GUAA Session II – Players who stood out to me: Part II

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>GUAA Session II saw some of the best AAU players in the country gather in Louisville to reconvene hostilities for the national championship. Here are a few more of the kids who stood out at the Kentucky Expo Center: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='384100' first='Dria' last='Parker'], W.Va. Thunder 16UA Mosley, CG, 5-10, Jr.</strong> - Parker showed her defensive chops are some of the best in the business. Plain and simple. Armed with her strong tree-trunk legs, she made life consistently hard on an opposing teams best player. Oh, she needed little if any help defense, too. She stayed in front of her opponent and used her body to direct her assignment where she wanted them to go. On the offensive end, she hit several 3s in several games as well as showing off a delicate, sweet range inside the arc. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kaelyn Carroll, Bay State Jaguars 2024, SF, 6-4, Jr.</strong> - Carroll immediately puts defenders on the backfoot with a quick first step that covers more ground than usual thanks to her length. She closes in on an opponent so fast that they literally have no time to act. Once she's made the girl uncomfortable, things start getting more intense. Now that she has her prey where she wants them, off-balance, she can attack in a multitude of ways. If there's help defense, she can elevate for a quick shot hard to block thanks to her length. If there's no help defense, she will blow by her defender for a shot at the rim. In short, she's going to be a mismatch problem for many teams as she can do a lot of damage in and around the paint, but she can also pop out for the occasional three. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":561996,"width":390,"height":256,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/12/sarah-baker-crop-1170x769-1670383390.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-561996" width="390" height="256" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sarah Baker, 2024 W.Va. Thunder GUAA Johnson, C, 6-2, Sr.</strong> - Baker was the toughest player on the floor in all 3 games I watched her play for the W.Va. Thunder. No matter the talent level or opponent she faced, she bruised, bumped and banged with her assignment. Elbows may not have flown, but she sure will feel the impacts this week. She used her body to block her opposition from receiving entry passes, while she worked for smart shots on the other end. Players pushed her off and she kept coming back for more, something she will definitely need as she goes to the Division I level. Another item of her game that impressed me was her passing. She saw the floor and understood where her teammates were at all times. Thus, she delivered crisp passes in great places for her teammates to generate buckets. If you are a coach looking for a young lady that will do all the little things to make your team better, than make sure to take a look at Sarah. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Skylar Dunley, [program_tooltip program_id='712967' first='Texas' last='U'] GUAA 2025, W, 5-8, Jr.</strong> - You can see the love of the game in everything done on the court by Dunley. She puts her entire self into her game. There's really no other way to approach her. She's a hard-nosed, smart player that sees the floor and finds the open players with some spectacular passes. I didn't see a lot of her scoring game, but when she did score, she was aggressive and unrelenting in attacking the basket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sydney Mobley, 2026 W.Va. Thunder GUAA Johnson, C, 6-2, Fr. </strong>- Mobley started showing me she's figuring out the defensive side of the game this weekend. She's understanding that her height and length are enough in causing shot alterations without leaving her feet. She's moving her feet well and really isn't afraid bumping bodies if need be. Her defensive range extends out to the 3-point line, and she can stay with faster opponents by using her body and closing off their angles. Offensively, she's continued to add weapons to her repertoire. The most impressive new move I saw was her spin move in the middle of the lane followed up by a wonderful finish around the rim. Ohio State was wise to get in on her early, and other D-1 schools would be wise to follow suit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->