Preseason Report - Meade County

Meade County is coming off a great season in which it represented the 3rd Region in the Sweet 16 and advanced to the 2nd Round and has the majority of its lineup returning.   Before attending a practice last week, I last saw this over the summer in a three-team round-robin where they beat a reloading Sacred Heart team and lost to a rising Mercy Academy. Proving that the Lady Waves are going to be right back in the State Title hunt again this season. This is a team full of players that fit the description of "Three and D" and three of them played for [program_tooltip program_id='712926' first='Team' last='Firstep'] this spring on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit. Two of them were on the '24 team that finished as the Champions of our Victory Region and the 4th was on the '23 team that fell in the Semifinals to the eventual Champions (a team that was loaded with girls moving on to play in the Big Ten next season). Add that experience to a team with Sweet 16 experience and this is a group that knows how to win. If you get the chance to see them this year you have to. They have one marquee name on the squad that draws the eyes of the D1 coaches and several players that the coaches at the smaller schools need to see. Head Coach Dina Hackert is a local legend who played at Meade County when she was still Dina Disney and they will be at a few major events around the Commonwealth this season where you could catch a game. They will be one of the four "State Seeds" at the Louisville Invitational Tournament in late January, one of 16 great teams at the Queen of the Commonwealth before Christmas, and in Owensboro on the 1st weekend of the season in the Independence Bank Tip-Off Classic.       [player_tooltip player_id='254562' first='Peyton' last='Bradley'] - 5'9" - SG - Meade County - [program_tooltip program_id='712592' first='Kentucky' last='Premier'] - '25   To describe Bradley I think it might be best to begin with a statistical run down from last season. According to the KHSAA Stats Leaders Lists no one else in the Commonwealth made more three-point shots than she did. She made 3.4 three-pointers per game, which adds up to 22 more than the player that finished second on that list for a total of 116 and only 1 player had more than her 260 attempts and only 5 player shot a higher percentage than her 44.6%. She forces a ton of fouls and shot 171 free throws (only eight players shot more), making 141 of them for 82.5% at the line. She was the 29th leading scorer in the state averaging 19.3 points per game for a total of 657 points, more than all but 11 players. AND she led her team in rebounding at 4.9 rebounds per game. The KHSAA doesn't track statistics for Assists, Blocks or anything else. Yeah. She's kinda good. If you want to see why she is so good you need to see her at a practice. Not that a trained eye can't spot it in a game, but in practice she is all busines and professional without being a robot or a good teammate in any way. But every drill she does, she executes it to perfeection. Every time she touches the ball, if you were filming, you could use the footage to teach a clinic on hwo to do whatever it is she is doing with proper technique. This is how you catch the ball, this is how you cut to the ball, this is what your shot should look like, this is how you give eye contact to your coach, this is how you finish a layup, on and on and on. The time she has put in to perfect her game, and the time she is still putting in to make herself better, is so obvious and I wish I had multiple cameras following her around that I could show to my own players. I was alreay impressed by what I saw her do in games last season, when I dug into her stats last night I was impressed yet again. But what she did during that couple hours of practice last week was mind-blowingly impressive and I see a ton of basketball and several practices each season. There are other players I have heard about with that kind of work ethic and dedication. But this is the 1st player I have seen that really embodies the idea that "perfect practice makes perfect".     [player_tooltip player_id='448817' first='Katie' last='Durbin'] - 5'11" - PF - Meade County - '23   Durbin is the primary inside scoring punch o the Lady Waves roster. She is an excellent rim runner and a rim protector. She can post up for the tough interior buckets and the short and mid-range buckets that bring stability to the offense. She is also a great interior defender that can play without fouling and can step away from the paint and defend on the perimeter. More than anything the ability to defend anywhere on the court makes her a great college prospect. She is a bit small to be a Big on the next level, but her speed, athleticism and her defense will help her to translate on a college roster next season.   She can shoot the three but tends to focus on her role on the team, which already has a crowded perimeter of great shooters. That sacrifice is crucial to team success and it may be the only spot on the court she can stand on offense without a teammate being in the way. I love how quick she is with the ball to make the decision on which of multiple post moves she should go to, or if she should drive or pass the ball to teammate that is cutting or spottig up. You could perhaps call her a Point Center due to what she can do to run the offense from the Inside-Out. She made a reliable 44.3% of her shots last season and averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and made 60.9% of her foul shots. Pretty good for a player that is not built very tall or powerfully, but plays against some of the best Bigs in the State. Her strong, wiry frame is probably covered with multiple bruises throughout the course of the season. So... sign her Coach and introduce her to the Trainers right away so she knows who to go to for the muslce creams and tape she will need to keep banging her way to another hard-fought win for you next season.     [player_tooltip player_id='413864' first='Mattie' last='Clanton'] -5'4" - PG - Meade County - Firstep - '23   Coach, if you have trouble stopping the ball this winter, Clanton is who you need on the roster. Her defensive footwork against top ranked Point Guards is Elite. As a bonus she can safely protect the ball for your team against all of the ballhwaks you are going up against every year that make a living off of other ballhandlers. She doesn't score the ball very often herself but she knows where to put the ball to move the team ahead. She is used to a committe approach on the team for rebounding and she contributes 2.5 rebound per game, which is great production from a 5'4" Point Guard. She averaged only 1 made field goal per game, but shot less that 3 times per game. She sacrifices her points for team success on offense and sacrifices herself on the press and in halfcourt defense. She is the tip of the spear on both ends of the court making the team go and go and go until the final horn sounds.     [player_tooltip player_id='455435' first='Annabelle' last='Babb'] - 5'7" - SF - Meade County - Firstep - '24   Babb reminds me of a Track and Field Athlete. I don't know if she runs Track or anything. What I mean is that when you watch those athletes compete they are putting everything they have into doing the best they can possibly due in their event. Throwing a weighted ball as far as they can chuck it. Sprinting as fast as it can be done. Leaping as far as they possibly can. She puts forth that kind of effort. And apparently she has been putting that effort into changing her body. She was already in shape. I don't pinch players, but I don't think I could have pinched an inch of fat on her frame last spring. But she is slimmed down even more and because of it she led every sprint in practice.   This is the maybe scrappiest player on a scrappy team. I'm not sure they ever need to dust mop the court in Meade County, because these players will go to the floor for loose balls like crazy. If you don't want to buy a program you can tell who Babb is by waiting to see who is the first player that is knocked to the ground or throws hersef to the ground. She takes the ball to the hole and gets the tough rebounds back up and into the hoop to score her points. She runs the floor to score and defends like each play is the deciding play of the game all game long.   She average 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and made 47.4% of her shots and 67.4% at the stripe last year.     [player_tooltip player_id='304632' first='Paige' last='Medley'] - 5'5" - CG - Meade County - Firstep - '24   Medley is a shooter and balhandler and the 3rd leading scorer (7.4 ppg) returning for the team. She made 77.2% of her free throws, 31.9% of her threes and 38% of her field goals last season while also collecting 1.8 rebounds per game. She is a bit shifty when looking to drive and quick-footed on the ball. She has a bit of a knack for getting a fingertip on the pass which turn into a turnover when surrounded by the hustle this team brings with them every night.     <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='470570' first='Savannah' last='Triplett'] - 5'8" - PF -Kentucky ICE - Firstep - '25 </li> </ul>   Triplett was sick and not at practice when I was there. I just wanted to mention her by saying that though it may look like a cherub has entered the game. She plays like a litle demon pursuing the ball. Her toughness on defense and the hustle she plays with makes her a asset on the court. Don't let your Guard down around her or that ball is gone.     Sage Crawley - 5'10" - C - Meade County - '23   Crawley holds down the interior on the defensive end and does all that she can to keep opposing rebounder off of the glass. She grabbed 2.9 rebounds a game herself and contributed 5 point a game whle shooting a highly reliable 44.9% from the field. Her experience, toughness, and leadership as a Senior will be invaluable to the success of the Lady Waves the winter.

Meade County is coming off a great season in which it represented the 3rd Region in the Sweet 16 and advanced to the 2nd Round and has the majority of its lineup returning.