Another Lindsey Wilson commit, Gentry also showed her special knack for scoring the basketball all season long. While her team struggled this season, she was certainly the highlight as she was their leader in nearly every statistical category. Gentry averaged 18.8 PPG and 8.1 RPG. Despite being the player opposing teams would focus on stopping, she still shot 50% overall this season. She finished in the top 50 for scoring across Kentucky this season and with the 17th best free throw percentage (80.9%). What makes Gentry so special is her versatility. She has shown an ability to score on all 3 levels, along with an ability to elevate over defenders to get her shot off.

I had seen Gentry play this Spring and she looked really good, but when I saw her at the PGH Top 250 Expo in September, I was beyond impressed. Her ability to score on anyone and in many different ways is special. She was keeping the ball up high on her jump shots, making her nearly impossible to block. Gentry was finishing through contact and in creative ways around the basket as well. She nearly averaged a double-double last season at 15.1 ppg and 9.6 rpg. Gentry can contribute in all aspects of the game and I think she’ll easily average an impressive double-double in her final high school season.

Gentry is a leader on the court who is adept at directing traffic on defense and providing great on ball defense and help defense. This summer watching her with her extremely young school team (based on who was there that day) she was picking up her teammates when they made mistake and coaching them up to be better for this season to come. Her communication skills on the court extend further with her summer team that was loaded with talent and made it to the Victory Region semifinals on the strength of a relentless defense.

Offensively she could be an asset on the next level at the 1, 2, or 3 playing whatever role the team might need. She led her team in scoring 15.1 points a game last season and made 45% of her shots, probably by using her great excelleration and strong ballhandling to speed her way for several layups. But don’t rule our her ability to get to the line and to hit the glass as some point generators. She made 122 Free Throws at 72.6% and led the team in rebounding with 9.6 rebounds an outing.

Coaches out there looking to fill out their rosters next fall need to look at Gentry. She is a winner and a coach on the floor. She will put herself on the line, be a team first player, put pressure on defenses to stop her, and pass the ball to the open teammate her penetration creates. This is a player that has flown under the radar for far too many of you. One of you is going to get a steal when you siign her before nest season.

Gentry was one of the best scorers I saw on Saturday. She can really put the ball in the basket and she does it in a variety of ways. Her pull-up jumper was looking really good and she keeps the ball up high enough that it’s difficult for the defense to block even if they are right in front of her. Gentry’s ball handling and passing looked good too. She was making some impressive no look passes that made it difficult for the defense to anticipate where she was going with the ball. Gentry recognized when her teammates were hot and she delivered them the ball.

Natalie was named a top performer for two of her three games on Saturday and earned every bit of it. Gentry has shown she can score with the best of them but her playmaking has been undervalued up until now.