Dynamic Duos in Class 4A
As I was reviewing the top Class 4A backcourts and frontcourts, I realized there were several really nice duos in this class who don’t necessarily qualify as either a backcourt or a frontcourt. Below is a look at a handful…
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Continue ReadingAs I was reviewing the top Class 4A backcourts and frontcourts, I realized there were several really nice duos in this class who don’t necessarily qualify as either a backcourt or a frontcourt. Below is a look at a handful of duos consisting of a backcourt player and a frontcourt player who should stand out this season. These duos are arranged alphabetically by what school they attend.
Reagan Hune of Carmel
Carmel H.S. (Carmel, IN)
This past week, when we previewed Carmel, we mentioned how the Greyhounds girls’ basketball team would look vastly different. However, two staples from last season return and look to lead them this year. 5-9 2019 wing Reagan Hune (7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) was a starter last season, and she’s a versatile and talented guard / forward. She can handle the ball some and initiate the offense, she can knock down the occasional perimeter jumper, she’s smooth attacking the basket, and she can defend multiple positions. With the graduation and / or transfer of the other four starters from 2017-2018, she now looks to be one of the top scorers on the team this season. Up front, 6-1 2019 power forward Mackenzie Wood (2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg) finally gets her opportunity to start and be a significant statistical contributor. She had always flashed Division-I potential, but this Spring and Summer she was outstanding and consistent, and she started to garner a lot more interest / offers. She has some length, good athleticism, and a great motor. She has a wiry strong frame, and she has a quiet toughness about her. Plus, she’s fairly skilled facing the basket in the high-post. She recently gave a verbal commitment to the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League.
Jessica Nunge (#30) of Castle
Castle H.S. (Newburgh, IN)
I’m kind of going out on a limb here putting a lot of faith in a Freshman, but I think it’s worth it. The pair of 6-1 2019 power forward Jessica Nunge (11.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg) and 5-10 2022 combo guard Natalie Niehaus will be incredibly tough for opponents to stop. Nunge is a tremendously long, fluid, and fairly smooth forward. She has played everywhere throughout her career, from the low-block, to the mid-post, to the perimeter. She has even initiated offense at times. Ideally, I think she’s best in the mid-post, because she can use her size, and she can affect the game skillfully and athletically from there. She is a Division-I prospect as a basketball player, but over a year ago she gave a verbal commitment to play volleyball at Florida State University. Her sister is a volleyball player at Notre Dame, while her brother is playing basketball at Iowa, so it’s an athletic family. Niehaus has the chance to be an up-and-coming star, but no one is talking about her because (1) she’s in the Evansville area, and (2) she chooses not to play grassroots basketball each Summer, so few people have seen her. She is still somewhat slender, but she’s extremely long, she’s fluid and smooth, and she’s still growing. She can handle it like a point guard, create scoring opportunities for teammates, or shoot it like a ‘2’, plus she can get to the basket and finish athletically with either hand. She could very well end up as a 6-0 point guard before she graduates from high school.
Trinitee Harris (#11) of Elkhart Central
Elkhart Central H.S. (Elkhart, IN)
A lesser-known, tough-to-stop duo, resides in Elkhart, Indiana. 5-8 2019 combo guard Trinitee Harris (13.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.5 spg) and 6-1 2019 post Makayla Roundtree (7.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg) are back for their Senior season looking to duplicate and improve upon the impressive year the Blue Blazers had one season ago. Remember, we touched on them winning their first Sectional title since the 1980s. Anyway, Harris is one of the most athletic guards anywhere in the state. She has a wiry strong frame, she’s bouncy, and she has good speed and quickness. When she attacks the basket, she just flies by defenders with little resistance. She has drawn widespread interest from a variety of schools to this point. Harris can also defend different types of perimeter players, and she is good attacking the passing lanes from help-side. Roundtree is a broad-shouldered, powerful, physical, true post. She muscles her way into position on the low-block, then powers through defenders to draw and-ones, and she earns several trips to the free throw line. Over the years, she has begun to develop a little more skill away from the basket, but I’m not sure you’d really want her to leave the block where she’s a mismatch. She’s also quite the presence in the paint defensively. Her father played at Rutgers University years ago.
Tori Handley of Jeffersonville
Jeffersonville H.S. (Jeffersonville, IN)
Jeffersonville unfortunately doesn’t draw a great deal of attention, probably because they’re in the South, but they have a pair of outstanding players who opponents certainly know about. 5-11 2020 forward Nangely Garcia (16.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.2 spg) is an absolute monster to deal with. She has broad shoulders, long arms, long legs, and she has a mean streak to her stylistically. She is tremendous in the mid-post, but she can attack from the perimeter, knock down the 18-footer consistently, and she can take smaller defenders to the block and eat them up. Her versatility and ability to play inside-out are special at the high school level, and I’d look for her to be close to a 20-point & 10-rebound kid this season. She has already drawn several Division-I offers, and there will continue to be more suitors after this season. 5-9 2019 combo guard Tori Handley (8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 44 made 3s) has really come into her own over the last year and a half. Growing up, she was always very thin, but you could see some potential there. Then sometime last year, she started to show signs of more strength, and it completely changed her game for the better. She was more explosive off the bounce, she absorbed contact a lot better, and she started finishing inside, making her more of a scorer than just a shooter. And the scary thing is, she still has a lot of room to develop even more. She has already committed to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Jada Roberson of Pike
Pike H.S. (Indianapolis, IN)
This duo is what is likely to keep Pike amongst the better teams in the state this season. 5-11 2019 power forward Kinnidy Garrard (11.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.1 bpg) is one of the most unheralded kids in the entire state. She is a lunch-pail kid who just goes to work on the interior, grabbing offensive rebounds, and defending the paint with intensity. She is a really nice athlete, and I look for her to be an even bigger contributor for the Red Devils this season. She earned a spot on the Indiana Junior All-Star team back in June, and I’m not sure how many people remember that. Look for her to possibly be an impressive 15-point and 15-rebound performer this season. Her classmate looking to have a breakout season this year is 5-7 2019 combo guard Jada Roberson (9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.5 spg in 2016-2017). Jada moved in from Michigan early in her Freshman year, and she has always been a talented, physical, athletic scorer. She is a strong lefty who is great attacking the basket, but she can also get hot from the perimeter. She finished the 2016-2017 on fire and was a big reason Pike made it to the 2017 Class 4A State Finals. Then, in July of 2017, she unfortunately tore her ACL. She played only sparingly in a couple of games during the 2017-2018 season, or else she probably would have been an Indiana Junior All-Star as well. This year, she looks to get back on the court and be a key cog in Pike’s success. She has a few Division-I offers, so there’s no doubt she can play.
Cydni Dodd (#50) of Warren Central
Warren Central H.S. (Indianapolis, IN)
Our final duo is the most talented pair on this list, and it would be tough to match them on any roster around the state. 5-7 2019 point guard Shaila Beeler (13.5 ppg, 5.0 apg, 2.1 spg) is one of the fastest, most athletic guards in the state. She is great off the bounce and has gotten much stronger over the years. Now she glides to the basket with ease, but she can absorb contact so much better and finish at odd angles. Defensively she is one of the best on-ball defenders around, and I think she’ll be a problem at the collegiate level at that end of the floor. There aren’t many things she can’t do, but she could stand to make her jump-shot just a little more consistent this year to prevent defenses from pinching the driving lanes when she has the ball. She is our #4 prospect in 2019, and she has already committed to Indiana University. Inside, Warren looks to 6-5 2019 post Cydni Dodd (11.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg), who is the mismatch of all mismatches in Indiana. There are tall kids throughout the state, but there aren’t many who are this tall, this powerful, and who have both a low-block skillset and a mid-post skillset. The biggest change in Cydni’s game last season was her ability to start hitting the 12 to 15-foot jumper when teams overly protected the rim, daring her to shoot. She is a broad-shouldered, strong, powerful true post, with long arms and long legs. She struggles at times to play physical around the block, because like Shaquille O’Neal struggled with back in the day, she’s so much bigger than everyone that she gets fouls unfairly called against her at times. So, she adapted and started to be more diverse away from the basket. She is our #5 prospect in 2019, and she has already committed to Michigan State University.
Header photo of Jerry Reed and Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit; photo courtesy of directexpose.com. Photo of Reagan Hune courtesy of readthereporter.com. Photo of Jessica Nunge courtesy of dailyjournal.net. Photo of Trinitee Harris courtesy of goshennews.com. Photo of Tori Handley courtesy of newsandtribune.com. Photo of Jada Roberson courtesy of Keith Hollins’ Twitter account. Photo of Cydni Dodd courtesy of dailyjournal.net.