I love when a player who doesn’t get all the hype shows up and delivers a performance that makes them impossible to miss. Caroline was that girl at BCAM Reaching Higher. She’s primarily a wing, but looked more than capable of handling the ball in the backcourt. Caroline drilled a deep straightaway three to start things off for Mercy and tripled again in the corner. She attacked down the baseline with a dribble burst, switched hands, and scored with an acrobatic inside-hand finish with a soft touch off the glass despite the defender. Caroline pushed the ball with pace up the floor using both hands, made crisp passes into the post with her off hand, finished layups in top gear, and earned trips to the free throw line. She buried consecutive shots from the line with balance and textbook mechanics on her follow-through. Caroline displayed her mental toughness by not reacting to a no-call on a foul in the paint. She sprinted in transition to block a shot from behind and scored with her left inside off the glass. She’s going to be a great addition to a college program.

Caroline’s comprehensive impact on the court spearheaded a resilient comeback win for the Marlins. She backed down her defender with power dribbles and dropped in a tough, contested floater. Caroline scrapped for rebounds and scored a put-back. She worked hard to keep good positioning and walled up to block a shot. Caroline was an excellent facilitator, converted free throws efficiently at the line, and finished confidently using either hand. She scored with her left off two feet and dished a dump-off pass on a drive for the assist. Caroline drove hard to the basket, put her defender in jail, made a smooth ball transfer to her left, and finished off two feet. She used a quick rip move to beat a defender baseline, earned a trip to the free throw line, and buried both with a high wrist-snapping follow-through. Caroline was responsible for three important triples in the fourth quarter. She drained one from the corner, shoveled a kick-out pass for an assist after collapsing the defense with her dribble penetration, and set a strong down screen to create a wide-open perimeter look for her teammate.

Caroline, a guard for Team 9, brought great energy and effort every time she was on the court. She showed impressive hustle, chasing down multiple offensive rebounds to give her team extra possessions. On top of her work on the glass, she knocked down shots from deep, proving she can stretch the floor while still doing the gritty work that makes a big difference in games.

Caroline checks the boxes of a next-level guard prospect. She has the fundamental talent, length, and quickness that immediately grabs your attention. Caroline splits defenders with her dribble combos and finishes with both hands at the rim. She utilizes her length to cause deflections, blocks, and steals on the defensive end. I’m excited to see Caroline make plays at The Expo.

Caroline has length, ball-handling abilities, and multi-level scoring skills that make her an excellent next-level prospect. Caroline impressed me at a showcase this summer by stealing the ball on defense to score layups, splitting defenders with tight crossovers to score left-handed layups, forcing turnovers with her defensive pressure, blocking shots, and converting shots around the rim off two feet. Her downhill burst and defense will be exciting to see this winter with a talented Mercy team.

Paluk will be a must see player at this event. If a college coach like gritty players, they want to see her play. Paluk has a nice jumper and can score catching a pass cutting to the rim.