Grassroots Preview: Team Blaze Select 17U
While Team Blaze Select might be a new addition this year on the girls’ grassroots circuit, the name is not unfamiliar to me, as Mr. Derrick Cross has organized many talented groups over the years in boys’ grassroots basketball, with the most recognizable name right now being Ohio State’s Saikou Jallow. Team Blaze will be well-coached, very competitive, and they have a nice mixture of veterans and youth.
Team Blaze Select
Coach Derrick Cross
No. | Name | Ht. | Pos. | Class | High School |
0 | Alexys Carlstrom | 5-8 | G | 2020 | Harrison (MI) |
1 | Ainsley Urbanski | 5-8 | G | 2020 | Bloomington North |
2 | Brooke Grinstead | 5-7 | W | 2021 | Bloomington South |
3 | Kendall Harmon | 5-7 | G | 2022 | Bloomington South |
5 | Avery Patterson | 5-4 | G | 2023 | Brown County |
11 | Adelyn Walker | 5-8 | W | 2023 | Martinsville |
13 | Casey Thomas | 5-10 | F | 2021 | Bloomington South |
14 | Sheridan Robbins | 5-8 | F | 2021 | Orleans |
20 | Kayla McClendon | 5-5 | G | 2021 | Columbus Acad. (OH) |
21 | Ashlyn Traylor | 5-7 | W | 2022 | Martinsville |
33 | Pa’Shence Walker | 5-8 | G | 2021 | Martinsville |
Overview: After watching this group this past weekend, I can firmly say they have a really nice backcourt. Ainsley Urbanski had a strong season for Bloomington North, and she is a long, wiry, fluid athlete who can handle the ball on occasion and score it at all levels. Pa’Shence Walker is a really nice athlete with length, fluidity, and good burst. She’s an attacking guard who can slice to the basket with ease for scores. Kendall Harmon will likely slide into the driver’s seat for Bloomington South next year, and she is a strong, heady, and crafty combo guard who can handle, pass, and really shoot it from the perimeter. Alexys Carlstrom isn’t an Indiana native, but she’s another really talented wing guard. She has an athletic frame, she moves well in all directions, and she can score the ball at all levels. Adelyn Walker and Ashlyn Traylor are younger sisters to Pa’Shence Walker, and both are nice, young athletes with good strength. Casey Thomas is a long, wiry strong, and athletic front-liner who plays with a great motor and rebounds/defends well. And Sheridan Robbins is a skillful forward who has a nice jump-shot, the ability to put it on the floor and attack, but she’s also strong enough to play effectively in the mid-post. This should be a fun group to watch, and I anticipate colleges of all levels checking them out this grassroots season.