End Of Summer Wrap-Up: Part-3
As I’ve said in past articles, my focus is primarily Indiana, but with many of the Indiana teams traveling cross-country for different events during July’s second “live” period, I remained in the Midwest and attended USJN’s Midwest Summer Showcase in…
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Continue ReadingAs I’ve said in past articles, my focus is primarily Indiana, but with many of the Indiana teams traveling cross-country for different events during July’s second “live” period, I remained in the Midwest and attended USJN’s Midwest Summer Showcase in Westfield, Indiana, July 21st & 22nd, and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, for Certified Basketball’s The Finale on July 23rd and 24th. I saw several teams from Michigan, and below is a look at eight 2022 prospects specifically from Michigan who had nice performances when I was able to watch them.
Lexus Bargesser, 5-7 PG, Grass Lake H.S., Michigan Premier Blue 17U
I saw Lexus a couple of times at the end of July in Cincinnati, and she had a solid performance against a good Toledo Thunder team and their Division-I guards, but she also had an eye-popping performance when I saw her against Cincy Nation and their well-coached squad. She is a long, somewhat slender, but fluid and athletic guard. She plays with a lot of feistiness and didn’t seem to back down from anyone. I think I was most impressed with her playing “up” two age groups and not having any trouble with the speed or physicality of the game. She was actually the best player on the floor versus Cincy Nation, and she hit shot after shot from all distances, while changing the game defensively as well. She plays with a veteran’s poise, as nothing seemed too challenging for her. I think she’s a legitimate Division-I prospect, who will only get better with added strength.
Tadassa Brown, 6-3 C, Columbia Central H.S., Jackson Jets Elite 17U
Tadassa is a good-sized, true post, who has a lot of upside. She has broad shoulders, good length for her size, and she’s fairly athletic as well. She actually uses her athleticism to take advantage of lesser-talented opponents. She has solid hands and feet, and she can establish herself on the block and keeps the ball high on the catch. She seemed limited to simple post moves right now, so if she can continue to build her arsenal and add double-moves and counters, that could really help her offensive game going forward. She doesn’t seem quite as interested at the defensive end of the floor, but she’s big enough and athletic enough that she could become a great help-side defender who blocks several shots each game due to rotation. I like her upside, and I think she is a Division-I prospect, but she could certainly use a little refinement to her skillset.
Theryn Hallock, 5-9 W, Forest Hills Central H.S., MBA-Brown 15U
Theryn is a very intriguing wing prospect, so much so that there were a variety of Division-I coaches in attendance who were interested in following her progression. She has really good length, wiry strength, though she’s still somewhat slender and can definitely add some muscle over the next three years. She had good North/South speed, and she was fluid in all other directions. Theryn plays with a great motor, she competes, and she doesn’t mind getting physical and playing assertively. At points in the game, she played more like a point forward, but then she had stretches where she looked more like a 2-guard running off of screens, and she has a really nice shot as well. As she continues to get stronger, tightens her handle a little, and shows the ability to defend smaller guards, I think she’ll be recruited as a wing guard long-term. She definitely has an “it” factor though.
Kate Jacobs, 6-3 C, Hartland H.S., Michigan Mystics Red 15U
I’m not sure what it is about Hartland High School right now, but they have some tall girls with a lot of upside on the basketball floor. Kate is more of a developing prospect than finished product right now, but she has a lot to be excited about. She is extremely long, reasonably fluid, and somewhat bouncy. She has a good frame and tries to play physical on the interior, but she’s still very lean and needs to add a lot of strength before college. She isn’t going to “wow” you with a massive repertoire of post moves, but she does keep the ball high on the catch, and she can finish right at the basket. Like I said before, I think there is some work to be done in developing her game, but her potential/upside are really nice. She could definitely see some Division-I interest down the road.
Abbey Kimball, 5-10 PG, West Catholic H.S., MBA-Brown 15U
I’m not ready to say Abbey is going to be this good, I’ve only seen her a couple of times, but she reminds me stylistically and athletically of University of Michigan Sophomore Amy Dilk…an Indiana product whose game I know very well. Abbey is a long, fluid, and smooth guard who just has a natural feel for the position. She isn’t flashy, and she doesn’t try to assert herself too much, but you can tell she has the skill and talent to possibly take over games if she wanted to. Most of what Abbey did when I saw her, was handle the ball and make plays off the dribble, so I would like to watch her more closely and see how well she shoots the ball with range. But at her size, I like her perimeter skill at this age, and I like her versatility defensively. She will need to get stronger and continue working on being more dynamic off the bounce, especially in tight space, but she definitely has great potential.
Molly Long, 6-1 F/C, Grand Haven H.S., MBA-Brown 15U
If you can’t tell by now, this 15U MBA group is very talented throughout the roster. Molly is one of their more intriguing front-liners, and she too has a lot of upside. She has a solid frame and some length, and she plays more of a traditional low-post game right now. But she is a good athlete, she shows some flashes of things she can do from the mid-post, and she has nice touch with the 15-foot jumper. I think as she gets older, she’ll move away from the basket more, and she’ll become a true power forward for the next level. I don’t know that she’ll ever become a perimeter pick-and-pop ‘4’, but I do think she’s athletic enough to eventually be comfortable around the perimeter…both offensively and defensively. I think Molly will draw a variety of Division-I interest, as well as some interest from the best small college programs in the Midwest.
Ella Miller, 6-0 F/C, East Lansing H.S., Michigan’s Finest 15U
It took Ella a couple of games to get going in Cincinnati, but she is definitely a solid frontline prospect who could see a variety of interest from Division-I schools and small colleges. She has a strong frame, she’s still somewhat lean, though, but she has broad shoulders and some length. She’s a good athlete in all directions, and she plays with a really nice motor. She kind of has a mixed bag of tools offensively. She spent some time around the block and used her size against smaller defenders to score at the basket, but she also showed some skill in the mid-post. She can put it on the floor 2-3 dribbles and get somewhere, she has a solid mid-post jumper, and she has good hands. I think, ultimately, she’ll develop into more of a traditional power forward and be able to play around the perimeter, in the mid-post, and on the block, plus I think she’ll get much stronger and possibly become physically overwhelming for some opponents.
Amanda Roach, 5-6 G/W, Hartland H.S., Michigan Mystics DreamTeam 17U
Amanda is a tough evaluation for me, because while she is a solid on-the-floor athlete, she isn’t overly explosive in any one direction. She is highly skilled and very productive, so she’s likely to be a “fit” kid where she reminds a coaching staff of someone they’ve had in the past. Amanda is a really nice basketball player, she is strong, physical, and she has really good ball skill. She has a great feel for the game, and she can run offense and distribute to teammates without trouble. I also thought she shot it very well from the perimeter when I saw her. While she’s highly skilled, colleges tend to define a player’s position by who they can defend off the dribble and who they can consistently blow by off the dribble. If she can continue improving those parts of her game, I absolutely think she’s a guard versus a wing.