PGH Indiana Showcase: Top Forwards & Posts
Last Tuesday, Prep Girls Hoops Indiana, in a partnership with Scouting Indiana and Marian University, hosted the PGH Indiana Uncommitted Showcase. It was a huge success, as more than 70 prospects and a host of colleges from throughout the Midwest…
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Continue ReadingLast Tuesday, Prep Girls Hoops Indiana, in a partnership with Scouting Indiana and Marian University, hosted the PGH Indiana Uncommitted Showcase. It was a huge success, as more than 70 prospects and a host of colleges from throughout the Midwest were in attendance. In this article, I will continue to recap the event. Look for one additional article very soon.
I do want to preface this article by saying that as the event host/coordinator, it was nearly impossible for me to watch each team, each girl, and each game enough to offer a fair evaluation of all 70+ prospects in attendance, as I was running around nonstop making sure the day flowed smoothly. With that said, below are eight forward and post prospects who stood out when I was able to watch them, or they are someone who had college coaches buzzing throughout the day because of their quality of play.
Katie Davis, 2020, 5-11 F, Danville Community H.S.
This was probably the most consistent I have ever seen Katie play. She is a long, fluid athlete, she is very versatile, and since she continues to gain strength, she is just coming into her own. She handles it fairly well in transition, she is comfortable around the perimeter, but she is an automatic shooter in the mid-range game. She is really good at getting into gaps and burying 15-footers. As she gets stronger, I can see her attacking the rim more and seeking contact, but I can also see her continuing to develop her perimeter shot. I think she has a bright future because of her flexibility position-wise.
Aliyah Evans, 2020, 5-10 F, Greensburg H.S.
Aliyah has been a known commodity since her Freshman high school season, and she continues to play productively each time out. She has a strong and physical presence, and she likes contact, but she also has a good handle, a solid jumper to 3-point range, and she’s a very good passer all over the floor. She can play sort of a point forward position offensively, but she can also defend power forwards inside. Her positioning in college will come down to who she can defend off the dribble, but skillfully, offensively, she does a lot of really nice things.
Dorothy “Dori” Javins, 2020, 5-8 F, Bishop Luers H.S.
Dori was one of the shining stars of the day, and after just the first game in the morning, she had coaches raving about her play. She is strong, tough-nosed, but also athletic and skilled. She is sort of a power wing who plays with a tremendous motor. She’ll rebound, defend multiple positions, and I really like how she gets out and runs in transition both directions. She could stand to tighten her handle a little and be a bit more consistent shooting it outside, but the amount of growth she’s shown the last two years has been impressive.
MacKenzie McMahon, 2020, 5-10 F, Bellmont H.S.
Kenzie was another standout last Tuesday, and she’s a really nice talent who I don’t think enough colleges are aware of. She has a rock-solid frame, some length, and she’s a really nice run & jump athlete who can compete athletically with just about anyone in the state. She plays with a great motor, rebounds just about everything whether it’s in or out of her area, and she can get out on the floor and defend multiple positions, including some guards. The next step for her will simply be developing more perimeter skill offensively, but she definitely has a lot of physical tools to work with.
Tamia Perryman, 2020, 5-8 W, Fishers H.S.
Tamia had a strong showing last week, and what I enjoyed most was seeing her handle the ball as much as she did. She was constantly pushing it in transition, breaking down defenders to attack the basket, and she did a solid job of finding teammates as well. She is a strong athlete with speed, quickness, and a lot of bounce to her game…she nearly pinned a shot on the backboard at one point. She still needs to make her handle a little more dynamic and knock down the perimeter jumper better, but she is a really nice physical talent who plays with a lot of versatility at both ends.
Kiersten Poor, 2020, 5-11 W, Jeffersonville H.S.
You often see players at showcase events stand out by scoring a ton of points, hitting a lot of jumpers, or creating a lot of steals, but sometimes you see a player who stands out because they are so solid and poised, they rarely err, and they just play at their own pace. Kiersten was that player last week, and she is one of the most under-recruited prospects in Indiana’s 2020 class in my opinion. She has length, wiry strength, fluid athleticism, and she can handle, pass, shoot, and defend. She certainly drew a lot of eyes last Tuesday, and I anticipate her interest continue to pick up throughout July.
Jacqueline Raque, 2020, 5-10 F, Assumption H.S. (KY)
Jacqueline really stood out because she played much more aggressive offensively than I’ve seen from her throughout the Spring grassroots season. She is a long, wiry strong forward who does some nice things skillfully at each level. She was constantly on attack off the dribble last week, and she continually got to the basket for scores (or drew fouls). She is a very good mid-post shooter, and she’s fairly comfortable around the perimeter as well. Defensively, she’s probably more of a ‘4/3’, but I think she can defend some bigger wings as well. She is just a solid, versatile forward who can add flexibility to a lineup.
Diana Burgher, 2022, 6-0 F, North Harrison H.S.
While I feel like there were a few girls who maybe played better than Diana last Tuesday, her combination of age, size, skill, and talent helped her stand out as arguably the best all-around prospect at the event, regardless of class. To think, a year or so ago Diana was a 5-8 back-to-the-basket player, and now she’s playing in the mid-post and around the perimeter consistently and confidently. Her handle and shot have really improved, and based on her current trajectory, she should continue to grow and develop. She picked up a Missouri Valley offer this past weekend, and I’ve talked to several other D1s about her as well.