Forwards at the Kentucky Top 250 Expo part 2
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I am so glad to complete this article before work tonight so that I can share the coverage of seven more Forwards. This also allows me to wrap up this position group before the weekend. Look for coverage on the…
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Continue ReadingI am so glad to complete this article before work tonight so that I can share the coverage of seven more Forwards. This also allows me to wrap up this position group before the weekend. Look for coverage on the Guards to begin on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
For those of you at the Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo, you may remember a speech about the statistics o how few players make it from High School to College levels of Basketball. While accurate, those statistics apply to ALL High School Basketball more than they did to the players assembled at Mid-America. From what I have seen I would think the odds of players assembled at the 250 this year are more like 80 to 90% of getting a chance to play on the next level.
Don’t take my words of encouragement to mean you don’t all still have work to do. This is a competitive space you are trying to get into. But don’t see the odds presented in the speech too hard either. That goal is there for you within your ability to grasp. but you have to work for it and take it. Don’t let somebody else outwork you and take the last spots available. If you want it, go get it.
Daniels has excellent speed and hustles at all times with a very high. But the way she can use those aspects and still play under control is what impresses me the most. Excelerating quickly is important, playing hard and fast is important, but so many players cannot stop on a dime and change direction quickly when moving at top speed. Maybe it has to do with balance, or a high basketball IQ that lets her see what is happening a split second quicker. Probably both, she certainly has both.
At the 250, Daniels showed off more of her Guard skills in the game I was watching. She displayed her ballhandling and passing including a long outlet pass on the break after chasing down a long rebound. She also used her speed to drive to the hole from the right wing and score iwth a bully finish through a hard foul. She wears longsleeves almost all the time, so I don’t know if she is hitting the weights. But she plays with strength, so I assume she does.
With two more years to develop her game playing under excellent coaches at school and on the PGH Circuit, Daniels has a high probability of playing on the next level. But she likely needs to inject herself into the offense a little more often than last season. That won’t be easy on a team loaded with so much talent at every position and on the bench. I suggest hitting the offensive glass hard, but scoring isn’t the only thing coaches see.
Clark is going to be a surprise player to many 11th Region teams this winter after missing most of last season due to injury. I forget she had been wearing a knee brace until I tried to check her stats from last season. She is too good to play that little on any team especially due to her defensive hustle, toughness, and basketball IQ.
At the 250 she made a 17 footer in the right corner on what was maybe her only opportunity of the 1sr half and executed a pick and roll to score with expert execution (as the screener to make that clear).
For the past few weeks it seems like everytime I scroll through Twitter I see that she has received another college offer. They are much deserved. This is a leader and a competitor that finshed her run on the PGH Circuit with a Triumph Region Championship.
Woods was a blur. She was all over the court making an impact on the game through hustle and effort. She is a versatile player with multiple skills willing to put her body on the line to make something happen. She runs the floor with excellent speed, has great handles and is an excellent passer. From what I witnessed I see her as more of a Small Forward but we have her listed as a Combo Guard, and that makes sense too.
I don’t remember seeing her score in the game I watched but apparently the other scouts did. rn Last season, Woods averaged 13.1 points per game playing for a team that struggled to win games against a difficult schedule. She may need to find a way to do more than that to have any better luck this winter as a Senior.
Highlights
Floyd is a very veratile player with great size and when called on to score can deliver in a variety of ways. She is maybe a bit too perimeter oriented for a player with such a strong body. I suspect this is due to playing with so many other talented bigs who are more of an interior presence in her career. I don’t know that she doesn’t have those skills. I just never see them. A good coach on the next level needs to be sure to develop them with her.
As it is, Floyd would be a great option for a team that wants to run a 5 Out Offense that transitions into a 4 Out, 1 In. She has every skills you would want her to have to play on the perimeter. She is a good shooter, passer, dribbler, rebounder and most importantly a lockdown defender.
I am not sure if she has any offers at the moment, so if I were you Coach I would make contact. This is a player that should be playing on the next level based on her size and defense alone. The rest of her game is also college ready, except in the Post (based on what I have seen).
Highlights
Redmon is very quick to the basket on the drive but is perhaps best moving without the ball, cutting along the lane lines and in from the corners and wings. She brings exellent speed and athleticism to the court and plays hard nosed post and perimeter defense.
She was the 2nd leading scorer (12.6 points) and rebounder (5.1 rebounds) on her school team last winter and converts her shots at a high perentage (47.6% field goals). She is not listed in a our Rankings but probably should be included in our next update.