go along with that she is very good at crashing the boards on offense to retain possessions or score on the putback. Her mid-range game is reliable and she is a consistently good free-throw shooter but has room for improvement there. If she will improve her handles she will get more short jumpers and get fouled more often and more her scoring possibilities to the next level.

The selection of very talented forwards that were able to show out at the Knoxville Knockout this past weekend was not a very deep pool. But do not be mistaken that these players were all very talented and would have been stand-outs at any event.

Cameryn Riderikoff - 5'9"/SF - Franklin County - Richmond Heat

I was surprised to learn Ridderikoff is not ranked in my state after seeing her play this weekend and putting her on the 1st Team All-Tournament. That will have to change during the next update for this Lefty.

She had the most complete game of any forward at the event with the ability to shoot the ball, find the open teammate, handle the ball on the perimeter and penetrate into the lane to create or score. She also displayed a toughness I had not seen in her before being knocked to the ground on layups, finishing and rising to knock down the free throw.

Playing with multiple talented bigs in high school has definitely been beneficial in developing her ability to feed the post and reposition for the inside-outside attack. With that great size on-hand Ridderikoff might be able to spend time running the show like a Guard more next season. It is a bit of a stretch but not impossible to see her listed as a Shooting Guard, rather than a Stretch 3 be the end of her HS career.

Brooke Haywood - 5'8"/SF - Chaminade Juliene - Dayton Vipers Elite

A parent with the Vipers team informed me Haywood made 12/12 free throws in a game on Saturday. I didn't remember it that way, but that is why I take notes, and sure enough, the notes reflect that stat.

She has explosive speed and as a finisher, she was unequaled at this event. It did not seem to matter if she was bumped, off-balance in any direction, moving fast, or standing still. If she shot the ball eight feet and in the ball was going in almost every time.

One criticism is that she would get too far under the board to effectively rebound at times. Just be aware of that. Step up and step in for better positioning. She is otherwise a great rebounder.

Sariyah Chester - 5'9"/SF - Pelham - One Step Away #3

A stretch player that can knock down the open three or get into the lane for the short jumper. Needs to develop better court awareness on the perimeter to avoid stepping on the line and losing that third point due to her toes being a little too close.

Chester led her team in scoring against a very tough opponent in day one playing without a teammate that I ranked as one of the top Forwards but have decided to include in Guard coverage this week.

Madison Sheppard - 5'8"/PF - Veterans - One Step Away

Hard-woking defender working to get in front or between the potential pass to the offensive post. Chester hustles in full-court defense and is disruptive and crashes the boards well, especially on the weakside. Her motor is always running and she does not appear to get tired in the stretches she played.

Daliyah Benefield - 5'7"/SF - Dacula - Team DBA

Benefield can streaky shooter from the perimeter. When she makes one you have to keep feeding it to her. To go along with that she is very good at crashing the boards on offense to retain possessions or score on the putback.

Her mid-range game is reliable and she is a consistently good free-throw shooter but has room for improvement there. If she will improve her handles she will get more short jumpers and get fouled more often and more her scoring possibilities to the next level.