Stock-Risers: Class of 2021
On Thursday, January 3rd, we released an updated Top-100 list of prospects in the Class of 2021. This class has had quite an impact on high school rosters this Winter, and I wanted to take the time to highlight eight…
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Continue ReadingOn Thursday, January 3rd, we released an updated Top-100 list of prospects in the Class of 2021. This class has had quite an impact on high school rosters this Winter, and I wanted to take the time to highlight eight young ladies who have stood out this season and really improved their recruiting stock. So, without further ado, here are those eight 2021 prospects…
Madelyn Bischoff, 5-9 G, Roncalli H.S.
Maddie had a very solid and respectable Freshman season last year, averaging 8.8 points per game while shooting 47% (22-47) from 3-point range. Over the course of the Spring and Summer, she was solid as well on the grassroots tour. This year, however, she has been a much more aggressive scorer. A lot of that can be attributed to her maturing and getting stronger, but just her all-around game looks different. Her scoring has nearly doubled and is up to 15.8 points per game, and her overall field goal percentage is up to 46%…very nice for a guard. She can handle and run offense at times, but she’s also very good off the ball. With additional strength, she’ll continue to score it much more consistently going to the basket.
Kaitlyn Costner of Elkhart Central
Kaitlyn Costner, 5-7 G, Elkhart Central H.S.
When I first saw Kaitlyn last Spring, her speed and athleticism absolutely popped. She looks like a track star who could probably compete in any sprinting event, and could even become a long jumper or high jumper. She has very good length, and she plays with a great motor, but she needed to continue developing her jumper and her all-around skillset. This Winter she has been tremendous. She averaged a modest 4.0 points, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 steals last season as a Freshman, but this year she has bumped those significantly to 16.2 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. Additionally, she’s shooting an impressive 53% (16-30) from 3-point range and only turning it over 1.4 times per game. If she can continue this climb skillfully, I think she’ll be a really nice Division-I prospect at either guard position.
Bailey Hartsough, 5-9 G, Lakeland H.S.
Bailey is not a known commodity around the state, because (1) she attends high school in a fairly remote area less than ten miles from the Michigan border, and (2) she isn’t a big participant in grassroots basketball due to a strong volleyball background. I first saw her in July at the IBCA Top-100 Showcase, and she can play. She is long, fluidly athletic, and smooth. She’s a capable ball-handler, and she’s a very good shooter at all levels. Lakeland is not known for their girls’ basketball heritage, with their best season this decade being in 2007-2008 (15-7), which was actually their last winning season. This year, however, Bailey has helped lead them to a 14-6 record so far, averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 steals per game. The future is bright in LaGrange, Indiana, and Bailey is a big source of that excitement.
Laila Rogers, 5-9 F, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute
Laila is often mentioned third when people talk about the Bishop Noll Sophomore class, with obvious talent Courtney Blakely and fellow backcourt mate Rose Fuentes getting a majority of the attention. But what people aren’t noticing as much is the improvement Laila has made in the last year. She is a long, bouncy, and very athletic forward with a good motor. She has nearly doubled her scoring this season, plus she has increased her rebounding, steals, and blocked shots, while limiting her turnovers. And I’m not convinced she has even scratched the surface of her potential just yet. She is more of a mid-post ‘4’ right now, but she’s certainly athletic enough to defend wings and some guards. Once she adds more of a perimeter skillset, she could see her interest really take off.
Taylor Austin, 5-4 G, Lake Station Edison H.S.
Taylor is shorter, slender, but she packs a big scoring punch. The diminutive combo guard just reached the 1,000-point plateau…in just her Sophomore season! She has also increased her rebounding and steals this season. She is long, quick / fast, and very feisty, and she plays with a good motor. She is best creating scores and getting to the basket or hitting the mid-range pull-up, but she can also knock down a perimeter jumper when in rhythm. Once she makes her 3-point ball more consistent, I could see her approaching 30 points per game. Defensively, she is good at affecting passing lanes from help-side, and she’s also tough-nosed when guarding the ball. She’s a nice, little, well-kept secret in Northwest Indiana.
Tyra Ford of Anderson
Tyra Ford, 5-7 F, Anderson H.S.
If you want to talk about kids who produce at a high level despite being considered undersized for their position, then Tyra is that girl. She honestly might be the best pound-for-pound rebounder in the state, at least at the offensive end of the floor (4.2 per game). This season, her scoring has increased significantly, as she’s averaging 21.7 points, to go along with 9.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 2.5 assists per game. She affects the game in so many ways, and she is becoming a versatile forward who can play inside or out offensively, plus she’s capable of defending ‘2’ through ‘4’. She has Division-I athleticism and a great motor, so if she can continue developing a perimeter skillset (27-91; 30% from 3), she has a chance to be a nice ‘sleeper’ for some college program.
Jasney Combs, 5-6 G, Fort Wayne South Side H.S.
Jas made the move from Homestead to South Side this season, and she has developed into a really nice rotation player on a guard-heavy Archer squad who plays two Division-I prospects, Jaci Jones (2020 Detroit Mercy commit) and Olivia Smith (2022), ahead of her right now. I last saw Jas in the Fall at a showcase event, and she has really improved in the last year and a half. She has some length, good quickness, and she has a nice feel for the game. She can play either guard spot effectively, and she’s a capable shooter from the perimeter. I like how hard she plays, and she can get gritty and tough defensively. As she continues to mature and gain strength, I think she’ll be a more effective scorer at all levels, and I look at her possibly being a starter and double-figure scorer for South Side next season.
Jenna Reece VanBlair, 5-7 W, Alexandria-Monroe H.S.
Reece is a very intriguing wing prospect who a lot of colleges at varying levels will have interest in, in the coming years. She has good length, she’s a nice athlete, and she’s wiry strong. She is probably best attacking the basket for scores, but she’s also a capable perimeter shooter when she has her feet set and is in rhythm. She plays with a good motor and just makes athletic plays all over the floor. She missed a couple of weeks with an injury midseason, but she has come back nicely, including a 23-point, 4-steal game last Friday night. If she can get just a little quicker laterally and work on her change-of-direction ball-handling, and if she makes that perimeter jumper a bit more consistent, look for her to approach the 20 point per game mark next season.
Header photo of Madelyn Bischoff of Roncalli High School; photo courtesy of the Indiana Flight Media Twitter account. Photo of Kaitlyn Costner courtesy of www.southbendtribune.com. Photo of Tyra Ford courtesy of www.greenfieldreporter.com.